"July 1968: When Pickleball Became Official"

On July 16 in pickleball history, one notable milestone is the founding of Pickle Ball, Inc. back in February 1968, shortly after the sport’s creation. Although the exact date of incorporation isn’t July 16, the period around mid-July 1968 marks the crucial time when the founders Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum’s son David, and their friends formalized efforts to promote and commercialize pickleball[6].

This was a pivotal moment in pickleball’s evolution from a casual backyard pastime created in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, into a structured sport with its own identity and equipment. Before this, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum had invented the game, combining elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis to entertain their families on a summer day. They experimented with different rackets and balls, lowered the badminton net to hip height, and refined the rules through that first summer[2][6]. The naming story is also interesting because although many think the game is named after the family dog Pickles, it was actually named by Joan Pritchard after the "pickle boat," a term referring to leftover crew members in rowing races. The dog Pickles was born a few years later, in 1968, ironically named after the game itself[1].

Forming Pickle Ball, Inc. was the first step toward spreading the sport beyond their immediate community. The company sold the first sets of wooden paddles and equipment, making pickleball more accessible to others intrigued by the game. It set the foundation for the sport’s growth throughout the Pacific Northwest and later the rest of the United States as players and "snowbirds" brought it to warmer climates like Arizona, California, Florida, and Hawaii[3][6].

Today, pickleball is recognized as one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States. From those early days of tinkering in a Seattle basement workshop to national tournaments played by thousands, the legacy of the founding years—especially the institutionalizing step around 1968—remains fundamental. Pickleball’s community-focused ethos and the spirit of fun that led to the first gathering in 1965 continue to define the sport as it captivates millions of players across generations.

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