When Was Pickleball Invented? The 1965 Origin Story
- by Dope Pickleball
At a glance
Pickleball was invented in the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum are credited with developing the game, which began with a badminton court, table-tennis paddles, and a perforated plastic ball.
Its beginning was a family game assembled from the equipment available. The early players adjusted the setup and rules as they discovered what made a rally work.
Who invented pickleball, and how did it start?
Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell began playing at Pritchard's Bainbridge Island home after finding an incomplete set of badminton equipment. They improvised with paddles and a plastic ball. Barney McCallum joined the following weekend, and the three developed rules for a game their families could play together.
The net initially stood at badminton height. As players began using the ball's bounce on the asphalt surface, they lowered it and adapted the game. Those experiments helped turn familiar equipment into a different kind of rally.
How did pickleball develop after 1965?
USA Pickleball's history records several early milestones:
- 1965: the game begins on Bainbridge Island.
- 1967: the first permanent court built specifically for pickleball opens at the Pritchards' home in Seattle's Magnolia Bluff neighborhood.
- 1972: Pickle-Ball Inc. is formed.
- 1976: the first known tournament takes place in Tukwila, Washington.
- 1984: the first official rulebook is published.
The 1965 invention came before those organized courts and competitions. Keeping the dates separate makes the sport's growth easier to follow.
What connects the original game to today's pickleball?
Modern pickleball still uses a compact court, solid paddles, and a perforated plastic ball. Both singles and doubles use a 20-by-44-foot court, with a net 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches at the center.
The diagonal serve, two required opening bounces, and seven-foot non-volley zone give today's game a rhythm of its own. The pickleball and tennis comparison explains the practical differences.
The unusual name arrived early too. USA Pickleball credits Joan Pritchard's connection to a rowing “pickle boat”; the name-origin story explains the later dog tale.
If you are making your own first visit to a court, start with the five basic rules. They make the opening rally much easier to follow.
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