Let’s set the scene. It’s the summer of 1965, you and your two friends return to your home on Bainbridge Island and your families are sitting around with nothing to do. You walk in the door and are immediately bombarded by your kids: “Daaaaad, I’m bored,” “Daaaaad, let’s play.” Yes – you’re the dad in this scene. So, you, being the MacGyver of Bainbridge Island, look outside and see three things; a Badminton court (because you’re crazy rich, apparently), ping-pong paddles, and a couple of whiffle balls. What do you do? You put them together. That, my friends, is how Pickleball was invented.
You know what’s even cooler, though? How the name was invented. Okay, okay, so if you look it up on the ol’ Google machine, there are a few conflicting theories on how the name was invented. I personally choose to believe this one, because, well, you’ll see.
The family that invented the game had a dog named Pickles. That’s right, A DOG NAMED PICKLES. You can’t beat that cuteness. Anyway, it’s said that Pickles used to steal the whiffle ball from the kids if it ever went out of play so, when they were trying to come up with the name of the game, Pickleball was an obvious choice.
If you’re a total history nut, you can read more on how this game went from someone’s backyard to a sport played all over North America here.
Also, purely for your enjoyment, here is a song called the Pickleball Blues, or, better yet, the Pickleball Boogie-Blues. Enjoy.
