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

Pickleball is called pickleball because co-founder Joel Pritchard’s wife, Joan Pritchard, reportedly compared the new game to a “pickle boat” in rowing. A pickle boat used a mixed crew of leftover rowers, while the new paddle game combined ideas and equipment from several sports. The famous story that it was named after a dog called Pickles came later.

Why is it called pickleball?

The best-supported explanation is that pickleball was named after the rowing term “pickle boat.”

Pickleball was created during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum. The first version of the game used an existing badminton court, table tennis paddles, and a perforated plastic ball. The founders then developed their own rules as they played.

According to USA Pickleball, Joan Pritchard suggested the name “Pickle Ball” within days of the game being created. She connected the new sport with pickle boat races, where leftover non-starters from different rowing crews were grouped together.

The comparison fit because the new game was also assembled from different sporting elements, as reported by The Guardian. Early pickleball borrowed from badminton and table tennis while eventually developing equipment and rules of its own.

What is a pickle boat?

A pickle boat is a rowing term associated with a crew assembled from rowers who were not selected for the main boats.

Joan Pritchard was familiar with rowing. She attended Marietta College in Ohio, which had a strong crew program, and continued following rowing after moving to Washington.

USA Pickleball’s historical account states that non-starters from different universities took part in informal pickle boat races. Joan thought the newly created paddle game had a similar mixed character because it brought parts of other games together.

Merriam-Webster also supports this explanation. Its account says Joan proposed “pickle ball” because the sport combined leftover elements of other games in much the same way a pickle boat could contain leftover crew members.

That is why the word “pickle” has nothing to do with the food. No cucumbers, brine, or actual pickles were involved in creating the sport.

Was pickleball named after a dog?

There is a second, much more famous story: pickleball was named after the Pritchard family dog, Pickles, because the dog supposedly chased the ball during games.

The problem is the timeline.

USA Pickleball investigated the competing stories using family recollections, photographs, and interviews with people connected to the sport’s early years. Its account concludes that pickleball was named in 1965, while the Pritchard family acquired Pickles later.

According to Wikipedia, the Pritchards maintained that Pickles came after the game had already received its name and that the dog was named after pickleball.

If that timeline is correct, the sport could not have originally been named after the dog.

Instead, Pickles appears to have been named after the already-existing game.

The Lawn Tennis Association also describes the pickle boat explanation as the most widely accepted version and notes that the Pritchards later clarified that the dog was named after the sport.

Why did the dog story spread?

The dog story survived because it was simple, funny, and easy to remember.

USA Pickleball traces the confusion to an interview Joel Pritchard gave sometime between 1969 and the early 1970s. According to the organization’s historical account, Joel first explained the pickle boat origin and then jokingly suggested that the reporter could say the game had been named after the dog.

The dog explanation made a better short story, and it began circulating. Some people connected with early pickleball later repeated that version as well.

That left pickleball with two competing origin stories for decades.

Even historical sources have sometimes mentioned both. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary entry acknowledges the pickle boat explanation as well as the alternate claim involving Pickles, while noting the counterclaim that the dog itself was named after the sport.

Who invented the name pickleball?

Joan Pritchard is credited by USA Pickleball with proposing the name in 1965.

Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum are recognized as the three founders of the game itself. They began developing it after Joel and Bill returned to the Pritchard property and improvised a game on an old badminton court.

Joan’s role was different but lasting: she supplied the unusual name that eventually became attached to the sport worldwide.

The spelling also changed. Early accounts often wrote the name as “Pickle Ball.” Over time, the two words became the single word used today: pickleball.

Pickleball name FAQs

Did pickles inspire pickleball?

No. The food called a pickle did not directly inspire the sport’s name. The strongest historical account connects “pickle” with the rowing term “pickle boat.”

Was there really a dog named Pickles?

Yes. The Pritchard family really did have a dog named Pickles. Historical accounts place the dog’s arrival after the game had already been created and named.

When was pickleball invented?

Pickleball was invented in the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum developed the game using improvised equipment before establishing more formal rules.

Who came up with pickleball’s name?

Joan Pritchard is credited with coming up with “Pickle Ball.” She reportedly thought the mixture of sporting elements resembled a rowing pickle boat made up of leftover crew members.

The story behind the name

So, why is it called pickleball? The strongest evidence points to Joan Pritchard and the rowing term “pickle boat,” not the family dog. Pickles was real, but the historical timeline indicates that the unusual sports name came first.