Mac and the Kramer pro staff

[Lendlisking]

Was it just a matter of $$$$ that Mac dropped Wilson to play the Maxply Fort, then to his Maxply McEnroe ? I thought the Kramer Pro Staff was one of , if not the finest wood racket ever produced ! Please chime in with your thoughts.

 

[Autodidactic player]

Was it just a matter of $$$$ that Mac dropped Wilson to play the Maxply Fort, then to his Maxply McEnroe ? I thought the Kramer Pro Staff was one of , if not the finest wood racket ever produced ! Please chime in with your thoughts.

There is a pretty good answer on the 80's Tennis website:

http://www.80s-tennis.com/pages/john-mcenroe.html

 

[Lendlisking]

Thanks !!

Thanks so much for that info !! I really appreciate the people out here that know all the behind the scenes info about the players and their equipment !! Hard to believe a company like Wilson would let him go after the 80 Wimbledon ? I mean.... come on right !!!! Probably the greatest match of all time up to that point in tennis history, and they want to let Johnny Mac get away !! Wonder who lost their job at Wilson for that blunder !!

 

[Lendlisking]

There is a pretty good answer on the 80's Tennis website:

http://www.80s-tennis.com/pages/john-mcenroe.html

Sweet history lesson with Mac and Wilson / Dunlop !! Thanks for the link !! I just love this **** !!!

 

[coolhandluke]

BTW McEnroe used the Dunlop maxply fort before he used the Wilson pro staff. He was kicked off dunlop's free list due to his temper.

 

[Lendlisking]

BTW McEnroe used the Dunlop maxply fort before he used the Wilson pro staff. He was kicked off dunlop's free list due to his temper.

Very cool tid bit !! thanks !!

 

[Lendlisking]

Kinda cool story but not true. I was in the junior program with JMac at Port Washington in the 70s and he went to Wilson for another reason.

VITAS - everyone was in awe of Vitas - and when Vitas made it big John like just about all of us wanted to play same as Vitas and Vitas was a Wilson guy.

Back then It was much much easier to get on free lists and Wilson also gave you more stuff - JMac in the Jrs was not the psycho you saw after 1977 -

I never heard of anyone getting dropped from any free lists due to temper?

Thanks for that update !! I love the back story on all our fav players from the 70's and 80's !!!

 

[BreakPoint]

Yes it was money........the Maxply McEnroe was closer to the Pro Staff than the fort. It was a big deal in 1980 when Jmac's dad made the rounds to all the manufacturers that John was looking for a long term multi million dollar contract.

The Fort that John used for about a year was heavily modified and the flex of the hoop was a huge issue he had to get used too - but the main reason he switched was MONEY.

I've always suspected that since the Maxply Fort played so differently from the Kramer Pro Staff. The Maxply Fort has such a flexy hoop that I thought there's no way that anyone who's so used to volleying with the Kramer Pro Staff could so quickly become comfortable volleying with the Maxply Fort. I'm sure Dunlop stiffened the hoop on the Maxply Fort for McEnroe to make it play more like the Kramer Pro Staff.

 

[vsbabolat]

I've always suspected that since the Maxply Fort played so differently from the Kramer Pro Staff. The Maxply Fort has such a flexy hoop that I thought there's no way that anyone who's so used to volleying with the Kramer Pro Staff could so quickly become comfortable volleying with the Maxply Fort. I'm sure Dunlop stiffened the hoop on the Maxply Fort for McEnroe to make it play more like the Kramer Pro Staff.

They did not.

 

[BreakPoint]

They did not.

How do you know? Do you have one of McEnroe's personal Maxply Forts from 1981 and compared it to a stock Kramer Pro Staff?

 

[BreakPoint]

I can tell you they did not........he played with a stock Fort - he did add the lead tape to the sides of the hoop (trend he kept when he swapped to the 200G).

Now the Maxply McEnroe was a virtual copy of the Wilson.....it had the traditional Dunlop long flake and super stiff shaft and they added a beefy and much stiffer hoop.

The Maxply Fort was a very very special frame - it didn't change for close to 50yrs - the flexi hoop and stiff shaft was just majic and that's why just about EVERY player from the late 30s until 70s used it at one time.

You can look up pics from 1981 and clearly see JMac used the Fort -

I know all about the Maxply Fort as I used it exclusively for over 10 years. I also have a Maxply McEnroe and a Kramer Pro Staff, both of which I've owned for over 30 years, so I know the differences and similarities between the 3 frames very well. This is why I find it very hard to believe that McEnroe could so easily transition from a stock Kramer Pro Staff to a stock Maxply Fort in only a matter of weeks. The flexy hoop on the Maxply Fort would cause him to lose control of his volleys as compared to the stiff hoop on the Kramer Pro Staff.

I'll ask you the same question that I asked vsbabolat - Do you have one of McEnroe's personal Maxply Forts from 1981 and have compared it to a stock Kramer Pro Staff? If not, how can you be so sure that his Maxply Fort did not have the hoop stiffened?

 

[BreakPoint]

Well all I can tell you is yes I was there - on court and in the locker room. His frames were stock - he had a specific weight range that the Dunlop would pull for him but overall he used what was sent to him - even the stock leather grip.

Did you ever hit with his Maxply Fort? If not, how do you know how stiff the hoop was? How do you know Dunlop didn't stiffen the hoop for him, just like Donnay stiffened the hoop of Allwoods just for Borg?

 

[ericsson]

Did you ever hit with his Maxply Fort? If not, how do you know how stiff the hoop was? How do you know Dunlop didn't stiffen the hoop for him, just like Donnay stiffened the hoop of Allwoods just for Borg?

They only stiffened the racket to cope with the very high tensions Borg used.

ps: I saw Johnny last weekend vs Henri, he was switching between Bio Max 200 and the Maxply graphite... (not his best match btw)

 

[vsbabolat]

Well all I can tell you is yes I was there - on court and in the locker room. His frames were stock - he had a specific weight range that the Dunlop would pull for him but overall he used what was sent to him - even the stock leather grip.

You are wasting your time with this guy. His favorite pass time is arguing on here.

 

[NLBwell]

I was in the junior program with JMac at Port Washington in the 70s and he went to Wilson for another reason.

So when did you get to Houston/Friendswood so you could target me at the net?

 

[BreakPoint]

You are wasting your time with this guy. His favorite pass time is arguing on here.

What '"arguing"? I'm trying to understand how anyone can know how stiff the hoop of a certain racquet is without ever playing with it?

 

[BreakPoint]

They only stiffened the racket to cope with the very high tensions Borg used.

That might be true, but my point is that makers of wood racquets at that time did have the capability to stiffen the hoops of racquets if they needed to for a sponsored pro.

 

[tennis4josh]

What '"arguing"? I'm trying to understand how anyone can know how stiff the hoop of a certain racquet is without ever playing with it?

Dude, you *are* arguing. Your line of questioning will never end. If he said, "Yes, I played with JMac's racket.", you will then ask him to prove that.

-Josh

 

[BreakPoint]

Dude, you *are* arguing. Your line of questioning will never end. If he said, "Yes, I played with JMac's racket.", you will then ask him to prove that.

-Josh

No, I wouldn't. I would take his word for it.

But how can you take someone's word of how something feels if they never felt it? It would be like taking the word of someone's review of a movie or a book who never even saw the movie or read the book.

 

[struggle]

No, I wouldn't. I would take his word for it.

But how can you take someone's word of how something feels if they never felt it? It would be like taking the word of someone's review of a movie or a book who never even saw the movie or read the book.

please furthur explain (show me/us) where someone said they knew how the (whichever you are referring, one of three) rackets mcenroe was holding actually felt?

they didn't as far as i can read, but i'm baked. please help.

 

[BreakPoint]

please furthur explain (show me/us) where someone said they knew how the (whichever you are referring, one of three) rackets mcenroe was holding actually felt?

they didn't as far as i can read, but i'm baked. please help.

A couple of people here claimed that his Maxply Forts were stock, meaning that they had the flexible hoop just like the retail version did. My question is how do they know that the hoop wasn't stiffened up without actually hitting with it or personally know someone that hit with it? Unlike with most specs, feel is not something you can know unless you actually feel it.