Everything you need to know (and more!) about pickleball
You know that scene in the second Matrix movie in which we’re watching the Matrix about to be demolished by the Earth bending into a sphere? That’s what’s going on here. Punt, pass and run.
For at least the next hundred years, you will be able to have pickleball. You might also get to watch it if you are in the same state. The two states are almost the same, actually.
It just isn’t called pickleball in any of the states I’ve visited and I’ve been to nearly every state in the union. The word, in its current meaning is derived from the English word pickle. A pickle was a food, usually preserved in vinegar, made from cucumbers.
The origin of the modern game is unknown. There is a suggestion that it might have been a sport played in London, England to amuse children in the early 18th century.
The first record of pickleball being played anywhere in the United States was on May 4, 1863, in a game, presumably as a form of recreation, that was played between a large number of men (presumably military, at the time) at the Camp of the United States in the New York City area.
The game was played in a form of soccer using the ball, as in the French and Italian versions. The rules were set up by Frederick Stearns, a lawyer who served as the city’s police superintendent and as a state Senator.
The New York Daily Times covered one of the first games, from August 2-11, 1863, and reported on the game between a team from New Jersey and the team from New York. The newspaper noted that the New Jerseyers had used white balls.
From the 1860s to the 1920s, the game was dominated by three men from the United States. These were the three biggest players of the game: Edward Wilbur and William Wright, better known as “Black” Wilbur, and James A. “Bugs” Good.