Sharing some pictures of 6 famous player woods rackets including rosewall, gonzales, vines, and budge. I personally really like the photo decal wood rackets. Take a look at a few:
http://s920.beta.photobucket.com/user/woodtennis/library/tennis/rackets/famous_player_woods
Ok, will plan to save viewers clicks and embed pix in the future
Sorry Joe, thinking about it I shouldn't have really said anything, you've been showing photos the same way on here longer than me, and know what you're doing. I personally prefer to see the photos rather than links, but that might just be me, others might prefer what you've always done, anyway I apologise.
Interesting because I have the opposite reaction to pictures on racket. I am tempted to assume that it's just a con scheme; slap a picture of a famous person on an otherwise irrelevant object and the unaware may be tricked into buying. Maybe things were different back then, but I would assume the knowledgeable players wouldn't need the picture/name of a celebrity to figure out which racket is which. Thus I am led to believe the rackets were not meant for the cognoscenti but rather for the impressionable.
Many of the later photo decal rackets were not player models but the earlier woods like the Wilson Famous Players Series were quality rackets.
No problem Jimbo ... you are very correct that most viewers do not like to click links and as a result, many such posts get little attention. I will try to embed single pictures using the img tabs rather than provide url links for folders of pictures.
Players like Tom Okker, Lew Hoad, Rod Laver and a German player who's name just does'nt come to mind, used to have there photo's/signatures on one of the best rackets from the era: the Maxply Fort.
Not just of an era - the Maxply Fort one of if not the greatest frames of all time......thing didn't change much in over 50yrs of production.
Didn't ever see any "head shots" of players on a Fort? Thought that was the beauty of Dunlop not doing that......everybody used it or at least at one time used it.........big reason Laver went to Chemold was of course for the $$$$$ and that Dunlop wouldn't give him an autograph version of the Fort.
Cool never saw those.......I first started playing in the late 60s in Jrs and always remembered how many Forts, Slazenger 1, Halliets and Kramers dominated.....my first Wimbledon in 1968 I remember seeing soooooo many Forts and Salzengers........I have 3 Forts in my stash.....favorite was the 1982 version with the large Red DUNLOP on the flake above the grip......best looking of them all.
My god a Heinz Gunthardt - autograph frame!!!!:shock: missed that one totally!
There are many different versions of the Dunlop Maxply Fort made over the 50 odd years they were made, but yes they are all similar.
I have quite a collection of about 80 different ones (some variations quite small), but then I reckon about 300-500 variations were made worldwide:shock:
Actually there are Vinnie Richards, Rod Laver and 2 Lew Hoad photo signature versions, as well as Okker, Pohmann and Gunthardt signature versions amazingly!
Cool never saw those.......I first started playing in the late 60s in Jrs and always remembered how many Forts, Slazenger 1, Halliets and Kramers dominated.....my first Wimbledon in 1968 I remember seeing soooooo many Forts and Salzengers........I have 3 Forts in my stash.....favorite was the 1982 version with the large Red DUNLOP on the flake above the grip......best looking of them all.
Think the last maxply fort head shot racket was Mac's ?
Was it Hans Pohmann who had a signature bi-hander Maxply Fort? I think that was his name!
There are many different versions of the Dunlop Maxply Fort made over the 50 odd years they were made, but yes they are all similar.
I have quite a collection of about 80 different ones (some variations quite small), but then I reckon about 300-500 variations were made worldwide:shock:
Actually there are Vinnie Richards, Rod Laver and 2 Lew Hoad photo signature versions, as well as Okker, Pohmann and Gunthardt signature versions amazingly!
I've never seen that, do you have a photo please Joe?
Makes sense - from the early 70s (maybe late 60s) the Fort was the Fort......even Lavers Forts were just plain old Forts. I know they did Junior models with players and that's how they would work out the endorsement deals.
I dont have a good picture but its the dunlop woody that looks just like the fort with Mac head shot photo where he is wearing a white headband. See this *link*:
http://woodtennis.com/dunlop/dunlop_mac_photo_wood.tiff
Was it Hans Pohmann who had a signature bi-hander Maxply Fort? I think that was his name!
Yep, that's the one but it was on a regular sized Maxply Fort.