The “Father of Professional Pickleball” is honored by the award.
In an announcement made last week, John Gullo of Ogden, Utah has been named to the National Pickleball Hall of Fame! The honor will be granted to Gullo at a ceremony in Mesa, Arizona on November 14th. The location is yet to be determined.
You must sit back and really take a moment to totally comprehend the commitment John Gullo has made to the progression of Pickleball, not only in Utah but around the nation. It is NOT an exaggeration to say that without John Gullo’s vision, there is no way Professional Pickleball would be in today’s game.
John can easily be called “The Father of Professional Pickleball”. John was responsible for bringing Pickleball to Northern Utah.
“I am thrilled with this honor,” says Gullo. “The establishment of Pickleball in Utah and the inclusion of the professional element, through the first official paid tournaments held right in Ogden and Brigham City, Utah, established the game that has now become well-known worldwide and played in many neighborhoods and city parks around the world.”
John, who grew up in Buffalo, New York and later moved to Utah, personally paid for the first eight (8) pickleball courts in Ogden, Utah (The Gullo Pickleball Grotto) and helped with the construction of the first courts (later used in the Tournament of Champions) in Brigham City. John was instrumental in establishing Pickleball in over 10 cities in Utah. As a side note, there are now over 360 Pickleball courts in Northern Utah alone. He also assisted with the construction of courts in Wyoming and Mexico, all to teach and expand the game - especially for younger participants
Additionally, he funded paddles and nets in all the high school and junior high schools in the Ogden school district, along with Boys and Girls Club, YMCA and Youth Impact.
He did the same for many buildings used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and today you can find pickleball lines painted inside of many church gymnasiums.
John Gullo established the first Professional Pickleball Tournament, called the Tournament of Champions, in Ogden, then Brigham City, Utah. It was the first tournament to pay officials and house officials, and the first to live-stream pickleball tournaments.
He organized PPF — Professional Pickleball Federation, which brought nearly 300 professionals together and staged its first-ever professional tour. In its day, the Tournament of Champions was the highest-paying tournament for professionals. John Gullo’s American Dream Foundation was instrumental in allowing children and adolescents to play Pickleball in the sport’s earliest days. It also donated over $25,000 in scholarship funds for the Junior Play at T of C.
John also financed Pickleball Now, a paddle manufacturer later bought by Escalade Sports and became the Onix Brand.
Most recently, Mr. Gullo was the financial driving force behind the John Gullo Home for Children in El Cardonal, Baja California Sur. The home was built in partnership with Leaders2Give to help children build self-esteem and self-worth. John also bought an ambulance at the East Cape Medical Center and purchased a fire truck for that local community!
“Play Hard, work hard, and do something for your community.” That was John Gullo’s mantra and his love of the sport of Pickleball, joined with doing everything possible to help local communities, has led to an explosion in the popularity of Pickleball. Not bad at all for the son of Sicilian immigrants who grew up in Buffalo, New York.
