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Pickleball Hall of Fame

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Pickleball Hall of Fame (PHOF)
Map
Established2017
LocationAustin, Texas, United States
Coordinates30°16′34″N 97°45′57″W / 30.276213°N 97.765877°W / 30.276213; -97.765877
TypeProfessional sports hall of fame; museum
FounderSeymour Rifkind
PresidentStu Upson
Websitehttps://pickleballhalloffame.com/

The Pickleball Hall of Fame (PHOF) was established to recognize individuals that have made significant contributions to, or achievements in, the sport of pickleball. Individuals may be recognized as competitors, contributors or both. This includes competitors who have achieved exceptional results in their pickleball careers and other people that have made exceptional contributions to the growth, development and leadership of the game. For competitors to be considered they must have dominated competition for at least a five-year period. Contributors are those who, over a 5-year period, have made significant national or international contributions to the sport.[1]

History

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The PHOF was established by Seymore Rifkind in 2017.[2] The original sponsors of the PHOF were the International Pickleball Teaching Professionals Association (IPTPA), USAPA, Pickleball Central, Pickleball Magazine, and Pickleball Channel. The first six inductees took place in November 2017, but the organization currently strives to induct about 4 new members each year.[3] In February and March 2021 Seymour Rifkind, at the age of 70, rode his bicycle over 3000 miles, form San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida, to bring attention to the sport of pickleball, and raise funds for the Pickleball Hall of Fame.[4][5]

In September 2021 USA Pickleball established its own hall of fame named the USA Pickleball Hall of Fame and Museum.[6] After significant pushback from the pickleball community, USA Pickleball reached an agreement to unify the two Hall of Fame organizations under one independent not-for-profit organization.[2][7]

Museum

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When the PHOF was first established, a collection of pickleball related historic materials were stored in a warehouse, operated by PickleballCentral, in Kent, Washington.[8] In 2020 Seymour Rifkind announced that a permanent home for a pickleball museum would be built in Austin, Texas at the Austin Pickle Ranch. The following year Rifkind made his cross-country bike ride to raise funds for the new facility.[9] As of March 2025 neither the PHOF website or Austin Pickle Ranch provide any information regarding the status of the museum.

Inductees

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Name Inducted Type Native Country Hometown Contribution
Bill Bell 2020 Contributor  United States Van Wert, OH One of the three creators of the game, and passionate promotor. Acted as the first ambassador for Pickle-Ball, Inc.
Keith Bisel 2021 Contributor  United States Bradford, PA Known as "The Pied Piper of Pickleball". For over 28 years introduced pickleball to thousands of people at RV resorts. One time USAPA National Champion. The original Pickleball Ambassador.
Bill Booth 2023 Contributor  Canada Windsor, ON Six-year member of the USA Pickleball Board of Directors. Created the first online store for pickleball products and the initial software used by USA Picklball to manage memberships, rankings, places to play and tournaments. Was instrumental in developing the first portable pickleball net and the first USA Pickleball Rulebook.[10]
Mona Burnett 2023 Competitor  Canada Calgary, Alberta Won 150 medals in her career, including 75 gold medals.[10]
Norm Davis 2022 Contributor  United States Pontiac, MI Original member of USAPA Board. Instrumental in promoting pickleball in public schools, initiating the USAPA Grant Program and establishing equipment standards. Consolidated the Places to Play database.[11]
Jennifer Dawson 2023 Competitor  United States San Diego, CA The first ever triple crown winner, winning singles, doubles and mixed doubles in the 2017 Minto US Open.[10]
Mark Friedenberg 2017 Contributor & Competitor  United States Hollywood, CA Co-founder and first president of USAP, and author of The Official Pickleball Handbook and Winning Pickleball.
Daniel Gabanek 2019 Competitor  Czechoslovakia Bratislava Dominant men's player between 1988 and 2014 when he was ranked #1 nationally in men's singles, earning 21 gold medals. He was also ranked #1 in men's doubles winning about 60 gold medals. A four-time national champion and four-time runner up.[12]
Wes Gabrielsen 2022 Competitor  United States Salem, OR Winner of 11 USAPA National titles and 6 Canadian National Championships, including the triple crown in 2015. Founding member of the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA).[11]
John Gulo 2024 Contributor  United States Known as "The father of professional pickleball" and founder of the Professional Pickleball Federation and the Tournament of Champions.[13][14]
Jim Hackenberg 2020 Competitor  United States Kalamazoo, MI Former USA Pickleball Ambassador and rules committee member. Founding member of IPTPA. President of Kalamazoo Pickleball Outreach.
Yvonne Hackenberg 2021 Competitor  United States Kalamazoo, MI Founding member of IPTPA. Co-founder of Kalamazoo Pickleball Outreach and the PHOF. Numerous National and Regional pickleball titles.
Alex Hamner 2020 Competitor  United States Loma Linda, CA Co-author of "Around the Post" column in Pickleball Magazine. Tournament commentator and contributor to the PickleballChannel. Founding member of the IPTPA. 2014 Pickleball Rocks player of the year.
Earl Hill 2018 Contributor  Canada Arborfield, Saskatchewan Original member of the USAPA Board. Founded the Ambassador program. Multiyear USAPA National Champion, winning gold in Men's Doubles three times between 2009 and 2014.[15]
Billy Jacobsen 2017 Competitor  United States Seattle, WA Contributed to the development of early rules, especially pertaining to tournaments.
Simone Jardim 2024 Competitor  Brazil Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul A dominant women's professional player from 2016 to 2023, including two triple crowns.[13]
Pat Kane 2022 Competitor  United States San Diego, CA A dominant men's player from 1991 to 2019. Winner of over 288 medals, including 15 Nationals titles. Helped develop the original USAPA rulebook.[11]
Robert (Bob) Lanius 2018 Contributor  United States Dallas, TX Created the software that supports the PickleballTournaments.com website and created one of the first pickleball club websites featuring news, places to play and tournaments.[15]
Gigo LeMaster 2021 Competitor  Belgium USA Pickleball Ambassador and Certified Referee. Many years participating and contributing to various pickleball training and tournament activities support activities.
Jennifer Lucore 2019 Competitor  United States California A domimant women's player between 2010 and 2019, winning 17 USAPA Nationals gold, 11 Canadian nationals, and numerous other national and international titles. Co-authored with Beverly Youngren, History of Pickleball – More Than 50 Years of Fun!.[12]
Hilary Hilton Marold 2020 Competitor  United States Pacific Palisades, CA Helped spread the sport internationally. Founding member of the Professional Pickleball Federation in 2015. Contributing member to the World Pickleball Federation.
Barney McCallum 2017 Contributor  United States Davenport, WA One of the three original developers of the sport.
Larry Moon 2022 Competitor  United States Coalinga, CA Sixteen-time Nationals champion. Triple crown winner in 2016 and 2017.[11]
Scott Moore 2023 Competitor  United States Fort Worth, TX Won the USA Pickleball National Championship in 12 consecutive events from 2015 to 2017. A 12-time US Open Champion, 7-time Senior Pro triple crown winner, and a 10-time Tournament of Champions winner. Co-founded Pickleball Trips and the High Performance Pickleball Academy. First player to ever win Senior Pro and Super Senior Pro Gold medals in the same tournament at the 2022 Mesa APP Open.[10]
Fran Myer 2018 Contributor  United States Seattle, WA Original member of the USAPA Board. Created Pickleball Stuff, the first website to provide information and sell pickleball equipment from all vendors. Co-directed the first three USAPA national tournaments from 2009 to 2011. Since 1988 she has won around 200 medals in various tournaments, including age group silver medals for USAPA Nationals Singles in 2012 and 2016, USAPA National Mixed Doubles Champion in 2009 and a 3-time gold medalist at the National Senior Games.[15]
Arlen Paranto 2017 Contributor  United States Mott, ND Developed the first lightweight non-wood composite paddle.
Steve Paranto 2019 Contributor  United States Seattle, WA Co-developer of the first non-wood composite paddle. Competed at the Open 5.0 level from 1974 to 2019, longer than any other play. Taught, Coached, and directed tournaments for over 30 years.[12]
Joel Pritchard 2017 Contributor  United States Seattle, WA Inventor and "Father of Pickleball".
Seymour Rifkind 2023 Contributor  United States Riverwoods, IL Founder of the Pickleball Hall of Fame and the first teaching organization in the sport of pickleball, the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA). Rifkind also founded the World Pickleball Federation, an International Governing Body for the sport.[10][16]
Enrique Ruiz 2019 Competitor  Mexico San Miguel, Sonora Dominance in the sport for over 25 years. Ten-time national champion, five-time champion of international indoor championships and three-time winner of tournament of champions. Ambassador of the sport in the northwest for many years.[12]
Sid Williams 2017 Contributor  United States Tacoma, WA Co-founder and early president of USAP.
Steve Wong 2021 Competitor  Cambodia Phnom Penh Helped organize USAPA and served at first webmaster. Founded S-Type Sports, now Onix Sports. Established Armour Pickleball.
Kyle Yates 2024 Competitor  United States Florida A dominant men's professional pickleball player from 2014 to 2018.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Guidelines For Entry Into The The Pickleball Hall of Fame". pickleballhalloffame.com. Pickleball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 28, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Mackie, Brandon (November 13, 2022). "Pickleball hall of fame - the 5 greatest names on the list". pickleheads.com. Dink Technologies, Inc. Archived from the original on January 22, 2025. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  3. ^ "Pickleball Hall of Fame". USAPickleball.org. USA Pickleball. Archived from the original on March 6, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  4. ^ "Riding for a purpose". fredericksburgstandard.com. Fredericksburg Standard. March 24, 2021. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  5. ^ Myer, Fran (May 2021). "Putting Mind and Body to the Test for the Pickleball Hall of Fame" (PDF). pickleballfire.com. Pickleball Fire. pp. 20–21. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  6. ^ "USA Pickleball Announces USA Pickleball Hall of Fame and Museum". usapickleball.org. USA Pickleball. September 2, 2021. Archived from the original on January 22, 2025. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  7. ^ "Pickleball Hall of Fame Announces Formal Unification with USA Pickleball". usapickleball.org. USA Pickleball. April 19, 2023. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  8. ^ "Pickleball Hall of Fame". pickleballcentral.com. PickleballCentral.com. July 18, 2017. Archived from the original on March 18, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  9. ^ St. Aude, Melissa (March 5, 2021). "70-year-old man rides through CG on cross-country trek to raise money for pickleball museum". pinalcentral.com. Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. Archived from the original on March 18, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Pickleball Hall of Fame Announces 2023 Inductee Class". usapickleball.org. USA Pickleball. August 25, 2023. Archived from the original on January 16, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d Shields, Thomas (November 23, 2022). "Introducing Pickleball Hall of Fame's 2022 Inductees". thedinkpickleball.com. The Dink. Archived from the original on October 8, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d "Pickleball Hall of Fame Inductees Class of 2019". usapickleball.org. USA Pickleball. November 22, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2025. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c Flamm, Jason (September 4, 2024). "Kyle Yates, Simone Jardim and John Gullo Earn Pickleball Hall of Fame Inductions". thedinkpickleball.com. The Dink. Archived from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  14. ^ Bhattacharyya, Debayan (September 8, 2024). "Meet John Gullo, 'The Father Of Professional Pickleball' Inducted Into Pickleball Hall Of Fame 2024". timesnownews.com. Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited. Archived from the original on October 10, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c Howes, Meredith (November 6, 2018). "Pickleball Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee Ceremony Dinner". pickleballchannel.com. Pickleball Channel. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  16. ^ "Chicago-area man inducted into 2023 Pickleball Hall of Fame". fox32chicago.com. Fox 32 Chicago. September 2, 2023. Archived from the original on September 16, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
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