Wilson Original Pro Staff 6.0 Midsize Bumperless Saint Vincent Hrq

  

WILSON ORIGINAL PRO STAFF 6.0 MIDSIZE BUMPERLESS SAINT VINCENT HRQ. Mid Size 85 Wilson Pro Staff 4 3/8 grip unstrung. This is one of the "real" ones produced in St. First gen production so thats why its bumperless, and it has HRQ on the butt cap. It has a black replacement grip with a red dry absorb overgrip.

The plow and control on every shot is amazing. Overall condition I would rate it 6/10 because the top of the racquet has heavy court rash. Strings in picture not included.

But I string also and will throw in a free stringing service and pack of strings free of charge. Grip - 4 3/8 (L3). Headsize - 85 sq in. Please ask any questions & feel free to make an offer. INFO and history of Saint Vincent pro staff. This ex-Wilson factory would likely be a footnote in the history of racquet production were it not for Pete Sampras. It has become common knowledge among Sampras fans and ProStaff officianados that Pete only plays with racquets that were made in St. Vincent, a Carribean island in the Grenadines.

Vincent was originally chosen as a manufacturing site by a group of Wilson VPs who were touring the Carribean region, searching for a suitable factory site. If you've spent a winter in Wilson's hometown of Chicago, you wouldn't need to ask. Vincent was already manufacturing clothing, gloves, etc.

In 1983, Wilson changed it into a manufacturing house and it produced a variety of models, including the ProStaff Original. When we started, there were 50-60 workers finishing and assembling racquets. When the factory closed in mid-1991, there were over 450 direct laborers manufacturing, finishing and assembling Wilson racquets.

Ken responds, it was a combination of factors. One difference was that the workers had no previous experience and thus had no bad habits. We trained them how we wanted racquets made and they followed our instructions to a tee.

They were loyal, hard workers and competed against each other for the lowest number of rejected racquets, keeping work areas neat, etc. As a result, our reject rate was close to zero. Also, each frame was bar-coded and tracked from start to finish through the manufacturing process. Consequently, if a racquet was too heavy, we could determine where the error originated. This resulted in very high quality control.

David Price, former Engineering Manager at the St. We had huge amounts of statistical data from measuring raw materials and racquets up to 20 times during the manufacturing process. Our quality control was second to none in the industry at that time. " Rich Janes, a former colleague of Sherman and ex-Wilson engineer adds, "there was also the molds. Over time, they became worn and a little loose and they wouldn't close completely.

As a result the ProStaff Original came out at 18mm, instead of 17mm. Nobody at Wilson can confirm this but it adds to the St. Whatever the real reasons, a few top players just prefer the feel of ProStaffs manufactured in St.

Who's gonna argue with Pete Sampras? A Brief History of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is an independent state with a stable, democratic government. Formerly part of the British colony of the Windward Islands from 1871 to 1969, it became a British Associated State for 10 years prior to full independence in 1979.

The governmental system is based on the British system. English, with a unique Vincentian / British accent is spoken throughout the islands. The British era of the islands' history covers only a short period of time. Archaeologists' research name the prehistoric settlements in the Grenadines as the last intact chronological evidence of South American cultures migration to the area. Buried in the scrub and soil, the Archaeologists found a great diversity of ceramic styles from these migrations.

Roughly hewn stone and shell tools and axes made by stone-age men more than 7000 years ago are found in the islands. These tools belonged to a group of hunter-gatherers, the Ciboneys, who explored and lived on the islands eating fruit and berries, seashells and the pink conch. More than 200 years before Christ, another culture travelling in 50 foot dugout canoes arrived in these islands. The Arawaks carried fire-burners, animals and plants.

During a 1500 year period the West Indian islands were peaceful, but the peaceful Arawaks could not survive another invading people, the Caribs. In 1498 on his third voyage, Christopher Columbus sighted a new island. Hairoun, the Indian name for the island, was a land blessed with rainbows, mist, fertile valleys and sun. " Columbus named the island "St. Vincent after the Spanish saint.

But, the Caribs were a formidable force and the reefs of the Grenadines so treacherous that the Spanish avoided them altogether. In 1595, Sir Walter Raleigh visited St. Vincent briefly and came away with the impression that the island was inhabited by cannibals and savages. It was not for nearly 200 years that any Europeans were able to settle on the islands.

Vincent, living in the densely forested, mountainous interior were able to resist European settlement longer than any other island in the Caribbean. Vincent were joined by Caribs fleeing the Europeans on other islands, and also by runaway African slaves and slaves who survived shipwrecks in the area. News of the free men on St. Vincent spread throughout the islands.

By 1676, 30% of the population of St. Vincent consisted of former slaves. Wilson ProStaff Original 6.0. A Pro Staff 6.0. Note the lead taping placed at 3 and 9 o'clock to further increase weight and stability, as well as at 12 for added swingweight.

This racquet has been strung with polyester strings. At the bottom of the stringbed is a Pete Sampras vibration dampener.

The Wilson Pro Staff Original, first introduced in 1984[1] is most known for being the model of racket used by Pete Sampras. Originally manufactured in Chicago, Illinois and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Pro Staff line was Wilson's answer to the Prince Graphite, Yonex Rex series, and the Dunlop Max 200G. The original graphite Pro Staff was 110 square inches; the 85, 95, and 125 sizes were developed from it. Pete Sampras, who used the racquet for his entire professional career, established the reputation of the Pro Staff 85 (graphite/Kevlar) as a legendary racquet more than any other player. Other first-rate players who have used the Pro Staff 85 Kevlar during their professional careers include Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, Stefan Edberg, Chris Evert, Roger Federer, and Mary Pierce.

The first Pro Staff was the high-end Jack Kramer standard wooden model. It was stiffer than the extremely popular Jack Kramer Autograph model and favored by professional players for that reason. This racquet established the "Pro Staff" branding as being Wilson's finest product.

However, as Wilson transitioned away from wood, steel, and aluminum, the company's first graphite models were not given this name. Instead, early Wilson models were the 1980 Ultra, the 1981 Javelin, the 1982 Sting, and the graphite/boron Ultra II. As with the earlier Sting and Ultra II, the first graphite/Kevlar Pro Staff model was a "large head" 110 square-inch oversize. The Pro Staff design combined the braided construction of the earlier Ultra line with the most of the shape of the Sting (that was produced without a throat bar). The Pro Staff models also were of medium stiffness, again reflecting a design philosophy that blended the Ultra II, which was very stiff, and the Sting, which was flexible. Contrary to popular belief, the stiffer and heavier Ultra II, not a member of the Pro Staff line, was Wilson's most expensive racquet until the 1987 Profile debuted. Wilson produced many lesser-known models with the Pro Staff mold, including the Jack Kramer Pro Staff 85 (80% graphite and 20% fiberglass), the Matrix, the Graphite Cruncher, the Graphite Aggressor, the Ceramic, and several others. These variants were less stiff than the well-known graphite/Kevlar model. Chris Evert used the Jack Kramer model to reach the final of the 1984 French Open where she was defeated in straight sets by Martina Navratilova, who was using the Yonex R-27, a graphite/boron design similar to the Ultra II.

She defeated Navratilova in 1985 with the graphite/Kevlar Pro Staff 85. Navratilova, meanwhile, had switched back to the less stiff R-22, a graphite/fiberglass model. The name "ProStaff Original 6.0" is not what the racquet was known by for many years. Only for later productions did Wilson add "6.0" to the paint job.

In fact, there is nothing "original" about this model, as it is not the first Wilson graphite racquet by any means, and the 110 square inch model was the original in the line, not the longer-lived 85 square inch variant. A similarly misapplied "original" refers to the very famous Prince Graphite oversize. In the case of the Prince, the name is more apt, but even that racquet went through a number of major revisions, including the addition of grommets and a change of hoop shape. The "Original" in the ProStaff name is likely due to the multitude of Wilson releases using the ProStaff title. Wilson has arguably overused the ProStaff brand to the point of watering down its prestige.

The first composite version associated with Tour success will always date back to the composite racquet used by the first ProStaff-using number one ranked tennis professionals, Chris Evert & Stefan Edberg. Theirs were the first composite ProStaff and thus, the "Original" (composite) ProStaff.

While the Pro Staff Original was a true midsize racket at 85 square inches in head size, it is however significantly smaller, heavier and thinner than almost all modern pro-level rackets, which tend to range around 95+ square inches in head size and 21+ mm in beam, and down toward the lower 300s in weight in grams for men and high 200s for women. The Pro Staff 6.0 version was manufactured in four head sizes: 85, 95, 110, and 125 square inches.

The 85 is unforgiving for the currently popular semi-western topspin style with its 12.6 ounce (357 g) weight and low power. The 95 is more forgiving of off-center shots with an overall weight of 12.2 ounces (346 g) and a lower swingweight (317 as opposed to the 85's 326). However, it has a higher flexibility, particularly in the upper hoop, due to its larger head size, which has been described as undesirably "whippy". Both have a 16x18 string pattern making the frame more open and easier to generate spin albeit the user must generate much of the spin's power with timing and wrist pronation. The Prostaff 6.0 also performs admirably well with flatter hitters (as evidenced by the success of Pete Sampras, Chris Evert, and Mary Pierce) as a result of its considerable heft and control. A flat hitting power-oriented game will therefore benefit considerably from the inherent control and stability of the frame. The small headsize of the 85 and Perimeter Weighting System also minimize the torque on off-centre hits, further enhancing control at impact. Of particular interest is the frame composition of 80% graphite and 20% kevlar. The high percentage of graphite allows for a'softer' feel, while the kevlar provides more strength in the frame.

Also unique is that the graphite in the Pro Staff Original is braided. While more modern racquets consist of many pieces of graphite spliced to the framework of the racquet, the braided graphite construction of the Pro Staff Original was such that only a single, long piece of graphite is used, which is then'braided' around the frame. This created more strength and stability in the racquet, while increasing the weight of the frame. While many top professionals receive custom-designed frames which differ from the stock version, Pete Sampras used production frames from the St Vincent factory, which he chose for their slightly greater stiffness.

However, the handles were custom-built and lead was also added during balancing and weight work by his personal stringer, bringing the mass of the racket to just under 400g. Sampras used natural gut, the norm for top professionals at that time, but the frames were strung at around 75 lb tension, well above the frame's stock recommended range of 50-60 lb. Sampras also had all frames re-strung daily during tournaments, whether used or not - a consistency which, along with his choice of just one racket model and those from just one factory, illustrate his preference for his rackets to be as familiar, and therefore as predictable, as possible. Only upon returning to play exhibition, World Team Tennis and Senior Tour matches post retirement from the ATP, did Sampras switch rackets (to a similar model as that used by Roger Federer at the time) before Wilson produced a new model especially for Sampras, the K Pro Staff 88. Wilson has since produced numerous Pro Staff models, including some based closely on the design of the Original. The "descendants" of the Pro Staff 6.0 usually bear the moniker 6.1 in the frame title and have incorporated larger head sizes (9095 sq in) and more modern graphite composites in their manufacturing, including the production of curved beam rackets instead of the traditional box beam design used in the original Pro Staffs.

Most professionals using these rackets choose the 95-square-inch (610 cm2) head size, with the notable exception of Roger Federer. In recent years, Wilson has phased out the box beam for a more modern curved beam on most of the 6.1 rackets with the exception of the Tour/90 model, which retained the box beam design. However, in 2012 Wilson rereleased the box beam design by separating the 6.1 rackets into two categories, 6.1 ProStaff (which retained the box beam design), and 6.1 (which kept the curved beam design). They further clarified the division in 2014, removing the "6.1" label and releasing the ProStaff as a stand-alone racket series. In the 1990s, Wilson produced a range of lighter Pro Staff models called Pro Staff Classic Lite.

They featured larger head sizes (95 and 110 sq in) and a more flexible frame than either the 6.0 or the 6.1. The series produced Steffi Graf's racquets of choice in the 1990s as she signed an endorsement deal with Wilson in 1994 after having played with Dunlop since the beginning of her career. Graf first played with the 7.0 model, then switched to the 7.5 model in 1996 and finally to the 7.1 model in 1998, which she played until her retirement the following year. She used 95 square inch frames for all three models. Wilson produced the throwback [K]Pro Staff 88 [5] in 2008, a Pete Sampras signature model, produced for Sampras post-retirement and which he has used in the Senior Tour and other events since its introduction.

This model retained the thin 17 mm beam throughout its length but has increased weight from 12.6 oz (357.20 g) to 12.8 oz (362.87 g) strung, is slightly less head-light (six points rather than eight), with an 88-square-inch (570 cm2) head size, up from 85 in the Pro Staff Original (the Pro Staff 6.0 was produced in a number of sizes) and with 19 rather than 18 crosses in the string pattern (retaining the 16 mains). The material composition utilized nanotechnology to bond new molecules that fill spaces between the racket's graphite fibers (branded [K]arophite Black) to the graphite itself, rather than the unbonded fill used in Wilson's prior N-Code racket series.

Most published reviews of this racket feel that the heavy weight and relatively small head size are ill suited to modern stroke production techniques. In 2012, Wilson reintroduced the Prostaff line with their Amplifeel series of rackets. Among the new rackets were 3 "Pro Staff" branded models: a 90, 95, and 100 square inch headsize.

There has been a noticeable difference in swing-weight in these rackets, with the 90 having a 327 swing-weight, the 95 having a 306 swing-weight, and the 100 having a 304 swing-weight. The more modern Pro Staffs have also a reduction in weight; the 95 and 100 boast 11.5 and 11.3 oz strung weight, respectively. In comparison, the original Pro Staffs were very heavy, at 12+ oz. The frames of the latest 2014 Pro Staff models feature graduated lines at 3 and 9 o'clock, prompting players to customize the rather low stock racquet weight with lead tapes. Federer has since switched to a larger, 97 sq inch headsize racket for the 2014 season, and such the ProStaff line is expecting a major update in the design of the racket. Federer's new Prostaff removes the box beam in favor of a modern, angular beam. However, Wilson claims the same production and materials have been used in this racket line, blending the iconic Prostaff's graphite and kevlar blend with a modern design process. The new line of Prostaff is expected to be released fall 2014. Wilson reintroduced the ProStaff Original 6.0 85 in May 2011 via an exclusive arrangement with Tennis Warehouse in the USA. The main differences on the new release are. The gold BLX butt cap in place of the original white & red butt cap. Besides being used by many pros and club players in its heyday, the Pro Staff Original continues to have a cult-like following.

The racket has brought on many variations such as the 6.1 models and the ROK models, both of which are still favoured in the tennis world. Vincent factory products, used by Sampras to the exclusion of all other versions, has become the collector's choice of preference. Vincent factory closed down, demand for the iconic St. Vincent Pro Staff Original continues to raise its value. It was a racquet that top level pros refused to give up, even in the face of significant pressure from Wilson to showcase newer models.

Wilson saved a bunch of St. Vincent racquets for players from the Edberg era. This racquet is from that batch.

Sampras was rumored to have bought enough to ensure that he was able to play his career out with what is often referred to as the best racquet ever made. The item "WILSON ORIGINAL PRO STAFF 6.0 MIDSIZE BUMPERLESS SAINT VINCENT HRQ" is in sale since Tuesday, March 3, 2020.

This item is in the category "Sporting Goods\Tennis & Racquet Sports\Tennis\Racquets".snax" and is located in Fountain Valley, California. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Chile, Costa rica, Dominican republic, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, El salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Aruba, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint kitts and nevis, Turks and caicos islands, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Egypt, French guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macao, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Uruguay, Russian federation.

• Brand: Wilson
• Model: Pro Staff
• Country/Region of Manufacture: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Grip Size: 4 3/8
• MPN: Does Not Apply