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03-06-2009, 05:58 PM
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#1 |
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Hall Of Fame
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,917
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prince magnesium pro 90 >>
one of the very best rackets ever made period ! the midsize hiting area played so much bigger than it looked. funny I always associated metal rackets with serve & volley players for yrs. until I saw the Mag. 90 in action the guy who took over Pancho Gonzalez's job at Ceasar's Palace (pat du pre) used it and I soon got a couple. what a simple , yet beautifully playing frame !
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03-06-2009, 09:08 PM
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#2 |
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Banned
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 2,360
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when I was a little four year old fallafel; Plasma was released onto the Ramat Aviv University tennis Courts, "O.K., the teacher said, everyday, "go get racquets" . The other kids would walk but I would run, knowing that amongst the wooden racquets, in the basket, lay a single mid, a prince magnesium pro 90, a racquet with really nice feel... although I could barely lift it; once in my hands not even the adults could pry it from me...little falaffel plasma decided at age four that the mag pro felt better than wood racquets...
 now that plasma is older and has hummus in his falaffels, he still loves the Magnesium Pro 90. You never like to tell about your first lover, it's always so special, sad, tender, but Maggie was the best I tell ya! her strings are tight as ever.....I think I love her...  other plasma favorites before age 10 included the head xrc, prince Jr., snauwaert mid, head edge, tad davis professional, yonex glafflex (black), and donnay alwood. |
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03-06-2009, 09:20 PM
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#3 |
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Semi-Pro
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Cerritos, CA
Posts: 609
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I had this in the 110. In those days that I played with it, I tried to copy Conners and McEnroe by smashing the racket each time I had a bad shot.
My frame got so warped and distorted, that it became unplayable. |
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03-06-2009, 09:39 PM
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#4 |
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Banned
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 2,360
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these are sooooo vulnerable to warping from that type of impact...it's almost guaranteed.
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03-06-2009, 11:25 PM
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#5 |
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Professional
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,352
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I've only managed to get my hands on 2 110's. But for some reason they're differently shaped, one has the normal prince head-shape and the other is a teardrop shape. They also have different stickers.
I keep asking myself if the teardrop shaped one is warped, or does it have the old shape, like an old graphite 110? |
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03-07-2009, 01:48 AM
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#6 |
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Banned
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: A not so parallel universe...
Posts: 5,271
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Out of all the racquets I've ever played with, the Mag Pro 90 is probably the one I would choose if I could have only one model of racquet for the rest of my playing days.
As Kirko mentioned, it was so simple - yet so beautiful. I played with them from about 1988 to 1992. Don't need any wimpy bumper on these things... From '92 to '96, I hardly played, due to various circumstances. When I got back to playing regularly in '96, I saw that the old Mags (I had 2, I believe) were not in playable shape. So I set out to find some. The internet not being a part of my life at that point, my resources were rather limited. I found none. Desperate, I called Tennis Australia to try to get a hold of Pat Cash, whom I hoped had some Mags left in his basement or something. I spoke with the president of Tennis Australia, who obviously knew Cash well... a couple of phone calls later, the same day, the president phoned me back, saying that Cash is on vacation on some island, has no Mags left, but recommends the Prestige Classic 600 to fill the void. So no luck there. At that point, I grabbed a bunch of demos from various places, and from the bunch, decided that the Pro Staff 6.0 85 was the best among them. I played with the Pro Staff for a year or so... but still longed for the Mags. It was right about at that time that I noticed Cedric Pioline had dropped the Mags in favour of the Head Radical. So I called Tennis France... Got a hold of Pioline's agent... and over the summer of 1997, talked with his agent several times - including calling her at Wimbledon a few times. Unfortunately for me, that was the year that Pioline reached the Wimbledon Final (yes - in singles)... and his agent kept telling me that she would ask him if he has any Mags left, but she wanted to wait until he was out of the tournament. And he kept winning... So I only got my answer 2 weeks later - the answer was that - yes, he has a few Mags left... and, yes, he will give them to me. Four of them. I only had to pay for shipping. (Unfortunately, she decided to ship them 2nd day air from France - over $100.) So I now had 4 of Pioline's unique white Mag Pro 90s... complete with red clay imbedded in the grommets. Sadly, the years of pro play - and practice - showed on the frames. There were hairline cracks in a couple... and they were generally in a quite used condition. I had new handles put on a couple, and I played with them for the rest of the summer - then sporadically for another 2 years or so... but it was clear that they were not in their prime, and not really in any better condition than my original ones. I still love the Mag Pro 90. Haven't hit with one in a few years, though. I don't like teasing myself. It would be like kissing a former love as she passes through town, knowing that the wonderful feeling is but fleeting... |
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03-07-2009, 03:33 AM
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#7 |
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Hall Of Fame
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,917
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nice to know I wasn't the only one who liked the mag.-90. my top frames ever the mag. 90 & ultra II . gotta say the Sampras Staff has loads of "old school" feel and heft. maybe we are finally leaving the "dark ages" of rackets eg. so light they feel like toys & donothing to make or insure you will be a decent player.
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03-07-2009, 07:06 AM
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#8 | |
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Hall Of Fame
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 2,355
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Quote:
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03-07-2009, 12:11 PM
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#9 |
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Professional
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posts: 1,486
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Nice story, Deuce - even though they may not be usable, it must give you a good feeling to own some racquets actually used by a top Pro (and Wimbledon finalist). We should all be so lucky!
And top marks for being so resourceful in searching them out! 
__________________
See my racquet collection at www.80s-tennis.com/pages/virginia-crawford.html and my addition to the Borg collection of the now rare Donnay Diamant. |
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03-07-2009, 01:57 PM
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#10 |
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Banned
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 2,360
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that story was historically unique, I'd love to see pics. I'd like to ask the current wimbledon finalist for their equipment and se what theyd say, indeed, tennis pros in the 80's and 90's were very humble and down to earth. Not everybody was a celebrity stalker like they are now, tops pros were quite approachable back then....thanks for the interesting and amazing story of the authentic world before ebaay!!! pics pls
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03-07-2009, 03:12 PM
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#11 | |
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Hall Of Fame
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,917
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Quote:
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03-07-2009, 08:08 PM
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#12 |
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Professional
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,379
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I'm just trying to figure out what the hell a "fallafel" is.
__________________
Now fortified with tiger blood and Adonis DNA. |
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03-07-2009, 08:46 PM
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#13 |
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Talk Tennis Guru
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 28,950
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Falafel
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03-07-2009, 09:17 PM
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#14 | |
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Banned
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: A not so parallel universe...
Posts: 5,271
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Quote:
But I also have 2 iPrestige Mids, a Pro Tour 280, a Graphite Edge (or Graphite Edge 2), an XRC, and a Kramer Pro STaff (wood) in my bag at most times. Glad you guys - and gal - liked the story. Here's a photo I just took after digging one out of the closet. The red around the 'yoke' (throat piece) is a colour coding I added simply to quickly be able to distinguish the frames from each other. It's not in ready to play shape - that's just an old overgrip that I was using to build up the handle a bit. They came to me with stock Prince 4 5/8 handles that Pioline actually had heat shrink sleeves on - the handles were huge. As I mentioned, I had new handles put on 2 of them. Anyone ever seen a white Mag Pro before? Pioline's are the only white ones I've ever seen. In North America, they were grey.  |
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03-07-2009, 09:33 PM
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#15 | |
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Hall Of Fame
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,917
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Quote:
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03-08-2009, 04:59 AM
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#16 | |
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New User
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 38
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Quote:
Great photo! I have never seen a white one. Thanks a lot for sharing the photo and story. Mine is the ordinary grey one. Several months ago I found it in my closet, didn't with it for quite a long long time. Strung it up, played a few sets with it, then again it came back to it's lonely place in my closet. Although it's a wonderful racquet with absolutely amazing control and feel, but I'm just so used to my Max 200g that I just couldn't find a place in my ordinary play for Mag 90. It's still in mint condition with very few scratches. Deuce, I noticed my racquet is a bit rounder in shape than Piolin's racquet in the pic. Is it my illusion or Piolin's racquet is out of shape from playing and stringing? here is my racquet:
__________________
Dunlop Max 200G, Klip Legend 16/Gosen micro sheep 16, 48/48 |
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03-08-2009, 06:28 AM
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#17 |
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Rookie
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 112
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everyone talks about the 90....how does the 110 compare
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03-08-2009, 04:15 PM
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#18 | ||
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Banned
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: A not so parallel universe...
Posts: 5,271
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Quote:
but if you'd have written that you left the Mag aside for a modern racquet, I'd have been all over you! Quote:
The Mags were known to alter their shape fairly easily from the combination of stringing and playing. By the way - I don't know if others can see your racquet, but I'm just getting the red 'x'. Another little Mag story... About 5 or 6 years ago, I was at a pro tournament, and I saw someone on a practice court holding a Mag 90 off in the distance... about 250 feet away from me. So I ran over there (literally), and saw that it was Larry Stefanki, who was coaching Tim Henman at the time. I got there just as they were coming off the court. As Henman was signing autographs, I approached Stefanki, saying "These are wonderful, aren't they?" He said "Oh, yeah. Great racquet. They don't make 'em like this anymore." I asked him how many he has. He said "I've got about 5 back home - but all of them except one are 'spooned'." By "spooned" he meant bent out of shape. So we talked about the Mag for a few more minutes as Henman signed autographs... It was nice to see that, about 15 years after its release on the market, and among all sorts of 'high technology' frames, a former pro still realized the simple and genuine magic of this wonderful wand. |
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03-08-2009, 04:30 PM
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#19 |
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Professional
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,333
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Is it really composed of magnesium or has partial magnesium in the mix?
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03-08-2009, 05:22 PM
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#20 |
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Hall Of Fame
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 4,024
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Great stories Deuce.
__________________
"Most of us believe in trying to make other people happy only if they can be happy in ways which we approve." Robert S. Lynd |
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