By Scoop Malinowski
In a pile of a half dozen very old, used tennis racquets on a shelf in a garage in Roser’s Church secondhand store on Anna Maria Island in Florida, I spotted one of the most recognizable pieces of tennis equipment ever made…. The Head Competition. The price was $5. For a historic tennis artifact, five bucks is a steal.
Head Sport was founded in Baltimore, MD in 1950 by an aeronautical engineer named Howard Head after he took a ski vacation and was surprised to see his skis were wooden during an era when metals and plastics were replacing wood in many product designs. According to Wikipedia, “Head worked at the Glenn Martin Co. where they used a form of aluminum and plastic laminate to build the fuselages of aircraft, and he felt the same material would make an ideal ski. After two years of constantly breaking skis, by the winter of 1950 they had a design that not only stayed together, but made turning dramatically easier.”
In the late 1960’s, Head created a tennis division with a racquet featuring an aluminum frame. The first Head tennis racquet was introduced at the 1969 US Open. Head lost interest in the company and sold it in 1969 to AMF. Head later bought a controlling interest in Prince.
In the 1970’s Head sponsored Arthur Ashe, who became the first Head player to win a Grand Slam title at 1975 Wimbledon, a 62 62 62 annihilation of Jimmy Connors.
The Head Competition racquet has a very small head and is heavy but it has excellent control, power and accuracy if you can handle the heft.
PLACE MADE: United States: Colorado, Boulder
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: aluminum (skin material)fiberglass (core material)intestines, lamb (strings material)black (overall color)silver (overall color)graphite (core material)resin, epoxy (overall material)leather (handle cover material)
MEASUREMENTS: overall: 27 in x 9 in x 1/2 in; 68.58 cm x 22.86 cm x 1.27 cmoverall: 27 in x 9 in x 1 5/8 in; 68.58 cm x 22.86 cm x 4.1275 cm
I decided to use it to hit and practice with it. I liked the way it felt, so different and also a challenge to be consistent with this alien feeling object. I liked it so much I used it every day I played for a few minutes or more. Every time I pulled this racquet out of my bag, it would provoke a comment, What is that?! Whoa that’s an old racquet! One guy even knew what it was, “That’s what Arthur Ashe won Wimbledon with.”
Surprisingly it almost feels more accurate than modern racquets, the ball goes where you want it to. But if your timing is off or your form is a little sloppy, because of the tiny “sweet spot” you will miss or shank. But once you find the groove and rhythm of this racquet you feel like you’re playing well and hitting with very clean contact. It’s heavy but the small sharp frame has reduced drag.
I even ordered two friends who I hit with, to try it. They were semi reluctant – as they preferred the comfort zone of their regular racquets – but both hit very well with it, I thought, surprisingly, even maybe a little better, particularly on volleys.
So I played my first match yesterday. Not with the Head Competition – I can’t trust it yet in a tough match vs a tournament player because on serves, difficult volleys and overheads, it’s just too easy to miss and then lose trust in the racquet. So I reverted back to my primary racquet the Wilson Ultra 4.
The last time I played this opponent was a month ago and we split sets 76 46. Now after using the Head for over a week in practice, it helped me to play much better and make less errors with the lighter and much bigger sweet spotted Ultra. I won 60 63!
The lesson learned is to keep practicing a lot with the Head Competition, one of the most unique tennis racquets ever made. If you can hit confidently and consistently with a Head Competition, when you go back to your modern racquet you feel like you can’t miss.
Sidenote: Other pros besides Ashe who used the Head Competition were Tom Gorman, Pierre Barthes, Dennis Ralston and Charlie Pasarell.
Arthur Ashe · Head Competition · Head tennis · Wimbledon
