Bancroft

Bancroft Billy Jean King Tournament (1968)

Condition
7
10: New
9: Mint
8: Excellent
7: Good
6: Fair
5: Average
4: Below Average
3: Poor
| Rarity
8
10: Impossibly rare
9: Extremely rare
8: Hard to find
7: Fairly rare
6: Uncommon
5: Common
<4: Big Seller
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About This Racket

Billy Jean King was a star for Bancroft, but they lost her to Wilson in 1972/1973. In 1973 she competed in Battle of the Sexes. Up to 1972 Bancroft were one of the largest tennis equipment manufacturers but they were stuck in a hand made era (nothing wrong with that but costs were high and innovation slow). They made Billy Jean Personal and Tournament. Notice the red weave thru the top and bottom of the strings? This was called Tribling and originally stopped the strings from deviating and breaking in the era of natural gut. Later tribling was retained for cosmetic effect.

Historic Gallery

Specifications
MeasurementsValuePerformanceScore
Weight360gPower19/100
Head Size & Length65sq in | 27inchControl41/100
Balance5pt head heavySpin40/100
GripPerforated leatherHandling78/100
Strings18 x 20 | syntheticComfort89/100
FlexibilityRA 43Consistency59/100
About Bancroft

Bancroft was a very traditional wooden racket company from USA. It was extremely successful in the 60s and 70s and produced some amazing rackets and nice innovations including the use of Bamboo. However it failed to expand outside of USA and failed to adapt to new materials and technologies of the 80s 90s.

Gallery
Bancroft by Time
YearEvent
1882Founded by Frederick J. Bancroft in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
1906Bancroft is manufacturing over 35,000 rackets a year
1912Bancroft offers its first racket under its own name (“The Bancroft”)
1915Bancroft patents the 3-ply laminated racket
1920sBill Tilden, world’s top player, uses Bancroft
1941Bancroft introduces the “Streamliner” model
1940sThe Bancroft brothers sell the company
1950sBancroft introduces its first aluminium tennis racket
1960sBancroft begins using fiberglass in their rackets
1970sBancroft introduces the iconic “Big Stick” racket
1976-79Billie Jean King uses a custom Bancroft
1978Bancroft introduces the Scorpion, their first graphite racket
1980sBancroft is acquired by Spalding
1990sBancroft ceases operations