Classic wooden racquets - names?

[Taxvictim]

I'm old enough to have played with wooden racquets and those big ugly warp guards with the wing nuts, but I don't remember any of the names of the racquets that were considered really good.

Now that I'm back into tennis, it would be fun to find some old wooden racquets and play with them some time. Can anyone tell me what were the good brands from the late sixties and early seventies? I go in a lot of pawn shops and still see dirty old wooden racquets piled into plastic bins every once in awhile. It would be great to buy one of the classics.

I'm not looking for anything with collector value, per se, just brands and models that decent club players used.

 

[slice bh compliment]

Hey, there are a couple of sites devoted to the collector stuff. Daytons, Fishtails, Wright and Ditsons...that sorta thing.

I have a few non-collectibles from the 70s that hit the ball well still:
Wilson Kramer Autograph. Wison Kramer Pro Staff. Dunlop Maxply. Slazenger Challenge No. 1. Bancroft Borg Personal. Donnay Allwood. Sanuwaert Brian Gottfried. Garcia Cragin 240. Spalding Pancho Gonzales, Head Vilas, Maxply McEnroe. Rossignol Strato.

 

[Taxvictim]

Thank you. I'll write those down and carry the list in my wallet.

Wow, you really do collect a lot of racquets. The last wooden racquet I remember had a black lacquer frame with some beige around the head, and it had a picture and signature of some blondish guy just above the grip. Sound like any of the ones you have?

 

[slice bh compliment]

No, the ones with the faces started to fade out in the late 70s. But that sounds cool. Snauwaert Vitas Gerulaitis? Nah, that was not black.

Hmm, stumper, at least for me.

Oh, man, almost forgot: the Wilson Advantage was a beauty. Played solid, too. Black and rich brown with some really antique-ish cosmetics. One of my wife's friends who is an interior designer and has never played tennis wants one of mine on a wall.

 

[coachrick]

Don't forget the Dreadnaught Driver...true classic.

 

[tennisntn3477]

My first was a Davis (TAD) Imperial III - beautiful racket, great lines.

 

[tennisntn3477]

Here's a decent link with pictures for re-visiting old wooden racket models/brands.

http://www.woodtennisrackets.com/makers/racalpha.htm#TAD

 

[Capt. Willie]

I have a few non-collectibles from the 70s that hit the ball well still:
Wilson Kramer Autograph. Wison Kramer Pro Staff. Dunlop Maxply. Slazenger Challenge No. 1. Bancroft Borg Personal. Donnay Allwood. Sanuwaert Brian Gottfried. Garcia Cragin 240. Spalding Pancho Gonzales, Head Vilas, Maxply McEnroe. Rossignol Strato.

I could be wrong as it is a long time ago....but wasn't the Garcia 240 and the Rossignol Strato basically the same racquet but with different badging?

 

[Capt. Willie]

Oh, man, almost forgot: the Wilson Advantage was a beauty. Played solid, too. Black and rich brown with some really antique-ish cosmetics.

I always loved the look of the Wilson Advantage, and wanted one back in the day. As I recall they were far more expensive than other wood racquets. I believe it has a lot of mahogany in it as opposed to ash that most other wood racquets are made from.

 

[stormholloway]

I own the advantage. It's a beauty and plays like a Kramer.

 

[TripleB]

In looking at some of the racquets on my "Wall of Frame" from that era I have: Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph, Yonex Couguss, Wilson Stan Smith Autograph, Rossignol Strato, Jack Kramer Pro Staff, Rossignol Elite, Donnay Bjorn Borg Allwood, Wilson Stan Smith Topspin, Bancroft Bjorn Borg Personal, and Wilson Chris Evert Miss Chris. I know that there are many, many more. Check out some of the links given.

TripleB

 

[Flyingpanda]

When I was looking for my old racquet. I found my parents' Wilson Advantage. It looks so nice, but I'm a little scared to hit with it.

 

[Serve em Up]

I played on an advantage in high school. What a nice stick. On the advice of a coach I switched to a T4000 (big mistake), then finally to a Yamaha fiberglass raquet I believe. It was brown and yellow I think.

I should have stuck with the Advantage. Over time it warped through the 80's. The raquet I coveted was the Prince Woodie. It was as I recall super expensive at the time.

 

[coachrick]

I could be wrong as it is a long time ago....but wasn't the Garcia 240 and the Rossignol Strato basically the same racquet but with different badging?

The Rossi Strato replaced the 240 when Rossi took over the Garcia-Cragin facility in Van Buren, Maine...the last wood racket manufacturing facility in the U.S. The Strato, used by J-L Clerc, among others, was sold against the Kramer Auto at a slightly lower wholesale price point. The Garcia 360 morphed into a different look and position in the line with much more flex in the throat. Most of the marketing energy went into the R-40(similar construction to the Ashe Comp) and the brand new F100 and F200, introduced in 1979.

 

[Capt. Willie]

I played on an advantage in high school. What a nice stick. On the advice of a coach I switched to a T4000 (big mistake),

Obviously that coach knew nothing about tennis.

The raquet I coveted was the Prince Woodie. It was as I recall super expensive at the time.

I actually had two of these. By the time they came out I was working and had money to buy my own racquets. And at that point the Advantage (if it was still available) was kinda obsolete...along with all standard size wood racquets. I loved the Woodie but they ended up with cracks in nearly the same spot. Not sure if it was a flaw in them or from bad string jobs.

 

[Capt. Willie]

The Rossi Strato replaced the 240 when Rossi took over the Garcia-Cragin facility in Van Buren, Maine...the last wood racket manufacturing facility in the U.S. The Strato, used by J-L Clerc, among others, was sold against the Kramer Auto at a slightly lower wholesale price point. The Garcia 360 morphed into a different look and position in the line with much more flex in the throat. Most of the marketing energy went into the R-40(similar construction to the Ashe Comp) and the brand new F100 and F200, introduced in 1979.

Good info, Coach Rick!

 

[Rafa freak]

I have a Jack kramer.