fritzhimself
Professional
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PDP Laser Graphite Oversize
- Thread starter fritzhimself
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Sanglier
Professional
PDP was a brand, not a manufacturer. They made their name by working with a couple of US manufacturers to offer good quality racquets through the mid '70s, most notably the aluminum "OPEN" made famous by Tanner (developed by Maark Corporation, which also produced the original aluminum Prince) and the 100% fiberglass "Fiberstaff" (made by Starwin Industries). The brand was eventually sold to Le Coq Sportif (at which point Tanner also switched to LCS, for a big increase in endorsement pay, according to his autobiography); LCS was itself owned by Adidas.
As most US-based racquet brands began offshoring their production to Taiwan in the early '80s, PDP (LCS/Adidas) tried to do the same, but that effort seemed rather short-lived, as the brand basically vanished altogether not too long after that. Yours is probably the result of one of those final gasps, likely not much later than 1983 by the looks of it. The Deniau endorsement could have had something to do with the brand's LCS ties.
A rare and interesting find indeed, especially given its extremely unusual specs! Too bad you don't seem to have learned much from its original owner.
As most US-based racquet brands began offshoring their production to Taiwan in the early '80s, PDP (LCS/Adidas) tried to do the same, but that effort seemed rather short-lived, as the brand basically vanished altogether not too long after that. Yours is probably the result of one of those final gasps, likely not much later than 1983 by the looks of it. The Deniau endorsement could have had something to do with the brand's LCS ties.
A rare and interesting find indeed, especially given its extremely unusual specs! Too bad you don't seem to have learned much from its original owner.
fritzhimself
Professional
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fritzhimself
Professional
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galain
Hall of Fame
By chance I put another racquet the Antelop Super Mars TC 878 on top. The shape seems to be very similar - but the two stripes are reversed.
The PDP could be made by Kunnan Lo in Taiwan.
The Antelop is the same shape - the holes are slightly different and the Antelop is 1.5 mm higher.
This brand Antelop played in the 90s a certain "Veli Paloheimo.
Veli Paloheimo of Finland returns the ball during the 1990 Stella... News Photo - Getty Images
Wow - i didn't know anyone else on the board knew of Veli Paloheimo! He had a great run down in Australia at one of the AO warmup tournaments many years ago. First and last time I ever saw an Antelop frame on the tour.
Sanglier
Professional
By chance I put another racquet the Antelop Super Mars TC 878 on top. The shape seems to be very similar - but the two stripes are reversed.
The PDP could be made by Kunnan Lo in Taiwan.
The Antelop is the same shape - the holes are slightly different and the Antelop is 1.5 mm higher.
This brand Antelop played in the 90s a certain "Veli Paloheimo.
Veli Paloheimo of Finland returns the ball during the 1990 Stella... News Photo - Getty Images
Good detective work pairing up a super obscure frame with another obscure one!
Antelop racquets were made by Taiwan Carbon Fiber Industrial Co., not Kunnan Industries. One quick way to tell a 1980s Kunnan product from other Taiwanese products of that era is the butt cap. Virtually all Kunnan OEM frame butt caps had a round depression in the middle, measuring 29-30mm in diameter. This characteristic was not exclusive to Kunnan, but if the butt cap doesn't have such a depression, it is very likely made by one of Kunnan's numerous (smaller) competitors. Antelop butt cap is a plain octagon with a raised edge, though this is not an exclusive characteristic either.
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fritzhimself
Professional
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vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
Nice stringing machine!...............here is the pale logo of the Antelop..................
coachrick
Hall of Fame
With a bit of Dunlop/Bancroft in the font/striping...maybe even a hint of Bard in the script.
