Wilson Stan Smith Autograph vs Jack Kramer Autograph: how "wood" you describe the differences
- Thread starter Snaab
- Start date
No. The Smith has more wood in the throat and is therefore stiffer than the Kramer.
retrowagen
Hall of Fame
The Stan Smith and Marty Riessen Autograph models were Wilson’s stiffest wood frames, as I recall.
retrowagen
Hall of Fame
Frank, you’re absolutely right. The Riessen was a Dunlop model with a creepy photo decal where Marty Riessen’s eyes follow you around. There was a Evonne Goolagong counterpart.
I was trying to remember the Cliff Richey Auto Wilson… a super log!
PBODY99
Legend
@Frankc ; @retrowagen
My Cliff Richey Autograph Wilson was stiffer than the JK Prostaff, with which it shared the design.
I still have a 4 1/2 Med from my 1972 season.
The Stan Smith had the heavier flake that the earlier Tony Trabert model used
Sorry for the image size
My Cliff Richey Autograph Wilson was stiffer than the JK Prostaff, with which it shared the design.
I still have a 4 1/2 Med from my 1972 season.
The Stan Smith had the heavier flake that the earlier Tony Trabert model used
Sorry for the image size
PBODY99
Legend
@Frankc ; @retrowagen
If I recall what the Wilson rep said, the KJ Pro Staff had less oak in its layup than the Richey.
If I recall what the Wilson rep said, the KJ Pro Staff had less oak in its layup than the Richey.
Yes, that is what I meant by saying the Smith had 'more wood'.@JW10S
Additionally the area above the end of the grip is thicker in the Stan Smith.
I was taught this was called the flake, which lead to it being stiffer.
Of course this is a term no longer used in modern construction.
The Smith was an update of the earlier Tony Trabert racquet. The Cliff Richey was an update of the earlier Wilson Top Notch--both of which (Richey and TN) had different laminations around the head than other Wilsons.
It should be pointed out that back in the wood days the differences between racquets were much more subtle than today. Using different combinations of wood, using different tapers in the throat, etc, all had influence over the weight, balance and stiffness of a racquet but many of those differences might not be discernable to some modern players. Today we have racquets like the HEAD Prestige and the Babolat Pure Drive which are very, very, different. You'd be hard pressed to find anything like that back in the wood days.
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The Top Notch was used by the late Barry McKay, who was a US #1 before the Open Era and a longtime commentator. It did predate both the JK Autograph and JK Pro Staff but was still around when those racquets started. The Richey postdated the JKs. I know someone who has one in mint condition.
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Yes, this postdated the Wilson version by many years. Never hit with one.So which Wilson frame is most similar to the Tony Trabert Autograph here (Frame by Dely in Italy)? Assuming this post-dated the Wilson namesake.
