Pickleball was created in Washington by a group of friends looking to come up with a new game to entertain their children. The game they ended up with - the first to resemble the pickleball we know - was played in 1965 on a badminton court using table tennis paddles and a Wiffle ball.
Pickleball's Origin Story
In 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, Joel Pritchard, a businessman and later a politician (as the 14th lieutenant governor of Washington and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives) was at his vacation home with his family, including his wife and children.
A friend of Pritchard’s was also there - Bill Bell, who, with his own family, was enjoying a summer getaway.
During their vacation, Bell and Pritchard were enjoying refined activities, such as golf. Upon returning to the summer home on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, the men were dismayed to see bored families.
It wasn’t only Pritchard’s family that was sitting home, listless, but Bell’s as well.
So the men had an idea. Why not play some badminton?
Creating the Game of Pickleball
This would have worked out fine had a shuttlecock been available, but no one could find one. It was time for a backup plan. So Bell and Pritchard asked the kids to come up with a game.
That game, which later became pickleball, was played on a badminton court. Nobody was quite sure what could replace a shuttlecock, so they experimented with table tennis paddles and other types of racquets, as well as an assortment of balls.
The First Ball of Pickleball
The first games of pickleball played in the yard of that summer house on Bainbridge Island used a Wiffle ball. Later, this was swapped out for a Cosom Fun Ball, which had more bounce and better durability than a Wiffle ball.
The Fun Ball was even chosen for future pickleball games played within the family.
The First Net of Pickleball
Before the families settled on the Cosom Fun Ball, they experimented with the proper net height and different types of balls. This ultimately led to lowering the badminton net from its standard 5 feet to hip height, which allowed the ball to be driven over the net with ease.
First, the height of the badminton net was set to 60 inches, and later, 36 inches at the edges and 34 inches at the center, which is the regulation height to this day.
Pritchard happily invited friend Barney McCallum over to his home the next weekend to show him how pickleball worked.
And that's where pickleball as we know it established roots to grow from.
The First Rules of Pickleball
McCallum liked the new game, so he began brainstorming with both Bell and Pritchard about what the rules of pickleball could be.
All wanted pickleball to remain true to the original spirit of badminton, so the pickleball rules to this day borrow quite a lot from how you play badminton.
However, the rules weren’t so difficult that families couldn’t figure out how to play, as that was the point of pickleball. It was supposed to be fun for the whole family - which is an enduring sentiment and one of the ingredients behind its explosive growth.
The First Legitimate Paddle of Pickleball
McCallum decided to take some initiative with the game, and he crafted paddles out of plywood. Soon, everyone in the family was using McCallum's paddles. Gone were the days of table tennis paddles. It was time to level up the sport.
A tinkerer at heart, McCallum continued to refine his paddle designs in a basement workshop in Seattle that belonged to his father. It was in this workshop that he created the McCallum 2, or M2 for short - the paddle for early pickleball players.
All of these changes didn't occur overnight; the ball, net, rules, and paddle development were modified over the years. But key decisions made even as early as the first few weeks of the game’s existence ultimately set it up to transition into the sport it is today. Here's how.
Legitimizing the Game of Pickleball
Pritchard, McCallum, and Bell were quick to realize the appeal of this game beyond the confines of their immediate families. It quickly became a game played in their neighborhoods and extended families.
This is the real stage where pickleball started to become legitimized, and there's no better example than the new court created for the game.
After two years of playing the game in the backyard of the Bainbridge Island vacation home, it was time to find a more suitable surface.
The First Legitimate Pickleball Court
In 1967, the men set up the first permanent pickleball court on Bainbridge Island, on the property of Pritchard's neighbor and family friend, Bob O'Brien. This court was another catalyst for the game's popularity, as people from all around Bainbridge started to hear about it more and more.
After all, Bainbridge is a small island, even if it’s just a short ferry ride from Seattle. And everyone who played pickleball seemed to love it.
The First Pickleball Brand is Created
Later, Pickle Ball, Inc. began manufacturing pickleball kits and wooden paddles so that those outside of family members and neighbors who wanted to play the sport could.
This step was a critical moment in the game's growth since it made it easy for anyone anywhere to pick up the game and play. It wasn't long before pickleball started spreading. It was an immediate hit across Washington, and soon after the greater Pacific Northwest.
Even tourists who took day trips to Bainbridge carried pickleball kits back home with them, so it was soon played in other parts of the country, such as Florida, Hawaii, California, and Arizona.
Fun Fact: Pickleball Goes By Other Names
What’s interesting is that pickleball isn’t known only as pickleball all over the world. It’s also called pukaball. That name comes from Hawaii. The name refers to the holey pickleballs since puka is Hawaiian for hole.
The name stuck, and in Hawaii, everyone calls pickleball pukaball.
