First and foremost, we're not debating whether ham and pineapple belong on a pizza. Sam Panopoulos immigrated to Canada from Greece in 1954. In Chatham, Ontario, he worked as a cook at the Satellite Restaurant. Panopoulos came up with the notion of using canned pineapple on pizza in 1962. His inspiration for this unusual combo came from Chinese Sweet and Sour style food. Because of the odd fruity component, the Hawaiian pizza was first disliked. However, as people tried it, the new topping quickly became a popular option all around the world! Hawaiian pizza has nothing to do with the Hawaiian Islands. It was called after the brand of canned pineapples that they first used.