Why Is It Called Pickleball?

Quick Answer: Pickleball got its name in 1965, when Joan Pritchard called the new backyard game a “pickle boat,” the rowing term for a boat crewed by leftover oarsmen. Her husband Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum invented the game that same summer on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The family dog Pickles was not born until 1968, according to USA Pickleball.

The name sounds like a joke about food, but it has nothing to do with jars or vinegar. It started on a badminton court on Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1965. Two rival explanations have circulated since: a rowing term picked by the inventor’s wife, and a family dog. One story came first. The other came later, from a joke that got repeated so often it became folklore. Here is what the record actually shows.

Who invented pickleball, and when?

Three men invented pickleball in the summer of 1965, on Bainbridge Island, Washington, just across Puget Sound from Seattle. According to HistoryLink.org, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum built the game at Pritchard’s home after a round of golf left their families with nothing to do. They had a badminton court, no full set of gear, some ping pong paddles, and a perforated plastic ball. The Bainbridge Island Historical Museum says the families were staying at Pleasant Beach on the island’s south end that summer. Pritchard lowered the badminton net, McCallum helped write the rules, and Bell pushed the group to keep experimenting until the game worked. The three men later incorporated Pickle Ball, Inc. on February 13, 1968, according to HistoryLink.org, to start selling the game they had spent three summers refining. Every rule from that first afternoon still shapes the game, including the five basic rules of pickleball that beginners learn today. For more on the men behind it, see who invented pickleball.

Why is it called pickleball, according to the pickle boat story?

Joan Pritchard, Joel’s wife, gets the credit for the name, according to USA Pickleball. She had a rowing background and knew the term “pickle boat,” the boat in crew racing that carries the leftover rowers who did not make the top boats. Her son Frank told the Pickleball Hall of Fame that his mother thought the new game, cobbled together from badminton, ping pong, and tennis, fit that idea well. It was, in her words, “a bunch of different games thrown together,” so pickleball seemed like the right name. That explanation lines up with everything else about the sport’s first summer. The founders built the game from spare parts sitting around a garage. A name borrowed from a boat full of spare parts fits the story better than a name borrowed from a pet.

Where does the dog named Pickles fit in?

The Pritchard family did own a dog named Pickles, and the dog is real. What is not real is the timeline the dog story depends on. USA Pickleball investigated the claim and found that Pickles was born in 1968, three years after the game was invented and named in 1965. Frank Pritchard confirmed the gap directly, telling PlayPickleball.com that the dog did not join the family until three years after the game was invented. The dog story started with Joel Pritchard himself. According to USA Pickleball, he told a reporter in the early 1970s that the game was named after the dog because it made a cuter story than a rowing term. Joel later admitted it was “just a funny story” that he expected would never stick. It stuck anyway, and the joke calcified into a myth that has outlived the explanation for more than 50 years.

Which origin story is true?

USA Pickleball has settled the question using its own research into the Pritchard family record. The organization states that “the Pritchard family story stands true that pickleball was not named after the dog, but rather in reference to the local pickle boat races.” The pickle boat story also comes from a firsthand source, Joan Pritchard herself, while the dog story traces back to a joke Joel Pritchard told a reporter and later disowned. The dog story survives because it is short and easy to repeat. The pickle boat story survives because it is the one the family who coined the name actually stands behind.

Does the name still fit the game?

The name fits better than it should. Pickleball still runs on borrowed and improvised spaces, from taped lines on old tennis courts to portable nets set up in church parking lots. The leftover-equipment spirit that produced the name in 1965 shows up every time a group converts a surface built for something else into a pickleball court. The sport kept the rest of its improvised vocabulary too. The non-volley zone picked up a nickname the rulebook never used, which has its own naming story worth reading if you want to know why the kitchen is called the kitchen. Shots get named after the players who popularized them, which is how the game ended up with a move called the erne. For the full timeline from that first backyard court to today, see when pickleball was invented.

FAQ

Why is pickleball called pickleball?

According to USA Pickleball, Joan Pritchard named the game in 1965 after the “pickle boat,” a rowing term for a boat crewed by leftover oarsmen. The game itself was assembled from leftover badminton, ping pong, and tennis equipment, which is why the name fit.

Was pickleball named after a dog?

No. USA Pickleball found that the family dog, Pickles, was born in 1968, three years after the game was named in 1965. Joel Pritchard admitted he made up the dog story for a reporter because it sounded better.

Who invented pickleball?

Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum invented pickleball in the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, according to HistoryLink.org.

What is a pickle boat in rowing?

A pickle boat is a crew boat filled with rowers left over after the top boats are chosen. Joan Pritchard used the term because the new game combined leftover parts from badminton, ping pong, and tennis.

When was pickleball invented?

Pickleball was invented in the summer of 1965, according to HistoryLink.org, and the founders incorporated Pickle Ball, Inc. on February 13, 1968, to start selling it.

Where was pickleball invented?

Pickleball was invented on Bainbridge Island, Washington, at Joel Pritchard’s home, according to the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum. The families were staying at Pleasant Beach on the island’s south end that summer.

Do pickles have anything to do with pickleball?

No. Neither origin story involves the food. The name traces back to a rowing term for a leftover crew boat, not a cucumber or a jar of brine.

Curious enough to go find a court with the odd name? Search the Pickler Junction directory for public courts near you and start playing the game the Pritchard family put together from spare parts in 1965.

Written by the Pickler Junction Team.