Can someone tell me history and specs of this racquet (AMF Head)

[tennispinoy]

I picked this stick up with about 23 other vintage racquets and 4 OS wilson racquets for only $20 on craigslist.



I love using head brands and wanted to start have some vintage racquets around. When I bought my racquets This racquet caught my eye. I really want to know more about it if someone can help me please !

[LeeD]

Looks like a HeadMaster, or maybe the cheap copy of it for sale to discount stores.
Aluminim, moderate flex (HeadPro, the red one, is stiff), plays similar to wood of it's day but swings easier.
Master's I've seen are darker blue, but I do remember seeing some turquoise one's like the one you have.

[Steve Huff]

Agree, it looks like a Head Master. The Head Pro was not as round as the Master. Most people felt the Master was a more "intermediate" frame, with the next step up being the Head Pro.

[coachrick]

Originally Posted by LeeD

Looks like a HeadMaster, or maybe the cheap copy of it for sale to discount stores.
Aluminim, moderate flex (HeadPro, the red one, is stiff), plays similar to wood of it's day but swings easier.
Master's I've seen are darker blue, but I do remember seeing some turquoise one's like the one you have.

Correct about the darker blue being the Master. This one is the Standard...softer frame, cheaper grip...actually the butt cap and handle material were cheaper. Early ones had a 'double wide' grip, IIRC...pretty thin. The only 'Standard' logo was on a foil sticker inside the channel of the hairpin, just above the handle. They popped off back in the '70s, I reckon .

BTW. that's quite a collection of Wilson steel you have there!

[coachrick]

One difference was the Alcoa alloy used. The 6006 Master frame was a fair bit softer than the 7005 alloy used in the Pro. The rounder cross-section of the Master and Standard and Edge kept them flexier compared to the angular design of the Pro and later Vector. The Standard alloy was soft in play, but somewhat brittle, easy to break. We saw a few broken in the neck area 'back then'.

Most(if not all) Standards were pre-strung...blue spiral nylon. Really a decent stick compared to some of the metal offerings of the mid-late '70s. One of the top men's doubles players in South Carolina used the Standard in high school and kept using it into his twenties.

I recall a SMU for Herman's World of Sport that used a different color throat insert and grommet strip, also...pretty sure it was a Master in disguise.

[tennispinoy]

Originally Posted by coachrick

Correct about the darker blue being the Master. This one is the Standard...softer frame, cheaper grip...actually the butt cap and handle material were cheaper. Early ones had a 'double wide' grip, IIRC...pretty thin. The only 'Standard' logo was on a foil sticker inside the channel of the hairpin, just above the handle. They popped off back in the '70s, I reckon .

BTW. that's quite a collection of Wilson steel you have there!

Thanks I bought all of that today just for $20 =D

My standard sticker is still on the Racquet.





Does anyone know the headsize??

Also by looking at the picture can someone tell me if they see anything of value.

[coachrick]

Originally Posted by tennispinoy

Thanks I bought all of that today just for $20 =D

My standard sticker is still on the Racquet.





Does anyone know the headsize??

Also by looking at the picture can someone tell me if they see anything of value.

Certainly a decent deal in total...I didn't see anything super-collectible; but someone might have their eye on something.

The Head line of rackets followed the same nomenclature from Standard to Master to Pro as did the snow skis of the '70s. The ONE time I skied(SKID was more like it), I was rented the shortest pair of Head Standards you've ever seen. The fellows called them 'elf shoes'. The folks at the ski resort kindly asked me to stick to indoor tennis. I gladly obliged.

I'm going to put the head size of the Standard at 64", give or take. The roundness was comfy for some; but I didn't care for it at all. The Pro and later Edge were much more to my liking.

[gavna]

Those babies ruled the courts at just about every country club out there.......you couldn't find a shop that didn't carry the Std, Master and Pro.

And yes Herman's Sports had a frame they sold under license from Head that was a relabeled standard. Same to the deal PDP had with the open and adidas (the adidas stick had a blue plastic throat piece vs the white or orange one from PDP).