Tennis Man
Hall of Fame
*** I just want to share my notes and get more information on these graphite models. I specifically avoid discussion of ceramic and fiberglass versions like Sting or JK Staff although info on their release would be valuable ***
In 1980 Ultra Graphite was Wilson's first graphite tennis racket and one of the first (braided) graphite racquets. Just like a wood racket it had standard head size and similar weight and balance with a constant taper from handle to head. It came with metal Perimeter Weighting System (PWS) plates riveted to 3/9 o'clock. Ultra PWS was exactly the same except Wilson was written on PWS plates.
In 1982 Ultra II was born. Wilson launched the Ultra 2 in three head sizes: standard, mid, and OS. The mid became a favorite of several players on the tour. The first version of Ultra II had metal PWS plates riveted to 3/9 o'clock. The later version had the integrated PWS, was made in St Vincent and one of the early player's racquets to incorporate the stiff frame construction of braided graphite and boron.
Ultra Graphite (original, USA)
- Probably made at River Grove, IL factory near Chicago
- black butt cap
- grip size sticker on the outside
- collar above the grip
- converging grommet channels
- PWS plates on outside
- white single stripe
Ultra 2 PWS outside (USA 1)
- Probably made at River Grove, IL factory near Chicago
- black butt cap
- grip size sticker on the outside
- collar above the grip
- converging grommet channels
- PWS plates on outside
- white stripes
- plastic bridge
Ultra 2 (USA 2)
- Probably made at River Grove, IL factory near Chicago
- black butt cap
- grip size sticker on the outside
- collar above the grip
- converging grommet channels
- yellow stripes
Ultra 2 (St Vincent)
- made on St Vincent
- white butt cap with XXQ
- grip size sticker on the inside of the throat
- no grip collar
- square grommet channels
- Fairway leather grip
- red stripes
The Pro Staff Midsize Original was the brainchild of Wilson marketing back in 1982. Following on the heels of the successful Ultra and Sting models, the ProStaff combined the basic racquet shape of the Sting with the Ultra's braided graphite/kevlar construction and Perimeter Weighting System (PWS).
In 1983 the ProStaff was introduced and originally manufactured in Wilson's River Grove, IL factory, it had no bumper (a bumper was added in 1984). Shortly thereafter, manufacturing was moved to St. Vincent, The Grenadines.
The articles about St vincent can be found here:
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/60/ProstaffOrigins.html
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/60/StVincent.html
http://thetenniswiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Wilson+Pro+Staff+6.0+Original+Mid+85
What I wanted to focus on is the different variations of Pro Staff that I have had, seen or heard of (some of it was recycled from other threads and discussions). All of the earlier rare St Vincent had matte finish and white butt caps and PRO STAFF written in capital letters on both sides.
Pro Staff 85 (Chicago):
- Made in 1983-1984 at River Grove, IL factory near Chicago
- white butt cap with NO registered mark symbol next to "W"
- 3-letter code ending with "I" under "W"
- bumperless construction, so the grommet set was unique
- three separate raised throat grommets
- Fairway leather grip
- red primer can be seen through scratches
- "MIDSIZE" on both sides of throat
stickers inside the throat on one side:
- grip size sticker, recommended tension sticker "String at 65-70 lbs."
- specification sticker "Weight/Oz. 11.6-12.3 Unstrung - Balanced 1.0-1.5 in. headlight"
Pro Staff 85 (St. Vincent ):
1. The first St Vincent production was the same as Chicago PS 85 (bumperless, NO registered mark, etc.). The only change was that the butt code ended with a "Q"
2. The tension on the stickers was lowered to 55-65lb (maybe to reflect the emergence of stiffer synthetic strings?). The (R)egistered mark appeared next to red "W"
3. The next step was the emergence of a bumper guard on the models with stickers wit 55-65lb tension. The grommet set was changed to 22D 1615 (used all way up to Taiwan version).
4. The tension on the stickers was lowered again to 50-60 lb. That was the last version to come with the stickers. At some point "St. Vincent W.I" sticker was added to the butt cap above "W".
5. Soon the stickers were replaced in throat to decals that describe Wilson PWS on one side, recommended tension on the other (50-60 lbs.) and higher/lower tension recommendation for control/power. From here forward the paint finish wasn't very consistent. I've as many frames with matte finish as with a bit more polished/glossier finish. "MIDSIZE" was written on both sides of throat.
6. Later a black rectangular grip size sticker placed at the outside of the throat above the handle and a WIlson holgram was place on the opposite side.
7. The latest variation of St Vincent had "MIDSIZE" written just on one side while "80% braided graphite/20% kevlar" decal was on another side. "Wilson Quality" hologram sticker had become standard.
Pro Staff 85 (Taiwan):
After the St. Vincent factory closed, Wilson tried to make the rackets in Taiwan using an all uni-directional layup. However, the racquets didn't have the same feel as braided construction. Within 4 months of the St. Vincent factory closing, Wilson went through 12 - 15 iterations of braided construction. Shortly thereafter, they were up and running with braided construction ProStaffs from Taiwan. I have yet to see a Taiwan version with unidirectional layup.
- Racquets were still made with white butt cap
- 3-letter code was moved above "W"
- the grommet set was still 22D 1615 like St Vincent and the channels were more rounded
- the paint finish became glossy
- Fairway leather grip remained
- red primer was changed to dull grey
- "MIDSIZE" was written just on one side while "80% braided graphite/20% kevlar" decal was on another side. "Wilson Quality" hologram sticker was standard.
1. The earlier Taiwan models were very similar to the latest St Vincent except for grey primer, glossy finish and different butt cap code. Also the lettering inside the throat became smaller in font.
2. Later the color of pinstripes became darker in tint. The PWS letters became smaller and the recommended tension decal has added recommendation for using Wilson syn gut. A barcode was added to the Wilson Quality sticker.
Pro Staff 85 (early China):
Transition to China:
- same as late Taiwanese, but has all cap "CHINA" sticker below "W" on butt cap (assuming use of last Taiwanese stock)
Chinese PS85 (early):
- Produced at CHIAO TA factory in mainland China
- new design with wider throat and one-piece throat grommet
- slightly different drill pattern as the old grommets no longer easily fit
- white primer
- Pro Staff logo is written in Italics
- larger font for "PWS" at sides of head
- "85 sq. in." decal on inner face of head near throat
- brighter, wider pinstriping
- Fairway leather and white butt cap
Chinese (mid):
- throat decal has specs and square with "6.0" swing index info
- use of "Pro Staff 6.0" in Garamond font at face of throat
- transition from Fairway leather to Wilson leather
- transition from white butt cap to black butt cap with red square and small white Wilson "W"
Chinese (late and last):
- silver specification decal at insides of throat
In 1980 Ultra Graphite was Wilson's first graphite tennis racket and one of the first (braided) graphite racquets. Just like a wood racket it had standard head size and similar weight and balance with a constant taper from handle to head. It came with metal Perimeter Weighting System (PWS) plates riveted to 3/9 o'clock. Ultra PWS was exactly the same except Wilson was written on PWS plates.
In 1982 Ultra II was born. Wilson launched the Ultra 2 in three head sizes: standard, mid, and OS. The mid became a favorite of several players on the tour. The first version of Ultra II had metal PWS plates riveted to 3/9 o'clock. The later version had the integrated PWS, was made in St Vincent and one of the early player's racquets to incorporate the stiff frame construction of braided graphite and boron.
Ultra Graphite (original, USA)
- Probably made at River Grove, IL factory near Chicago
- black butt cap
- grip size sticker on the outside
- collar above the grip
- converging grommet channels
- PWS plates on outside
- white single stripe
Ultra 2 PWS outside (USA 1)
- Probably made at River Grove, IL factory near Chicago
- black butt cap
- grip size sticker on the outside
- collar above the grip
- converging grommet channels
- PWS plates on outside
- white stripes
- plastic bridge
Ultra 2 (USA 2)
- Probably made at River Grove, IL factory near Chicago
- black butt cap
- grip size sticker on the outside
- collar above the grip
- converging grommet channels
- yellow stripes
Ultra 2 (St Vincent)
- made on St Vincent
- white butt cap with XXQ
- grip size sticker on the inside of the throat
- no grip collar
- square grommet channels
- Fairway leather grip
- red stripes
The Pro Staff Midsize Original was the brainchild of Wilson marketing back in 1982. Following on the heels of the successful Ultra and Sting models, the ProStaff combined the basic racquet shape of the Sting with the Ultra's braided graphite/kevlar construction and Perimeter Weighting System (PWS).
In 1983 the ProStaff was introduced and originally manufactured in Wilson's River Grove, IL factory, it had no bumper (a bumper was added in 1984). Shortly thereafter, manufacturing was moved to St. Vincent, The Grenadines.
The articles about St vincent can be found here:
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/60/ProstaffOrigins.html
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/60/StVincent.html
http://thetenniswiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Wilson+Pro+Staff+6.0+Original+Mid+85
What I wanted to focus on is the different variations of Pro Staff that I have had, seen or heard of (some of it was recycled from other threads and discussions). All of the earlier rare St Vincent had matte finish and white butt caps and PRO STAFF written in capital letters on both sides.
Pro Staff 85 (Chicago):
- Made in 1983-1984 at River Grove, IL factory near Chicago
- white butt cap with NO registered mark symbol next to "W"
- 3-letter code ending with "I" under "W"
- bumperless construction, so the grommet set was unique
- three separate raised throat grommets
- Fairway leather grip
- red primer can be seen through scratches
- "MIDSIZE" on both sides of throat
stickers inside the throat on one side:
- grip size sticker, recommended tension sticker "String at 65-70 lbs."
- specification sticker "Weight/Oz. 11.6-12.3 Unstrung - Balanced 1.0-1.5 in. headlight"
Pro Staff 85 (St. Vincent ):
1. The first St Vincent production was the same as Chicago PS 85 (bumperless, NO registered mark, etc.). The only change was that the butt code ended with a "Q"
2. The tension on the stickers was lowered to 55-65lb (maybe to reflect the emergence of stiffer synthetic strings?). The (R)egistered mark appeared next to red "W"
3. The next step was the emergence of a bumper guard on the models with stickers wit 55-65lb tension. The grommet set was changed to 22D 1615 (used all way up to Taiwan version).
4. The tension on the stickers was lowered again to 50-60 lb. That was the last version to come with the stickers. At some point "St. Vincent W.I" sticker was added to the butt cap above "W".
5. Soon the stickers were replaced in throat to decals that describe Wilson PWS on one side, recommended tension on the other (50-60 lbs.) and higher/lower tension recommendation for control/power. From here forward the paint finish wasn't very consistent. I've as many frames with matte finish as with a bit more polished/glossier finish. "MIDSIZE" was written on both sides of throat.
6. Later a black rectangular grip size sticker placed at the outside of the throat above the handle and a WIlson holgram was place on the opposite side.
7. The latest variation of St Vincent had "MIDSIZE" written just on one side while "80% braided graphite/20% kevlar" decal was on another side. "Wilson Quality" hologram sticker had become standard.
Pro Staff 85 (Taiwan):
After the St. Vincent factory closed, Wilson tried to make the rackets in Taiwan using an all uni-directional layup. However, the racquets didn't have the same feel as braided construction. Within 4 months of the St. Vincent factory closing, Wilson went through 12 - 15 iterations of braided construction. Shortly thereafter, they were up and running with braided construction ProStaffs from Taiwan. I have yet to see a Taiwan version with unidirectional layup.
- Racquets were still made with white butt cap
- 3-letter code was moved above "W"
- the grommet set was still 22D 1615 like St Vincent and the channels were more rounded
- the paint finish became glossy
- Fairway leather grip remained
- red primer was changed to dull grey
- "MIDSIZE" was written just on one side while "80% braided graphite/20% kevlar" decal was on another side. "Wilson Quality" hologram sticker was standard.
1. The earlier Taiwan models were very similar to the latest St Vincent except for grey primer, glossy finish and different butt cap code. Also the lettering inside the throat became smaller in font.
2. Later the color of pinstripes became darker in tint. The PWS letters became smaller and the recommended tension decal has added recommendation for using Wilson syn gut. A barcode was added to the Wilson Quality sticker.
Pro Staff 85 (early China):
Transition to China:
- same as late Taiwanese, but has all cap "CHINA" sticker below "W" on butt cap (assuming use of last Taiwanese stock)
Chinese PS85 (early):
- Produced at CHIAO TA factory in mainland China
- new design with wider throat and one-piece throat grommet
- slightly different drill pattern as the old grommets no longer easily fit
- white primer
- Pro Staff logo is written in Italics
- larger font for "PWS" at sides of head
- "85 sq. in." decal on inner face of head near throat
- brighter, wider pinstriping
- Fairway leather and white butt cap
Chinese (mid):
- throat decal has specs and square with "6.0" swing index info
- use of "Pro Staff 6.0" in Garamond font at face of throat
- transition from Fairway leather to Wilson leather
- transition from white butt cap to black butt cap with red square and small white Wilson "W"
Chinese (late and last):
- silver specification decal at insides of throat
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