Why Is It Called Pickleball? The Real Story Behind the Name

Key takeaway: Pickleball was invented in 1965, and its odd name has two competing origin stories: the "pickle boat" theory (a rowing term for a crew thrown together from leftovers, coined by co-founder Joel Pritchard's wife Joan) and the "Pickles the dog" theory (the family dog who allegedly stole the ball). The pickle boat story has the stronger evidence – the dog, it turns out, came later and was named after the game.

First: how pickleball was invented

Summer 1965, Bainbridge Island, Washington. Congressman Joel Pritchard and his friends Bill Bell and Barney McCallum came home to bored families and an old badminton court – but couldn't find a full set of rackets. So they improvised: table tennis paddles, a perforated plastic ball, and the badminton net lowered to hip height. Rules evolved over the following weekends into the game now played by millions. (New to it? Start with what is pickleball?)

Theory one: the pickle boat

Joan Pritchard, Joel's wife, was a competitive rower. In rowing, the pickle boat is the crew cobbled together from leftover oarsmen – the ones who didn't make the first or second boats. A sport cobbled together from leftover equipment of three other sports? Joan said the name fit perfectly, and family accounts date her coining of "pickleball" to 1965, the summer of invention.

Theory two: Pickles the dog

The more famous story: the Pritchards' cockapoo, Pickles, kept running off with the ball, so the game was named after the dog. It's the version most players know and most clubs print on their welcome posters. There's just one problem…

The verdict: the dog was named after the game

Researchers (including USA Pickleball's own historians) tracked down the timeline: Pickles the dog didn't join the Pritchard family until around 1968 – three years after the game was invented and named. The dog was named after the game, not the other way round. The Pritchard family has confirmed as much in interviews. The pickle boat story wins – though "named after a dog" is admittedly better marketing, which is probably why it refuses to die.

Why the name stuck (and why it's actually perfect)

Silly name, serious growth. The name gets a laugh at every dinner party, and that tiny moment of curiosity – "sorry, pickleball?" – has probably recruited more new players than any advert. A sport built from borrowed kit, named after a boat of leftovers, that now fills purpose-built stadiums: the name is the origin story.

And in the spirit of a sport that never took itself too seriously, we'd argue your kit shouldn't either – that's rather the point of AIXO's colour-clash paddles like the Lucky Cat and Spaceballs.

FAQ

Was pickleball really named after a dog?

No – the timeline doesn't work. Pickles the dog arrived around 1968; the game was named in 1965. The dog was named after the game.

What is a pickle boat?

In rowing, the boat crewed by leftover rowers who didn't make the main crews. Joan Pritchard felt the improvised, borrowed-from-everywhere game deserved the same name.

Who invented pickleball?

Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, on Bainbridge Island, Washington, in the summer of 1965.

What was pickleball almost called?

Early on the game had no formal name at all – "pickleball" spread through the families and neighbours who played it, and by the time the first rulebook was written it had stuck.

Gear up with AIXO

However it got its name, it's a brilliant game. Play it in style:

• AIXO Ghost Lucky Cat – the paddle Pickles would have stolen first
• AIXO Scorpion Country Club – 3K carbon, USAPA approved
• AIXO Reaper Tiger King – 18K carbon flagship

Or browse the full AIXO pickleball paddle collection.