History of Pickleball: More Than 50 Years of Fun!

by Jennifer Lucore, Beverly Youngren

WINNER National Indie Excellence Awards - 2020

Are you curious about how pickleball came to be or how the sport got such a funny name? Do you know what caused pickleball to become the fastest growing sport in America and what people and events helped spark this growth? Do you wonder how the rules were determined or why the court is the size it is? Be fascinated by the stories of founders Barney McCallum, Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell. History of More Than 50 Years of Fun! has these answers and many more! Authors Jennifer (daughter/Pickleball Hall of Fame 2019 Inductee) and Beverly (mother/one of the first USAPA Ambassadors) have spent three years researching and gathering stories from pioneers of the sport, as well as pulling from their personal experiences to bring you a fascinating compilation of pickleball history. Chapter titles The Summer of 65; Playing on the Early Courts and Growth; Pickle-Ball, The Corporation; Pukaball – Early Years on Maui; Washington; Trade Shows; The Name (of course!); Paddles; Balls and Nets; Rules; Florida; U.S.A.P.A.; Arizona; Tournaments; Pickleball Around the World; Health Facts; and much more!
USA Pickleball "A book is as vital to our game as the paddle, ball, net , lines and third shot - Jennifer Lucore and Beverly Youngren have given us the story of our game's history." Enjoy.

191 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2018

Reviews

[Marc]

Great background and personal stories of how pickleball grew into such a popular sport. The authors had great access to some of the key people and also very practical explanations of the basics, which was very useful.

[Rick]

Obviously, you need to be a fan of the game to truly enjoy this book but if you are it's a lot of fun learning about it's growth and the people responsible for it. And as an extra bonus you get info how it got it's name. This was definitely for the fun of it read.

[Candace]

It was a good idea to write this book before those involved in the early development of the game are gone; but like most history books, parts are interesting and parts are dry.

[Jane]

Thanks Jennifer and Beverly for writing this great book about the history of pickleball. Enjoyed meeting you at the US open 2018 and buying an autographed copy of your book.

For diehard pickballers this is a great and interesting read. What a great way to preserve the history of pickleball.

For others interested in sports or history this a great read to show how a backyard family game can become the fastest growing sport in North America and all over the world!