I just created thisAcount
New User
I'm trying to figure out how to enter images again, this is hard.
Last edited:
Extremely old tennis racquet identification, help!
- Thread starter I just created thisAcount
- Start date
I just created thisAcount
New User
I just created thisAcount
New User
There we go, now it works. I have no idea anything about this tennis racquet, it looks very unique and is definitely old, I'm not sure of it's age, however, It looks to have the company or manufacturers engravings on the end leather strip. It has a unique spaded shaft.
I just created thisAcount
New User
I have other racquets, some I believe to be older and even more unique than this one. If people are interested, I will send pictures of the others :j
Henry Hub
Hall of Fame
What a lovely racket, it’s really unusual, isn’t it? I’ve absolutely no idea what it could be but for some reason I’m thinking it’s French and late 1920s. The French manufacturers around that time loved a bevelled shaft on their rackets. It’s fabulously well preserved, what a beauty.
Do send photos of your older rackets if you can, I’m sure we’d all love to see them.
Do send photos of your older rackets if you can, I’m sure we’d all love to see them.
I just created thisAcount
New User
Indeed it is very unusual, I do have a French racquet similar to it, I’ll post a pic of it soon. Similar structure, just not spade shaped. That one does have the maker tho.
I just created thisAcount
New User
I believe they have their original string, one is by Spalding and the other is by W&D
I just created thisAcount
New User
They are called the Les Stoefen models I believe and these models were used by Molla Mallory. At least that is what I found on the red and black one, I'm not so sure about the green one. It doesn't seem to be a lot of history covering it. Maybe someone on here knows about them more than I can find or has original advertisements? They're from the 1920s.
I just created thisAcount
New User
This is the French one
I know nothing about this racket, except it is from a French maker. Very, very clean and still has original paint intact!
I know nothing about this racket, except it is from a French maker. Very, very clean and still has original paint intact!
I just created thisAcount
New User
I have a lot, and I mean a LOT of racquets of all ages. I don't think I'll be able to post them all to just one form. I have two collections, odd racquets and old wooden racquets. I may separate the wooden racquets by age for different posts. The odd racquets, I will come back to at a later date. I will post more racquets on this page if more people show interest. I will try to keep this page as my 1915 to present day section! I will have two other pages, one with 1904 and before. The other will be 1905 to 1914. My goal is to try to create some type of museum at some point, so any information such as advertisements, personal knowledge or anything would be greatly appreciated!! Please feel free to add to this or ask questions on any of my posts.
thenewbig3
Hall of Fame
What are weights, lengths, balances and swingweights of these if you have ability to find out?
I just created thisAcount
New User
All of the ones I posted so far are from 26 1/2 in to 27 in. The weight of the first one and the green one "the French racquets" seems to balance out between 13 3/8 OZ or 380 grams. The other two Les Stoefen models have a unique weight gap. The red and black model has a weight of 375 grams, yet the green one weighs 390 grams!! Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to test the swingweight, as I don't have the machine 
For balances, they all seem to be pretty head heavy and the balance is toward the top end of the throat.
For balances, they all seem to be pretty head heavy and the balance is toward the top end of the throat.
thenewbig3
Hall of Fame
I always wondered what would be the oldest - but - restringable and playable - tennis racket I can get. Oldest I have are some Wilsons Kramers from the 60s.
Last edited:
I just created thisAcount
New User
I still play a little here and there now, but when I used to play more often, I would use some wooden racquets here and there and I will say they do pack a punch if you hit the ball right. I wouldn't recommend playing with anything before 1905, as they probably aren't meant to handle any of the strings made today, but I have a few W&D models from 1910 that could probably withstand a few games as is. If you didn't hit the ball extremely hard a lot, they'll probably be fine. The string and how you string the racquet is the main problem. Most racquets before 1925 used almost exclusively natural gut, with the exception of the Dayton steel variants using steel wire strings and a few models using early variants of poly "Like the ones above". If you manage to find a vintage, but more modern type of natural gut "Hand made cow gut, not machine" and didn't string the racquet super tight "Hand string it", it may be able to play like today's a lot more than just a few times, it will just be a lot heavier then what most play with now lol.
Henry Hub
Hall of Fame
I have no idea about the MacDonald racket but again it’s in a beautiful state.
The Les Stoefen “Longwood” rackets are awfully intriguing. Jeanne Cherry suggested that W&D produced rackets under the venerable “Longwood” name (referencing the similarly lengthy in the tooth Boston tennis club) until 1925. Kuebler adds one more year to the count.
However this racket is certainly from a later period, Stoefen’s great deeds coming in the 1930s. Also interesting is that Cherry has no record of the “Longwood” name ever being used by Spalding (though granted W&D was by the 1930s a long time occupant of the Spalding corporate stable and name-sharing was not unknown, cf the Spalding and W&D “Top-Flite” models in the late 20s). While I think Mallory could have played a Spalding racket in the latter part of her career (I can’t find confirmation on that - but I know she started with Slazenger then moved to W&D for her 1917 and 1918 US wins), I think she wound down her career in 1928/29 so wasn’t still on the scene when the Stoefen racket hit the market?
So I’d guess these rackets date from 1933-1935 (no leather grip on either also suggests early to mid-30s) but I might be able to firm this up later this month once I get my greedy paws on back copies of American Lawn Tennis from that era.
Update: Clark Bensen dates the Stoefen rackets to 1935-40 in his excellent “Wood Tennis Rackets: A Collector’s Guide”. Randy Crow’s “Player Endorsed Tennis Rackets” and Dan White’s “Signature and Photo Decal Wood Tennis Rackets” would be the other excellent reference points on this.
The Les Stoefen “Longwood” rackets are awfully intriguing. Jeanne Cherry suggested that W&D produced rackets under the venerable “Longwood” name (referencing the similarly lengthy in the tooth Boston tennis club) until 1925. Kuebler adds one more year to the count.
However this racket is certainly from a later period, Stoefen’s great deeds coming in the 1930s. Also interesting is that Cherry has no record of the “Longwood” name ever being used by Spalding (though granted W&D was by the 1930s a long time occupant of the Spalding corporate stable and name-sharing was not unknown, cf the Spalding and W&D “Top-Flite” models in the late 20s). While I think Mallory could have played a Spalding racket in the latter part of her career (I can’t find confirmation on that - but I know she started with Slazenger then moved to W&D for her 1917 and 1918 US wins), I think she wound down her career in 1928/29 so wasn’t still on the scene when the Stoefen racket hit the market?
So I’d guess these rackets date from 1933-1935 (no leather grip on either also suggests early to mid-30s) but I might be able to firm this up later this month once I get my greedy paws on back copies of American Lawn Tennis from that era.
Update: Clark Bensen dates the Stoefen rackets to 1935-40 in his excellent “Wood Tennis Rackets: A Collector’s Guide”. Randy Crow’s “Player Endorsed Tennis Rackets” and Dan White’s “Signature and Photo Decal Wood Tennis Rackets” would be the other excellent reference points on this.
Last edited:
I just created thisAcount
New User
The MacDonald may forever be a mystery lol.
You are in fact correct! The Les Stoefen models were created around 1928 to 1932. According to https://racquets.tennisfame.com/wood-racquets/molla-mallory the red model was created in 1930. I'm not sure when the green model was necessarily created, yet they share the same patent number of 1664466 and that seems to be created in 1928 by W&D and Spalding. However, there are other Top Flite models that I have that look to be created from 1928 and have the patent date on the shaft section. However, their handles look to be a little bit longer and possibly older than the Les Stoefen models, so I would say the Stoefen models are from 1930 to 32. I have a few models that look to be a little after 1932, as the have early leather grips and still maintain the end cap. I will attach pictures of them below in order of their age from what I believe to be true.
You are in fact correct! The Les Stoefen models were created around 1928 to 1932. According to https://racquets.tennisfame.com/wood-racquets/molla-mallory the red model was created in 1930. I'm not sure when the green model was necessarily created, yet they share the same patent number of 1664466 and that seems to be created in 1928 by W&D and Spalding. However, there are other Top Flite models that I have that look to be created from 1928 and have the patent date on the shaft section. However, their handles look to be a little bit longer and possibly older than the Les Stoefen models, so I would say the Stoefen models are from 1930 to 32. I have a few models that look to be a little after 1932, as the have early leather grips and still maintain the end cap. I will attach pictures of them below in order of their age from what I believe to be true.
Last edited:
I just created thisAcount
New User
The top flight on the left of the picture "No grip one" I believe to be from 1928 is it seams to have that as the patent date for this model. The banding around the throat also seems to have fallen off, unfortunately... The one in the middle is the red Les Stoefen model, believed to be created in 1930. I believe this to be the next iteration of the open throat model, as it has a shorter grip section on the handle and seems to have more designs on it. The one on the right I believe to be from 1935 to 39 as it has a leather grip, and the open throat also seems to be a little bit smaller, possibly an upgraded design. What I find strange about all of these racquets, is they all share the same patent number, 1664466, yet they are mix between Spalding and W&D.
The racquet in the bottom picture seems to be a slightly later iteration after the Les Stoefen racquet, possibly from 1933 to 36, yet appears to be slightly older then the top flite on the right of the first picture, due to the throat being larger.
From what I believe, just by looking at the racquets and not doing any other research, this may not be correct, but I believe Spalding and W&D started merging their products around 1928, creating the top flite and similer moddles sharing this patent number. However; the first racquet on the left actually doesn't have the number printed onto it, but instead U.S Patent April 3d 1928, going with my gut, I believe this is their patent applied for, they just didn't have the number yet. The racquets started receiving this number printed onto them after 1928. Resulting in many of my other open throat models from Spalding and W&D to have this patent number. This means they also probably shared similar product names, such as Longwood and Top flite. The racquets may also look similar as they are technically from the same company "Spalding", yet branded under two different names, due to the two being in the process of merging. Some very cool stuff, please let me know what y'all think and if I got anything incorrect please feel free to correct me and add any information you have!!
Date for patent pending on the left top flite racquet shaft "below"
Patent number of both the Les Stoefens and the top flite on the right "below"
Another modle by W&D from 1933 or later "below"
I have more with this patent number, but they don't look much different from these
I also just found this too, this may help others who are searching for something similar to this! This https://patents.google.com/patent/US1664466A/en is the original patent date for the top flight and other open throat models it seems like by Spalding.
The racquet in the bottom picture seems to be a slightly later iteration after the Les Stoefen racquet, possibly from 1933 to 36, yet appears to be slightly older then the top flite on the right of the first picture, due to the throat being larger.
From what I believe, just by looking at the racquets and not doing any other research, this may not be correct, but I believe Spalding and W&D started merging their products around 1928, creating the top flite and similer moddles sharing this patent number. However; the first racquet on the left actually doesn't have the number printed onto it, but instead U.S Patent April 3d 1928, going with my gut, I believe this is their patent applied for, they just didn't have the number yet. The racquets started receiving this number printed onto them after 1928. Resulting in many of my other open throat models from Spalding and W&D to have this patent number. This means they also probably shared similar product names, such as Longwood and Top flite. The racquets may also look similar as they are technically from the same company "Spalding", yet branded under two different names, due to the two being in the process of merging. Some very cool stuff, please let me know what y'all think and if I got anything incorrect please feel free to correct me and add any information you have!!
Date for patent pending on the left top flite racquet shaft "below"
Patent number of both the Les Stoefens and the top flite on the right "below"
Another modle by W&D from 1933 or later "below"
I have more with this patent number, but they don't look much different from these
I also just found this too, this may help others who are searching for something similar to this! This https://patents.google.com/patent/US1664466A/en is the original patent date for the top flight and other open throat models it seems like by Spalding.
Last edited:
People string up those old essentially one piece wooden racquets from 100 years ago.
speedysteve
Legend
Great pictures and racquets.
The patent thing is interesting.
I wonder what the "Inventive step' actually was for these to claim something new and never before in the public domain.
By 1920s and 30s you'd think pretty much every wooden racquet shape and permutation had been covered.
The patent thing is interesting.
I wonder what the "Inventive step' actually was for these to claim something new and never before in the public domain.
By 1920s and 30s you'd think pretty much every wooden racquet shape and permutation had been covered.
