The Jack Kramer Autograph: A Tale of Hope

[stotty]

The horse steroids ok with you on Mac? He can't hit a serve over 108mph. Graf had a faster serve. Joker would kill him. He'd just use that over size head woodie frame with graphite/gut alu.
18 x 20

No oversized rackets allowed, sorry. Just a Maxply.

[GeoffWilliams]

You set the rules: wooden frames, now you're changing the rules. Truth is, even with just the max ply, Joker would kill him.

Stringing instructions.

[GeoffWilliams]

There were also a lot of tennis ball manufacturers. All the balls were white.

[tennis_chiro]

There were also a lot of tennis ball manufacturers. All the balls were white.

That's some collection, Geoff. Just think of all the times we cut ourselves opening the damn cans!

don

[GeoffWilliams]

Those old sardine can openers, where you put the key into the metal tab, and rolled off the can lid, like a sardine was in there! Sharp edges indeed. How many cans were already dead and no pressure when you opened them? Every fourth can was bad. The changes have not only been rooted to string and frames. Balls/felt/ material, rubber, etc., have also been changed. The white balls would pick up dirt and turn black/gray with filth off the court. The tretorn balls sounded like metal pinging drums.

[GeoffWilliams]

How balls are made now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7ljnHIdcGY

HOw they used to be made:

History


The game of tennis (more properly known as lawn tennis) was developed in the 1870s from the game of royal or real tennis, which has been played for centuries. While both games are similar, in that they are both based on two or four players opposing each other from different sides of a net hitting a ball back and forth, the type and size of court, method of scoring, etc., are very different.

Real tennis balls have been traditionally made from a spherical stitched envelope of leather or cloth stuffed with rags, horsehair or similar material, while tennis balls have always been based on rubber.
"Clover-Leaf" Balls

From the beginning of lawn tennis in the 1870s, India rubber, made from a vulcanisation process invented by Charles Goodyear in the 1850s, was used to manufacture lawn tennis balls.

Traditional White Lawn Tennis BallOriginally tennis balls were made solely of rubber, but the wearing and playing properties of the balls were improved by covering them with flannel stitched around the rubber 'core'. The ball was quickly developed by making the core hollow and pressurising it with gas.
Originally, core manufacture was based on the 'clover-leaf' principle whereby uncured rubber sheet was stamped into a shape resembling a three-leaf clover and this was assembled into a roughly spherical space by machinery adapted for the purpose. Chemicals generating pressurising gas were added prior to closing the assembly and these were activated on moulding the core to a spherical shape in heated cavities.
The process was used for many years until the precision of the game demanded a higher degree of uniformity (particularly relating to wall thickness) than could be obtained with the clover-leaf method. Now it is usual to compression mould two separate 'half-shells' which are assembled together to produce a 'core'. The original flannel cloth was replaced by special 'melton' cloth made specifically for the purpose and the stitching has been replaced by a vulcanised rubber seam.
The Yellow Ball

Historically, balls were either black or white in colour, depending on the background colour of the courts. In 1972 the ITF introduced yellow tennis balls into the rules of tennis, as research had shown these balls to be more visible to television viewers. Meanwhile Wimbledon continued to use the traditional white ball, but eventually adopted yellow balls in 1986.

Optic Yellow Cloth Tennis BallUntil high altitude balls were introduced into the rules in 1989, only one type of tennis ball was allowed. The Type 1 and Type 3 balls were introduced into the rules in 2002.

Other properties of the tennis ball have changed over time. The range of forward and return deformations - the change in the ball's diameter under an increasing and decreasing load of 8.165 kg - have varied over the years, reaching their current values in 1996.

[GeoffWilliams]

Three types of modern tennis balls
Table 1: Standard Tennis Ball Specifications


TYPE 1
(FAST)
TYPE 2 (MEDIUM)1 TYPE 3 (SLOW)2 HIGH ALTITUDE3
WEIGHT
(MASS)
1.975-2.095 ounces
(56.0-59.4 grams)
1.975-2.095 ounces
(56.0-59.4 grams)
1.975-2.095 ounces
(56.0-59.4 grams)
1.975-2.095 ounces
(56.0-59.4 grams)
SIZE
2.57-2.700 inches
(6.54-6.86 cm)
2.57-2.700 inches
(6.54-6.86 cm)
2.76-2.87 inches
(7.00-7.30 cm)

2.57-2.700 inches
(6.54-6.86 cm)
REBOUND
53-58 inches
(135-147 cm)
53-58 inches
(135-147 cm)
53-58 inches
(135-147 cm)
48-53 inches
(122-135 cm)
FORWARD DEFORMATION4
0.197-0.236 inches
(0.5-0.60 cm)
0.220-0.291 inches
(0.56-0.74 cm)
0.220-0.291 inches
(0.56-0.74 cm)
0.220-0.291 inches
(0.559-0.74 cm)
RETURN
DEFORMATION4
0.264-0.358 inches
(0.670-0.91 cm)
0.315-0.425 inches
(0.800-1.080 cm)
0.315-0.425 inches
(0.800-1.080 cm)
0.315-0.425 inches
(0.800-1.080 cm)

TABLE 2: TENNIS BALL DURABLILITY SPECIFICATIONS

WEIGHT (MASS) REBOUND
FORWARD
DEFORMATION
RETURN
DEFORMATION
MAXIMUM
CHANGE
0.014 ounces
(0.4 grams)
1.6 inches
(4.0 cm)
0.031 inches
(0.08 cm)
0.039 inches
(0.10 cm)

Specifications for Stage 3 (Red), Stage 2 (Orange), Stage 1 (Green) Introductory Tennis Balls


Stage 3
(Red- foam)
Stage 3
(Red- standard)
Stage 2
(Orange)
Stage 1
(Green)
WEIGHT
(MASS)
0.882-1.517 ounces
(25.0-43.0 grams)
1.270-1.728 ounces
(36.0-49.0 grams)
1.270-1.654 ounces
(36.0-46.9 grams)
1.658-1.817 ounces
(47.0-51.5 grams)
SIZE
3.15-3.54 inches
(8.00-9.00 cm)
2.76-3.15 inches
(7.00-8.00 cm)
2.36-2.70 inches
(6.00-6.86 cm)
2.48-2.70 inches
(6.30-6.86 cm)
REBOUND
HEIGHT
33-41 inches
(85-105 cm)
35-41 inches
(90-105 cm)
41-47 iinches
(105-120 cm)
47-53 inches
(120-135 cm)

FORWARD
DEFORMATION

--

--
0.551-0.650 inches
(1.40-1.65 cm)
0.315-0.413 inches
(0.800-1.050 cm)

[GeoffWilliams]

For Donbudge. This is what woodies looked like when you bought them in the old days, brand new. Still encased in a plastic bag!

[don_budge]

The Price you Pay…for Balls

That's some collection, Geoff. Just think of all the times we cut ourselves opening the damn cans!

don

Yeah…that's some collection. Maybe I shouldn't even mention this. Oh what the hell. There is a can of "Bill Tilden Balls" in the collection.

In the Sears 1905 (when I was a teenager) catalogue tennis balls cost 1.50 dollars for a can of three balls. Today I think you can get typical tennis balls in the USA for around 2.00 dollars a can. It was the single item least effected by inflation in the whole catalogue. In Sweden today a can of Technifibre balls will cost you about 10.00 retail. Almost 5.00 dollars at cost. That is for a can of four balls…the quality and wear is twice superior of the typical can of balls that you buy in the States.

Ironically back in the late sixties and early seventies the "odd ball" in the market in the US was the Tretorn ball that is made in Sweden. They were pressureless and felt like rocks. Or rather I should say it used to be made in Sweden. As far as I know all balls are now made in factories down in Southeast Asia.

I'll never forget gingerly opening the can of new ball with the key and getting a whiff of the smell of new balls. It smelled like…Victory! (to paraphrase Robert Duvall in "Apocalypse Now" and the smell of napalm in the morning)

[GeoffWilliams]

There is a can of Bill Cosby balls in the collection also. He was an avid player.

From woodies we graduated to the T-2000: And the spaghetti era soon after:

[GeoffWilliams]

And then the redhead aluminum/titanium frame I beams:
And its imitators:

[GeoffWilliams]

Then they began to build all graphite frames, and extending them:

28.375 in. long, 16 x20 A frame that was somewhat fragile, but had great serve/volley. Its precursor was a titanium frame.

[don_budge]

John McEnroe speaks the Truth…"I wouldn't let them do that"

I would like to make McEnroe 22 again. I'd stick him in a Wimbledon final against Djokovic today on a 1970s grass court. Both players to use wooden rackets. Now that would be interesting...

It wouldn't even be close.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/12/51/Two-Minutes-With-McEnroes.aspx

In less than two minutes good old Johnny Boy gets right to the point. The game changed when he was on the very top. He has stayed on top of the scene and he has the uncanny ability to discern all of the current stuff going on and comparing it to the older and classic game. He is absolutely telling the truth.

"You watch these guys...it’s incredible. To watch the defense that Djokovic plays...he’s not the first guy to play defense or Nadal. They’ve just taken it to this level because of the technology and what they’ve been given. And so they’ve taken advantage of it...in certain ways I love that but it is totally different from what I would do and I wouldn’t let them do that if I played them because I wouldn’t let a rally go long enough where they could get that...in that comfort zone. That was my whole sort of idea...to put pressure on people."

He's a student of Bill Tilden as Tilden wrote extensively about maintaining pressure on your opponent.

An interesting scenario Stotty. I get the distinct impression here that John McEnroe isn't buying into the superiority of the modern paradigm of tennis and of course he is right on all counts.

John McEnroe versus either Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal under 1980 conditions…slick grass and Dunlop Maxplys…straight sets to McEnroe in a cake walk. Neither would know what hit them. No snap volleys. Furthermore…both of the modern players would struggle against anyone in the top hundred under those conditions…the depth in the draws was far deeper in terms of talent as well as tactics. Every single player played all court tennis. Except for maybe the clay court specialists.

[GeoffWilliams]

And the horse steroids. The cocaine. The speed. Mc would be the one losing in straight sets, but it is not possible to change the mind of someone who is not living in reality. Mc could not hit a serve over 108mph. Joker lose? Yeah, in your dreams. Equipment only matters in players of close or equal ability.

[hockeyscout]

John McEnroe would just get killed. Tennis has evolved. No way he'd keep up with the fitness, strength, nutrition and better technique. It would take Novak one week to get sorted out with the old racket, figure out the sweet spot and rhythm. It would take John McEnroe two and a half years physically even be near the strength and mobility of todays players, and I am positive he'd break down a lot all the way as todays generation is more durable. How about we give John McEnroe the same equipment as is used today? It'd be even more of a blowout as his lack of athletism would be even more apparent.