If you’re like many pickleball players, your first thought when hearing about the game of pickleball was probably: What is pickleball?
And, from the first time you played, we’re sure that was closely followed by “Why is it called pickleball?” or “how did pickleball get its funny name?”
You’re probably familiar with some of the quirky pickeball terminology by now. But what about the name of the game itself?
There are several theories surrounding the name pickleball and where it came from. Was America’s newest racquet sport named after the founder’s dog? Was it originally played with a pickle instead of a plastic ball?
In this article, we’ll answer the question that every player has asked at some point: why oh why is it called pickleball? And how did this relatively new sport get its quirky name?
So… why is it called pickleball?
The short answer is this: pickleball is called pickleball because the game’s founder, Joel Pritchard, wanted the game to have a silly name. After all, he established pickleball to be a light-hearted family game.
The ball part speaks for itself because it’s played with a ball! Nowadays, there are even specific balls available for outdoor play and indoor games.
However, as far as the reasoning behind the word “pickle,” there are a few different stories.
We don’t know for sure why he chose to use the word “pickle”, but in this article, we’ll explore the theories surrounding the origin of the name pickleball. In the end, you can decide which one is your favorite!
How Pickleball Got Its Name
When you research pickleball, you’ll quickly find two main theories about how the name came about.
One is that the game was named after the family dog, Pickles, and the other is that it’s named after the mashup of rowers in a boat who didn’t make the first team line-up.
Nobody can say for sure why the Pritchard family members called it pickleball. At this point, it’s become a sort of urban legend, so we can really only speculate.
I’ll explore the two leading theories down below.
Nobody can say for sure why the Pritchard family members called it pickleball. At this point, it’s become a sort of urban legend, so we can really only speculate.
I’ll explore the two leading theories down below.
The Pickleball Dog Theory: The Story of Pickles the Cockapoo
It’s said that Pritchard named the sport after his cockapoo puppy – a mix between a cocker spaniel and a poodle – which, as you’ve probably guessed by now, was called Pickles.
Pickles was said to have a habit of picking up the ball and running off the pickeball court with it in the middle of games.
Although sworn to be true by members of the other families on holiday with the Pritchards, this story is disputable.
Some claim that Pickles, the dog, was actually named after the game instead of the other way around.
In fact, according to Joan Pritchard, Pickles only became part of the family about two years after the game was invented.
We’ll never really know which came first, the dog Pickles or the pickleball game!
The Pickleball Boat Theory, Pioneered by Joan Pritchard
The second story about why it’s called pickleball also takes us to Pritchard’s home and family yet again. This time, the focus is on his wife.
Pritchard’s wife, Joan, is noted to have been a competitive rower and the second theory is that she named the game after a “pickle boat.”
In sailing or rowing, a pickle boat, she explained, is a boat compiled of a mismatched crew of rowers who weren’t picked for the starting team.
In sailing, the pickle boat is the one that comes last in a race. This is said to be a term coined in fishing fleets for the boat that stayed at sea, “pickling” the catch with brine while the other ships sailed to shore.
This is a solid contender with the dog theory considering the hodgepodge nature of the game’s origins, and how it was basically thrown together using rules and instruments from other sports.
The details on this theory are a little fuzzy, though. Some sources say Joan wasn’t herself a rower, just an avid fan of her university’s rowing team.
More About the Origins of Pickleball
This story takes place in the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington – now the famous birthplace of pickleball.
It was here, during summer vacations, that pickleball was created by Washington State Congressman Joel Pritchard and his friends Barney McCallum and William Bell – or Bill Bell, as he was more commonly known – to combat a bout of boredom on holiday.
It was to be a game that would take 20 minutes to learn and that anyone could play – kids on holiday, adults in the city, anyone. Twenty-five years later, pickleball is a competitive sport with tournament participants of all skill levels ranging in age from 8 to 80, from the United States to England to the United Arab Emirates.
How Did Pickleball Originate?
Pickleball originated as a combination of different sports, including tennis, racquetball, and ping-pong.
The story is that the creators improvised a game using mismatched equipment they had available on their property. This included an old badminton court and table tennis paddles.
This would explain why the game is played on a badminton-sized court using paddles that are more similar to ping pong.
Players use a pickleball paddle and a wiffle ball, but the size of the court and pickleball net height are typically smaller than a tennis court and tennis net.
Some rules are also outside of what you’d expect in a standard sports guidebook – for example, the non-volley zone is more commonly called the kitchen.
When you consider the sheer amount of sources this sport drew inspiration from, the boat story about how pickleball got its name would appear to make more sense than the dog story.
The name of the sport would be an ode to taking bits and pieces and putting them all together into one strange and beautiful sport, as one does with a ragtag team in a pickle boat.
Like most other sports, pickleball can be played by all age groups, and that’s another feature of pickleball that makes it more eclectic than most sports. It was created to entertain a mixed batch of people in one game (and it certainly does!).
In this way, you could compare pickleball to beach volleyball or rock climbing!
How Did Pickleball Take Off as a Sport?
Pickleball took off as a sport due to its simplicity and family-friendly nature.
Initially drawn in by the peculiar naming conventions of the sport, people stay for everything else it has to offer.
Pickleball is a very affordable activity that has spread quickly through community centers, parks, physical education programs, and even retirement communities.
Is Pickleball As Fun as the Name Suggests?
Pickleball is as fun as the name suggests if you enjoy racquet and paddle-based sports. Even if you don’t play any other sports, it’s easy to get started in pickleball!
The equipment and gameplay are just as fun and peculiar as the name, and players have described it as addictive because of the physical and social aspects.
Pickleball is easy to learn, even more so because of how friendly the community is.
Why Did the Name Pickleball Stick?
Whether you’re surprised or not, there’s no denying that the unusual name of the sport didn’t hold pickleball back.
Pickleball is a name that has passed the test of time, and it isn’t hard to see why.
The game and community are fun and diverse and don’t take themselves too seriously, which is another reason why pickleball continues to be the fastest growing sport in the USA.
As big as pickleball has gotten as an international sport, it’s never grown too big for its humble and light-hearted beginnings.
Conclusion: why is it called pickleball?
How pickleball got its name isn’t as clear-cut as some would hope.
Many will say that it got its name from the family dog, whereas others suggest the name came from a term commonly used in sailing or rowing.
Regardless of which pickleball name story is true, the name pickleball seems to perfectly fit the odd and random nature of the game itself.
The growing availability of the sport makes it an easy, affordable option for the whole family.