When Was Pickleball Invented? The 1965 Origin Story and Full Timeline

Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum. The three friends improvised the game with ping-pong paddles, a perforated plastic ball, and a lowered badminton net — all to entertain bored kids one summer afternoon.

What began as a backyard family game grew into the fastest-growing sport in America by the 2020s.

When Was Pickleball Invented Quick Facts

Before getting into the detail, here is the snapshot:

Pickleball is now an official state sport, an official college sport, and one of the fastest-growing sports globally.

Who Invented Pickleball?

Three Washington State men created pickleball in the summer of 1965. Joel Pritchard was a state legislator who would later serve in the U.S. Congress and as Washington's lieutenant governor. Bill Bell was a successful businessman and Pritchard's family friend. Barney McCallum joined the following weekend and helped formalize the rules. The trio is now memorialized at the Pickleball Hall of Fame and on commemorative plaques on Bainbridge Island, where the original Pritchard family court still stands. All three founders have since passed away, but the sport they created keeps spreading.

How Pickleball Was Actually Invented

After playing golf one Saturday during the summer of 1965, Pritchard and Bell returned to Pritchard's home on Bainbridge Island to find the families bored. They went looking for badminton equipment to use the family's old badminton court but couldn't find a full set of rackets.

They improvised — table tennis paddles and a perforated plastic ball — and started volleying over the badminton net at its standard 60-inch height. As they kept playing, they noticed the plastic ball bounced well on the asphalt court, so they lowered the net to 36 inches and let the ball bounce.

That single decision — letting the ball bounce — turned the activity from a soft volley game into a tennis-style sport with hard strokes and strategy. The next weekend, McCallum joined and helped finalize the early rules, according to Wikipedia.

How Pickleball Got Its Name

Two competing origin stories exist for the name "pickleball." The first, attributed to Joan Pritchard (Joel's wife), says she called it pickleball because the mix of borrowed elements from different sports reminded her of the "pickle boat" in crew rowing — a non-competitive boat made up of leftover oarsmen.

The second story, told by Barney McCallum, says the game was named after the Pritchard family dog Pickles, who chased and ran off with the balls. USA Pickleball investigated both theories and determined the dog Pickles was actually born in 1968 — three years after the game was invented — which means the dog was likely named after the game, not the other way around. The pickle-boat origin is now considered the more probable story.

The Pickleball Timeline (1965 to Today)

Author Note: The timeline above synthesizes records from USA Pickleball, the PPA Tour, Wikipedia, and Washington State Magazine. All key dates are corroborated across at least three sources.

Why Pickleball Took Off When It Did

Pickleball spread slowly for its first 40 years — confined mostly to the Pacific Northwest, retirement communities, and snowbird towns in Arizona, Florida, and California. The explosion came in the early 2020s. Participation in pickleball more than tripled, reaching 13.6 million U.S. players in 2023, data from Statista shows.

Three drivers fueled the surge: the COVID-19 pandemic created demand for outdoor, socially-distanced sports; equipment became cheap and accessible (any tennis or badminton court could be converted with paint and a portable net); and professional leagues (PPA Tour, Major League Pickleball) launched in 2019 and brought celebrity investors like LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Patrick Mahomes — bringing media attention and legitimacy.

Pickleball's Cultural Impact

Pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington in 2022, with Governor Jay Inslee signing the legislation on the original Pritchard family court. Pickleball has become a competitive college sport, with the National Collegiate Pickleball Association founded in 2023 and the Collegiate Pickleball Tour launching in 2025.

The sport is no longer the "old people's tennis" stereotype — over 90% of professional pickleball players have a tennis background, and the sport is growing fastest among players under 35.

Conclusion

Pickleball was invented in 1965 by three Washington friends improvising a game for their bored kids. Sixty years later, it's the fastest-growing sport in America — and still expanding worldwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was pickleball invented?

Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum.

Who invented pickleball?

Three friends — Washington congressman Joel Pritchard, businessman Bill Bell, and friend Barney McCallum — created the game one summer afternoon in 1965.

Why is it called pickleball?

Most likely after the "pickle boat" in crew rowing — a boat of leftover oarsmen, mirroring how the game borrowed pieces of badminton, tennis, and table tennis.

Where is pickleball most popular today?

The U.S., where 19.8 million people play, plus growing leagues in Australia, the UK, India, and Spain.

When did pickleball become a professional sport?

Professional tours and leagues launched in 2019, and competitive college pickleball followed in 2022.