Fox racquets?????

[jaggy]

I used a Fox for a few years but I have forgotten the model, blue/black and had multi sides. i used to call it my skinhead racket as it always seemed so aggresive, i had to be playing a lot to control it but it gave me power.

 

[High street sw19]

Hank Pfister and Steve Denton appeared alongside Bosworth and Gilbert in mid-80s WORLD TENNIS magazine ads for FOX. Not sure if they actually used them in tournament play though.

I knew SD a bit when he was working with Warren Jacques back in the day, he was playing Kennex then.

 

[TheLambsheadrep]

Can I get some specs on the Bronze? Thanks

 

[Bob0636]

In the market for one or more of these

Here are 3 Red Fox that are grommet-less in design...string simply goes thru frame. These 3 are all the same model but one has a satin finish on it. I've never strung one up so I can't speak of how they hit. I also have a Silver Fox that is about an inch longer than these. I'll find a pic of it and post it.

I am very interested in buying one or more red ATP Fox graphite (NOT Bosworth) rackets. The specs on the racket I want are: 118 sq in, 100% graphite, 12 oz, 28 in long, and grometless. If any of you have any such rackets you would be willing to sell, I will pay a reasonable amount for them.

Please contact me by phone at (usa phone number) five zero nine 747 zero six three six , or rghanson at fastem.com , and I will respond ASAP. Thank you in advance!

 

[Pepecom]

Fox WB 210 Ceramic Turk?

Hi,
I'm new to the talk.
I recently found a couple Fox WB 210 Ceramic Turk, white and cyan. Does anyone know what the Turk mean? and what is the difference from the WB 210 Ceramic white with red stripes?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[rodracquet]

Found this model SILVER FOX if anyone can shed light on whether it is early or a late model. The holes are molded as part of the frame not drilled.

 

[Sanglier]

This is the second generation Silver Fox, and among the last Fox frames made in the US, I believe. There are at least two variants: The one you have shown, and another one that says "ATP" on the frame and the butt cap.

The first generation Silver Fox is the one shown in my post #44 above, which came in at least three cosmetic variants.

The third generation model is the one shown in post #24 (and reposted above). I am almost certain this last model of Silver Fox was contracted out to a Taiwanese manufacturer.

You did very well getting it for $6. I paid more than three times that much for mine on the bay and thought that it was a bargain.

Even though the first and second generation models looked very different, they are surprisingly similar in feel and temperament. I rather enjoyed playing with them both.

Be advised that those molded holes are not symmetrically arranged! If you ever decide to do a one-piece job, you will need to match the long and short strands with their appropriate sides.

I think this series of Fox frames are the most elegant of the bunch, in part due to the slick profile of the molded holes. However, I have also seen enough semi-collapsed holes now to realize that this is actually a major functional weakness in the design. Wonder whose idea this was...

---

 

[rodracquet]

Thanks for the update and information. The Sterling Steel racquet comprises two halves joined together with pins to create a similar looking open hole design.

Fox hasn't been on my radar but I do know to pick them up if I can find them.

 

[Autodidactic player]

In my opinion, the most interesting Fox racket is the "ATP Mid Fox" with no external grommet holes.

 

[rodracquet]

thanks David, never really were aware of these until reading online this week. So for internal stringing we have the CORTLAND STEEL, guess we should include T 2000 series, Seamco, and Fox ATP. It was quite interesting that the experts from the competition couldn't work out how to mold an internal loop as exists in these. Good interesting history.

 

[Autodidactic player]

...So for internal stringing we have the CORTLAND STEEL, guess we should include T 2000 series, Seamco, and Fox ATP. It was quite interesting that the experts from the competition couldn't work out how to mold an internal loop as exists in these. Good interesting history.

Don't forget the Midland S.T.R. The Maynard AirPower and the Tretorn with removable string set also have no external grommet holes when the string set is in place.

Rackets with no external grommet holes

 

[Enkitec]

Fox Pro GR Max 5000

(continued from the previous post)

Then there is the Dunlop "Black Max Plus"/ Match-Mate angle. The former was (I was told by a pro who played with this frame) only a stop gap measure before the latter became commercially available. The "Black Max Plus" and the first version of "Match Mate Graphite" are 100% identical. There are in fact other clones of this frame floating around under different guises, at least one of which showed up on the bay several months ago wearing the "Aussie" brand (an inheritor of the Chemold "Rod Laver" privilege?). This frame is an even closer derivative of the "Big Ace", and was likely made by Racquetech under contract, at least initially. It too, wears the "Graphite 1000" string pattern:

Match-Mate was trademarked by "The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tennis Practice System Corporation", a ball machine maker incorporated in 1977 in Northridge. As it so happens, their business location is a mere 8 miles away from the Chatsworth address that Graphite Sales Co/BBC/Racquetech/Fox operated out of. It is not much of a stretch to imagine that when Match-Mate executives wanted to get into the racquet-making business, they simply took a 20 minute drive to see the nearest manufacturer, and licensed the best frame they saw. Alternatively, perhaps someone who once worked at the Graphite Sales Co/BBC joined "The Great A.P.T.P.S. Corporation" and brought his racquet making knowledge and practice with him? If he had been living nearby he wouldn't even had to move.

My understanding at this point is that Match-Mate carried on making incrementally improved versions of this frame for some years even after Fox/FTM quit making anything themselves and moved to Florida in '87, so this design (in its many iterations) had achieved quite an impressive lifespan, especially considering the fact that it had begun its journey as a boutique product, and remained as one till the bitter end. It may or may not have been the first modern graphite racquet in the world, but it almost certainly was the last production racquet to have been made in Los Angeles (if not the US).

-----------

A friend of mine has this 80's racquet he bought in the US. Seems to be the same MatchMate later frame with the RoxPro logo.

Does anyone know anything about this racquet?

Thanks.
Mark Jordan

 

[Sanglier]

A friend of mine has this 80's racquet he bought in the US. Seems to be the same MatchMate later frame with the RoxPro logo.

Does anyone know anything about this racquet?

Thanks.
Mark Jordan

Nice racquet, Mark! Does your friend remember the year in which he bought it? It certainly does look like a MatchMate derivative, though the beam profile seems a little more rounded in your photos than that found on the MatchMate.

According to my source, the later MatchMates were made by Marshal, a Taiwanese OEM manufacturer that began making graphite frames in 1981, so it's entirely possible that your friend's Rox Pro was in some ways connected to those Taiwan-sourced MMs.

Has your friend compared the playing characteristics of his Rox Pro with those of the MM? Are the similarities more than skin deep? If the tie is legitimate, it would certainly add another interesting branch to the BBC/Fox/MM family tree.

---

 

[Enkitec]

Nice racquet, Mark! Does your friend remember the year in which he bought it? It certainly does look like a MatchMate derivative, though the beam profile seems a little more rounded in your photos than that found on the MatchMate.

According to my source, the later MatchMates were made by Marshal, a Taiwanese OEM manufacturer that began making graphite frames in 1981, so it's entirely possible that your friend's Rox Pro was in some ways connected to those Taiwan-sourced MMs.

Has your friend compared the playing characteristics of his Rox Pro with those of the MM? Are the similarities more than skin deep? If the tie is legitimate, it would certainly add another interesting branch to the BBC/Fox/MM family tree.

---

He isn't sure about the exact year, but it was bought between 82 and 84 in New York city.

Marshal has a web page so I sent them an email, but they didn't answer. :-(

My friend has this racquet only. He would love to compare to a MM if he can get one.

Mark Jordan

 

[Sanglier]

A lot of the regulars here from years past seem to have abandoned the hobby for one reason or another as of late. At this very moment, "schu47" is unloading the bulk of his collection on the auction site, often for a song. As much as I need to downsize my own unwieldy stash, I was compelled to go after the only "Silver Fox" ever made that used silver as its actual base color, which "schu47" had shown earlier in this thread, just so that I can take the group photo below - showing every variant of "Silver Fox" produced between 1980 and 1987 (that I know of), arranged in chronological order of appearance from left to right. The silver one at the end is the only frame in this group that was NOT made in the Racquetech/Fox factory in Chatsworth, which closed its doors in 1986.

Note the maker name change from "Racquetech" to "Fox" (which started out as a trademarked model name) circa 1983, right after FTM was formed following the Thrifty acquisition. The first generation "Silver Fox" frames on the left suffered the same fragility issues that plagued their "BBC"-branded antecedents, so surviving examples tend to show little or no sign of court use. The second generation frames on the right were made using a unique twin-core manufacturing process that was needlessly complex and labor intensive, but which produced a much better quality look and finish compared to the first generation frames. Even though these Gen II frames are slightly heftier than the Gen I, their balance and playing quality are surprisingly similar to those of the earlier racquets. The very short-lived third and final generation "Silver Fox" imported from Taiwan kept the same geometry as the earlier models, but is conventionally made and has a very head-light balance, reminiscent of the "extended length" frames that became popular a decade later.

I rather prefer the playing characteristics of the first and second generation "Silver Fox" over those of the WB series introduced in 1985, which were considered higher-end and were priced accordingly. For the aging weekend warriors of the early 1980s, these sub-12 Oz, 28"+, mid-plus frames must have felt like a gift from the future... until they snapped in half during an exclamatory overhead smash.

 

[rodracquet]

In my opinion, the most interesting Fox racket is the "ATP Mid Fox" with no external grommet holes.

David do youhave the stringing pattern for the grey ATP Fox mid please?

 

[Sanglier]

David do youhave the stringing pattern for the grey ATP Fox mid please?

David must be busy with work. Maybe the scan below can help you get started? It's excerpted from a USRSA pdf.

I strung up one of these a while back guided only by the technical drawing from the US patent pdf (long before I came to my senses and paid for a USRSA subscription). As the patent description did not include any stringing instructions, I had to reconstruct the steps backward from the minimalist drawing and muddle my way through the rest (so my tensions were completely off). It was a mentally exhausting exercise, as everything just felt "wrong" from the beginning to the end.

 

[rodracquet]

David must be busy with work. Maybe the scan below can help you get started? It's excerpted from a USRSA pdf.

I strung up one of these a while back guided only by the technical drawing from the US patent pdf (long before I came to my senses and paid for a USRSA subscription). As the patent description did not include any stringing instructions, I had to reconstruct the steps backward from the minimalist drawing and muddle my way through the rest (so my tensions were completely off). It was a mentally exhausting exercise, as everything just felt "wrong" from the beginning to the end.

Thanks so much hopefully we can follow.