Pickleball Royalty Rolls Through

The president of the Pickleball Hall of Fame rode a bicycle into La Grange Wednesday as part of a 3,000 mile trek across America to raise funds for the Hall’s construction.

Seymour “Rif ” Rifkind, a 70-year-old multi-sport athlete, is perhaps the biggest promoter of the unusually-named sport. Pickleball combines elements of tennis, ping-pong and Badminton. It’s one of the fastest-growing sports in America, which Rifkind attributed to the game’s easy-to-learn fundamentals. The game started in the 1960s in the Pacific Northwest and spread South with retirees moving to the Sun Belt. From there, it has gained popularity across America and even some foreign countries. In recent years, a group of younger, highly competitive players have pushed the sport to even greater heights. Today, there are professional pickleball players who compete for prize money at tournaments such as the US Open Pickleball Championship.

Rifkind and a group of pickleball supporters founded the Pickleball Hall of Fame in 2017.

“I think its important to have a place where people who are new to the game can come and learn about the history of the game, where we came from, and where we’re going tomorrow,” Rifkind said when the Record caught up with him on Monday.

The hall of fame will be located at the Pickle Ranch in Austin, a new 32-court pickleball club set to open this summer at 9110 Bluff Springs Road. The club also features a live music venue, beach volleyball courts, food trucks, full service bar and areas for bocce, cornhole, table tennis and other yard games.

The hall of fame will be located inside a 1,800 sq. ft. building on the Pickle Ranch grounds. Rifkind said his organization has the funds to construct the building, but they are seeking donations to furnish the interior.

“We want the interior to match the quality of what you would see at a really cool sports museum,” Rifkind said.

Rifkind set off on his bike ride from San Diego, Calif., on Feb. 27 to raise awareness about his organization and their fundraising effort. He plans to arrive in St. Augustine, Florida, on April 12. He’s been stopping to talk to folks about the sport and the hall of fame in small towns and cities along the way. To donate, visit https://pickleballhalloffame.com and click the donate button at the top of the page. You can also keep up with Rif’s progress by clicking the “Follow #rifsride” button on the homepage.

“I think it’s so important that we honor the great players and supporters of this game,” Rifkind said.

Where did that funny name come from?

According to USA Pickleball, the sport’s governing body in America, the game started in 1965 in Bainbridge Island, Washington, near Seattle. The official history from the organization states the following:

“After playing golf one Saturday during the summer, Joel Pritchard, congressman from Washington State and Bill Bell, successful businessman, returned to Pritchard’s home on Bainbridge Island, WA to find their families sitting around with nothing to do. The property had an old Badminton court so Pritchard and Bell looked for some Badminton equipment and could not find a full set of rackets. They improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. At first they placed the net at Badminton height of 60 inches and volleyed the ball over the net. As the weekend progressed, the players found that the ball bounced well on the asphalt surface and soon the net was lowered to 36 inches. The following weekend, Barney McCallum was introduced to the game at Pritchard’s home. Soon, the three men created rules, relying heavily on Badminton. They kept in mind the original purpose, which was to provide a game that the whole family could play together.”

According to oral lore passed between players over the years, the game was named after the Pritchard family’s pet dog “Pickles.” However, Joel Pritchard’s wife Joan wrote a newspaper column in 2008 for the Parkersburg (West Virginia) News Sentinel dispelling that theory.

“The name of the game became Pickle Ball, after I said it reminded me of the Pickle Boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats,” she wrote. “Somehow the idea the name came from our dog Pickles was attached to the naming of the game, but Pickles wasn’t on the scene for two more years. The dog was named for the game, but stories about the name’s origin were funnier thinking the game was named for the dog.”