Baseball was born in Hoboken, New Jersey and basketball in Springfield Massachusetts. But I bet you didn’t know that Pickleball was born in Bainbridge Island, Washington.
As kids they would always invent games to play. In 1965, prompted by his 13-year-old son, it happened again. Dads Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum retreated to the backyard, lowered the badminton net, and fashioned paddles from plywood. And taking an old plastic whiffle ball, Pickleball was invented, named after Pritchard’s family dog “Pickles”. Rules are a mix of tennis, racquetball and ping pong and along with court dimensions have evolved into the USAPA (USA Pickleball Association) Rulebook, the governing body used in tournament play today.
Playing as singles or doubles, Pickleball has developed into a family sport with a passionate following due to its friendly, social nature, and its multi-generational appeal. Popularity has grown into 4.8 million players in the US and is quickly spreading worldwide making it a $20M a year industry.
On March 28, 2022 Governor of Washington State, Jay Inslee signed legislation SB 5615 declaring Pickleball as the official sport of Washington State.
And as with the National Football League or Major League Baseball, attending the Pickleball Hall Of Fame ceremony has been added to my bucket list.