Wilson Pro Staff Midsize (Chicago/St Vincent) with no code

[Tennis Man]

Hi all:

I just came across a minty bumperless frame with a clean Fairway grip, missing tension sticker and ... NO butt cap code.

I've seen sellers before saying that their racquets had no butt cap code but usually I could identify it upon close inspection. This one has not a single mark.

Could anyone shed some light on this? Was there a period when PS85 came without butt cap codes?

Here's what I have so far as for the evolution of PS85:

Pro Staff 85 (Chicago):
- Made in 1983-1984 at River Grove, IL factory near Chicago
- white butt cap with NO registered mark symbol
- 3-letter code ending with "I" (GUI, GVI, etc) under "W"
- bumperless construction, so the grommet set was unique (no code)
- three separate raised throat grommets
- brown Fairway leather grip
- red primer can be seen under matte black paint
- "MIDSIZE" on both sides of throat

3 stickers inside the throat on one side:
- grip size with recommended tension "String at 65-70 lbs."
- "Weight/Oz. 11.6-12.3 Unstrung",
- "Balanced 1.0-1.5 in. headlight"

Pro Staff 85 (St. Vincent ):
1. The first St Vincent production was the same as Chicago PS 85 ( The only change was that the butt code ended with a "Q"

- white butt cap with NO registered mark symbol
- 3-letter code ending with "Q" (HTQ, etc) under "W"
- bumperless construction, so the grommet set was unique (no code)
- three separate raised throat grommets
- brown Fairway leather grip
- red primer can be seen under matte black paint
- "MIDSIZE" on both sides of throat

3 stickers inside the throat on one side:
- grip size with recommended tension "String at 65-70 lbs."
- "Weight/Oz. 11.6-12.3 Unstrung",
- "Balanced 1.0-1.5 in. headlight"

2. The next version had tension on the stickers was lowered to 55-65lb (maybe to reflect the emergence of stiffer synthetic strings?). The (R)egistered mark appeared next to red "W"

3. The next step was the emergence of a bumper guard on the models with stickers wit 55-65lb tension. The grommet set was changed to 22D 1615 (used all way up to Taiwan version).

4. The tension on the stickers was lowered again to 50-60 lb. That was the last version to come with the stickers. At some point "St. Vincent W.I" sticker was added to the butt cap above "W".

5. Soon the stickers were replaced in throat to decals that describe Wilson PWS on one side, recommended tension on the other (50-60 lbs.) and higher/lower tension recommendation for control/power. From here forward the paint finish wasn't very consistent. I've as many frames with matte finish as with a bit more polished/glossier finish. "MIDSIZE" was written on both sides of throat.

6. Later a black rectangular grip size sticker placed at the outside of the throat above the handle and a WIlson holgram was place on the opposite side.

7. The latest variation of St Vincent had "MIDSIZE" written just on one side while "80% braided graphite/20% kevlar" decal was on another side. "Wilson Quality" hologram sticker had become standard.

The butt cap code on some ended with "A" (QRA, QPA, etc).

[jorel]

i had one once...i believe they are early early chicagos...

i believe all st vincents had the code on the buttcap

[Hannah19]

Originally Posted by Tennis Man

Hi all:

I just came across a minty bumperless frame with a clean Fairway grip, missing tension sticker and ... NO butt cap code.

I've seen sellers before saying that their racquets had no butt cap code but usually I could identify it upon close inspection. This one has not a single mark.

Could anyone shed some light on this? Was there a period when PS85 came without butt cap codes?

Here's what I have so far as for the evolution of PS85:

Pro Staff 85 (Chicago):
- Made in 1983-1984 at River Grove, IL factory near Chicago
- white butt cap with NO registered mark symbol
- 3-letter code ending with "I" (GUI, GVI, etc) under "W"
- bumperless construction, so the grommet set was unique (no code)
- three separate raised throat grommets
- brown Fairway leather grip
- red primer can be seen under matte black paint
- "MIDSIZE" on both sides of throat

3 stickers inside the throat on one side:
- grip size with recommended tension "String at 65-70 lbs."
- "Weight/Oz. 11.6-12.3 Unstrung",
- "Balanced 1.0-1.5 in. headlight"

Pro Staff 85 (St. Vincent ):
1. The first St Vincent production was the same as Chicago PS 85 ( The only change was that the butt code ended with a "Q"

- white butt cap with NO registered mark symbol
- 3-letter code ending with "Q" (HTQ, etc) under "W"
- bumperless construction, so the grommet set was unique (no code)
- three separate raised throat grommets
- brown Fairway leather grip
- red primer can be seen under matte black paint
- "MIDSIZE" on both sides of throat

3 stickers inside the throat on one side:
- grip size with recommended tension "String at 65-70 lbs."
- "Weight/Oz. 11.6-12.3 Unstrung",
- "Balanced 1.0-1.5 in. headlight"

2. The next version had tension on the stickers was lowered to 55-65lb (maybe to reflect the emergence of stiffer synthetic strings?). The (R)egistered mark appeared next to red "W"

3. The next step was the emergence of a bumper guard on the models with stickers wit 55-65lb tension. The grommet set was changed to 22D 1615 (used all way up to Taiwan version).

4. The tension on the stickers was lowered again to 50-60 lb. That was the last version to come with the stickers. At some point "St. Vincent W.I" sticker was added to the butt cap above "W".

5. Soon the stickers were replaced in throat to decals that describe Wilson PWS on one side, recommended tension on the other (50-60 lbs.) and higher/lower tension recommendation for control/power. From here forward the paint finish wasn't very consistent. I've as many frames with matte finish as with a bit more polished/glossier finish. "MIDSIZE" was written on both sides of throat.

6. Later a black rectangular grip size sticker placed at the outside of the throat above the handle and a WIlson holgram was place on the opposite side.

7. The latest variation of St Vincent had "MIDSIZE" written just on one side while "80% braided graphite/20% kevlar" decal was on another side. "Wilson Quality" hologram sticker had become standard.

The butt cap code on some ended with "A" (QRA, QPA, etc).

Beginners error....You forgot the Belgium PS 85's that were made by Donnay even before Wilson started manufacturing them in Chicago.
Wilson keeps forgetting to mention them too....no wonder, they stank!!!
A large percentage never left the factory because they were cracked and the once that did pass the quality control came back within the year. Let's just say they were homesick...

[racquetfreak]

how about sv's customized for pros? i have bosworth sv that has no code.

[Tennis Man]

Originally Posted by Hannah19

Beginners error....You forgot the Belgium PS 85's that were made by Donnay even before Wilson started manufacturing them in Chicago.
Wilson keeps forgetting to mention them too....no wonder, they stank!!!
A large percentage never left the factory because they were cracked and the once that did pass the quality control came back within the year. Let's just say they were homesick...

Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore Belgian-made PS 85.
My question was only about Chicago/SV frames.

[Tennis Man]

Originally Posted by racquetfreak

how about sv's customized for pros? i have bosworth sv that has no code.

I didn't think about it. This could be the one. I need to weigh it.

[jimbo333]

Originally Posted by racquetfreak

how about sv's customized for pros? i have bosworth sv that has no code.

Indeed

Bosworth actually just used whatever they had to hand when customizing, so some will have no code and some will have Taiwan or even China codes. I think it is really ironic that Sampras for example in the early to mid 90's was sometimes using his StVincent ProStaff Midsizes actually with Taiwan/China codes on them, after all the fuss about StVincent codes on these rackets