Can you imagine being out with the family, bored with nothing to do, and then suddenly, you thought of a new sport that unknowingly, people from around the world will enjoy playing for years to come? That’s exactly what happened with Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell, two dads from Bainbridge Island, WA, when they invented pickleball one summer in 1965. The sport came into being when Joel and Bill thought of a game that the entire family could enjoy. They used improvised equipment (ping-pong paddles and perforated plastic ball) and created new rules (with the help of Barney McCallum) inspired by badminton.
You might also wonder why, out of all the words, “pickle” is used to name a racket sport? There are actually two versions of the origin of its name. One story says it’s named after Joel Pritchard’s dog “Pickles” while another says it came from the term “pickle boat” which, in sailing, is the last boat to finish in a race. Pickle boat is said to be composed of a thrown-together crew, sometimes drawn at random from available rowers, in the same way, that pickleball was made up of the leftover of other sports.
Pickleball Timeline
1965 - Pickleball was invented by Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell in Bainbridge Island, WA at Pritchard’s residence. It was around this time that Barney McCallum was introduced to Pickleball and the three men created rules, getting inspiration from badminton.
1967 - The first permanent court was built in the backyard of Joel Pritchard’s neighbor in Magnolia, Seattle.
1972 - To protect the sport, Pickle-ball Inc. was officially incorporated.
1976 - The game was made public with an article in a Tennis magazine declaring it as “America’s newest racquet sport.” The first tournament also took place around this time at South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington.
1984 - The United States Amateur Pickleball Association (USAPA) published the first Pickleball rulebook which allowed for the growth and development of the sport nationally. Sid Williams was the first USAPA Executive Director and President and he served from 1984 to 1998. Frank Candelario succeeded him until 2004.
1990 - The sport was being played in 50 states.
1997 - At the age of 72, the co-founder of Pickleball, Joel Pritchard, passed away.
2005 - The USA Pickleball Association was established and Pickleball was included for the first time in the National Senior Games Association. During this year, it also became a Non-Profit Corporation.
2006 - At the age of 83, one of the co-founders, Bill Bell, passed away.
2008 - Pickleball is being played at 420 places with approximately 1500 individual courts across the US and Canada.
2017 - Pickleball Hall of Fame was established. Joel Pritchard and Barney McCallum were inducted along with Barney McCallum, Sid Williams, and more.
2021 - There are over 4.8 million Pickleball players in the US. The USA Pickleball Membership also has more than 53,000 members with over 2,300 registered players.
