He’s Got Game: Milberry’s Double O Seven and His Mission to Create Community

Pops of pickleballs meeting paddles spill through the glass doors to the Millbury basketball court. It’s Saturday, Oct. 25, my one day off this week, and I’m up early and back at Parnassus for pickleball drop-ins. 

Some friends are milling about on the sidelines waiting for their turn on a court and in the middle of the gym, I see a familiar face. 

William O’Sullivan, who goes by Bill, is a long-time patron of the UCSF Gym and an institution within this campus’ mighty pickleball community. While he’s originally from Syracuse, New York, it’s hard to imagine a more San Francisco outfit. 

He donned a tie-dye bucket hat with a smiley face pin affixed to it, a shirt that said “Gunga Galunga” a reference to Bill Murray’s 1980 hit Caddyshack that unfortunately very few of us pick up on, and a black and orange San Francisco Giants paddle.

As we started talking, I asked about his original connection to UCSF. Bill explained he was a medical technician for the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Mount Zion before retiring in 2016. But the way he spoke about the Parnassus campus suggested a familiarity that goes beyond someone who passed by on an occasional shuttle ride during their 9-5. 

He talked about what a great area it is to live in, cited early print editions of Synapse from the 1970s, and reminisced on lining up to get the first Millberry Gym ID cards, which he then pulled out as proof. 

Below a picture that appeared to be of Bill in his thirties, his now-faded ID read William O’Sullivan “#007,” Milberry’s very own James Bond. 

Across the decades as a patron of the gym, Bill dabbled in various sporting communities: biking, softball, racquetball, squash, golf, and the list goes on. But after retirement, he discovered another sport while out in Golden Gate Park. 

He said he wasn’t immediately sold on the game, but was intrigued by the scrappy and enthusiastic crowd he stumbled on during a bike ride. 

“By the tennis courts, there were people playing pickleball in this little practice area that wasn't even large enough. They had a diagonal fence and there was all kinds of leaves and dirt there, and they didn't even clean it up, you know… I’m thinking huh this is a weird game.” But “they go, ‘you want to learn how to play pickleball?’” 

It wasn’t long before he was hooked. Eventually, more folks would stop, watch, and want to join. “That’s how they get you,” he said, “people are just very friendly.”

Throughout our conversation, it was clear his love of the sport took a backseat to his appreciation for the ultra-welcoming Golden Gate Pickleball community, which grew to include people of all ages, tourists, and even airline pilots on layovers. 

“One time I played with a guy, you know, I go, ‘Where'd you learn pickleball?’ He says, ‘San Quentin.’ I go ‘okay,’ and we play. That’s the kind of place it was.” 

During a recent extended hospital stay, Bill said people went out of their way to check on him and support him during his recovery. He described one 92-year-old friend from the pickleball community. 

“She’s very, very feisty. She has red spiked hair and was giving me a ride to the doctor and bringing over soup.” While he was in the hospital, he added, “people were calling me up, people from six years ago asking, ‘do you need anything?’”

Since COVID, he said, the community has remained strong but some original members moved away, and he has started playing in other places more regularly, including the UCSF Gym. 

Bill said he first started playing at UCSF on a half-court during basketball drop-ins. He persuaded people to play, including Anderson Giang, who goes by Ders, a physical therapy student at the time who now facilitates the pickleball recreational league games when he’s not providing PT to patients at San Francisco General Hospital. 

“I was always down to try pickleball,” Ders told me, “but I just didn’t know where to start because it was intimidating to show up to an outdoor court. But Bill saw me watching. Without me even having to ask, he showed me and would tell me what I could work on. And then I was hooked.”

By the end of our conversation, people were filing out to get lunch. But almost everyone had something they wanted to say about Bill. 

“Bill taught all of us how to play,” Colette Au said, pointing to the three people behind her. 

Even though he would deny it, Bill has become an informal leader and documentarian of these drop-ins. He’ll often show up with his digital camera in hand on a given Saturday then bring printed copies of photos the following week. Thanks to Bill, my own desk is lined with photos from various drop-ins with friends. 

Vincent Basas, current Co-President of UCSF’s Pickleball Club and medical student, said of all the pickleball communities he’s been a part of, UCSF’s is the warmest. 

“And that’s all thanks to Bill,” Vincent said. 

Like Bill, I love pickleball. And thanks to him, I have found a community, new teammates, and a way to make new friends that makes me appreciate the sport even more.