How Pickleball Got Its Name
Pickleball was created in the summer of 1965 by Joel Prichard, Barney McCallum, and a couple of their neighbors.
Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in America and may even be included at the Olympics in 2028. Although it has popped up out of nowhere, it's quickly becoming a household name, with about 36.5 million players in America.
But how did Pickleball get its name, who invented it, and why? Read on to find out.
Why the name Pickleball?
How does a game that appears to be a combination of table tennis and tennis connect with pickles? The origin of Pickleball's name is somewhat confusing because the sport's founders have relayed two different versions: the "dog" and "boat" stories.
Pickleball was created in the summer of 1965 by Joel Prichard, Barney McCallum, and a couple of their neighbors. These two stories originate from the McCallum and Prichard family.
The Pickles version
Let's begin with the dog story, Pickles. Joe Prichard's neighbor gave away free Cockapoo puppies, and Joe's neighbor Jim Brown and his daughter chose one. The Prichard's named the puppy Pickles. The story is that when they all began playing the sport called Pickleball, the dog, Pickles, would constantly pick the ball up in its mouth and run off with it.
The McCallum family and the Browns, some original Pickleball players, insist the game was named after Pickles the dog. They remember the night they called the game Pickles after the dog. They sat in Prichard's living room and laughed at the funny name for their game. Many other people from the game's early history, like Barney McCallum and David, his son, Dick Brown, and Jim, his son, were interviewed and stuck to their story.
The pickle boat version
The second story regarding the origin of Pickleball's name concerns a boating term. Joe Prichard's wife Joan was a former competitive rower, and she came up with the name Pickleball in 1965, according to the Prichards. She explained that the term referred to leftover rowers who'd race in the local "pickle boat" crew competitions for fun.
The well-known story that the sport was named after the Prichard family dog, Pickles, was refuted by Prichard, who claimed that the dog came after the game. Some encouraged Prichard to stick to the Pickles dog story because it worked better. Many believe the pickle boat version isn't as cute as the puppy story, hence the decision to keep it as the center of the game's history. It was preferred over the obscure rowing boat term, with which not many could identify.
Playing the game
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