Pickleball is a Popular Sport Powered By Beta Theta Pi Gamma Theta

Bark if you like Pickleball :)

Joel Pritchard, born May 5, 1925, graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1944. When he graduated, did his classmates realize he would become a remarkable politician and inventor? Most are not around to ask. Joel served two years in the Army and attended Marietta College, far from home. In Ohio for one year, and returned to Seattle to work for Griffin Envelope.

He soon became president of the company. While working at the envelope company, he attended the Republican National Convention. Convention in 1958, where they nominated Dwight D Eisenhower for president. He then ran for and served in the Washington House of Representatives from 1959 to 1967. Next, he was elected to the Washington State Senate (36th Joel Prichard District) for one term. In 1972, he ran for the US House of Representatives a second time and won. He was then easily reelected and served there until 1985. He next sought the position of Lieutenant Governor of Washington, was elected in 1988, and served until 1997, two terms.

In about 1965, he owned a summer home on Bainbridge Island, where he and his family would spend the summers. But you know how kids moan and complain that they are bored? His kids were super bored with swimming in the Sound, walking on the beach, biking around the island, and playing in the sun. Poor kids. Joel joined together with two island friends,  Bill Bell and Magnolia resident Barney McCallum (McCallum/Seattle Envelope). There was a badminton court available where they lowered the net. In the garage, using some spare plywood, they constructed some paddles like large ping-pong paddles, and using a Nerf ball, they created a game combining tennis with ping-pong that they soon called Pickleball. Named after the Pritchards' dog, Pickle, who chased after the Nerf ball.

That was 1965. It has taken some time, but by 2020, Pickleball had become the fastest-growing sport in the United States. Its popularity stems from the fact that learning the game is quick, and it is now growing outside the United States.

So, a fun new sport was invented by a Queen Anne graduate, a politician, and his summer friends who were Betas at WSU. This made 820 NE Linden St. one of the first Pickleball courts in Eastern WA.