You’ve probably heard of the sport pickleball.
Maybe you’ve started playing it, too.
Either way, you’ve wondered, “What is the History of Pickleball?” and “Where did the name come from?”
No worries! Continue reading as this article details pickleball’s history.
You’ll learn that its origins are simple and amusing.
History of Pickleball
On a warm Saturday, Congressman Joel Pritchard of Washington and Bill Bell, a prosperous businessman, teed off together.
Upon their return to Bainbridge Island, WA, and Pritchard’s home, they discovered their families lazily lounging about with nothing to do.
Because there was an old badminton court on the premises, Pritchard and Bell searched for rackets but came up empty.
They played with ping-pong paddles and a plastic ball with holes because that was all they had.
At first, they put the net at badminton height (60 inches) and hit the ball over the net with volleys.
As the weekend went on, the players found the asphalt was a good place for the ball to bounce, so they soon lowered the net to 36 inches.
Barney McCallum learned to play the game at Pritchard’s house the following weekend.
Soon, the three men came up with rules, with badminton as a big inspiration.
Bearing in mind that the game was meant to be something the whole family could play together.
In 1967, Pritchard’s friend and neighbor Bob O’Brian built the first permanent pickleball court in his backyard.
The National Observer, a corporation created in 1972 to protect the sport, started publishing about pickleball in 1975.
Then, in 1976, Tennis magazine wrote an article about the newest racquet sport in the United States.
In the spring of 1976, the world’s first tournament was held at the South Central Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington.
Steve Paranto of Team ONIX came in second, and David Lester won the Men’s Singles event.
Since this was a new sport, players practiced with enormous wood paddles and a softball-sized whiffle ball.
In 1978, a book called The Other Racquet Sports came out. It talked about pickleball.
Sid Williams moved to Washington four years later to play and run tournaments.
The United States Amateur Pickleball Association published the first rules book in 1984 to help the sport grow and improve.
From 1984 to 1998, Sid Williams was the first executive director and president.
Frank Candelario followed him until 2004.
By 1990, people in all 50 states were playing pickleball.
Two years later, Pickle-Ball, Inc. used a custom drilling machine to make pickleballs in-house.
Then, by 1999, the first website to talk about pickleball emerged, called Pickleball Stuff.
In 2001, the Arizona Senior Olympics hosted pickleball for the first time.
There were 100 people there, making it the most significant event ever played at the time.
Later, there would be nearly 300 people at events.
By 2003, Pickleball Stuff had a list of 39 venues to play, including ten states, three Canadian provinces, and 150 courts.
The U.S.A. Pickleball Association was then founded in 2005.
Then, three years later, the USAPA Rules Committee published a book with the official rules.
Pickleball was added to the National Senior Games Association for the first time. Good Morning America did a live segment on pickleball, too.
This was the first time they showed the sport on a large scale in the media.
In November 2009, the first USAPA National Tournament was held, and almost 400 people from 26 states and a few Canadian provinces took part.
Since then, the number of people playing pickleball and the number of tournaments have grown by leaps and bounds.
Millions of people of all ages played in the tournaments all over the world.
The USAPA has more than 40,000 members, and approximately 3.3 million people play pickleball in the United States (Now 4.8 million as of 2022).
This makes it one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.
Related Reading: Pickleball For Beginners – Learn About It Here.
Naming Origin
The U.S.A. Pickleball Association says there are different stories about the origin of the name.
Joel Pritchard’s wife, Joan, named their game “pickleball” because the combination of sports reminded her of the pickle boat.
But Barney McCallum says they named the game after Pritchard’s dog, Pickles.
Even though real pickles tasted sour, their dog was sweet. He liked to steal the ball during a game.
Depending on who you ask, both versions of the game’s name may be correct. At first, pickleball didn’t have a name.
As the game gained popularity, there was a need to give it a name.
Since pickleball is a laid-back game, it makes sense that its name is simple.
Why People Like Pickleball
It’s no accident that pickleball is the sport in the U.S. that is growing the most quickly.
This game is accessible on the body and easy to learn, so people of all ages play and enjoy it.
Other racket sports, like tennis, racquetball, and badminton, might take hours of practice or lessons to start being decent.
But because pickleball is easy and fun for the whole family, it only takes a few games to learn how to play.
From there, starting a game and showing off how good you are is relatively easy.
Pickleball is also cheap, the equipment is affordable, and it is played on a small court, which makes it easy for the whole community to play.
Even if you don’t have a pickleball court, many recreation centers use a modified tennis court for the sport.
It’s okay if you can’t locate a court of the appropriate dimensions.
With tape, a portable net, and some time, you can fix up any suitable surface or court and be ready to play in no time!
The small size of the court may be one of the best things about pickleball.
This creates a fast-paced setting where you may improve hand-eye coordination, test your reflexes, and even meet people.
Even though a pickleball court is small, it’s still easy to work up a sweat and have a fun workout.
Related Reading: What The Heck Is Pickleball? – Read About It Here.
Final Thoughts
Unlike other sports, pickleball has a rich yet simple and amusing history behind it.
This, however, does not make it any less of a sport than the others.
Once you try it out yourself, which is easy to do, you’ll know.