Vintage 1920's Dayton "Pilot" Tennis Racquet Steel Frame and Wire Strings

Description

Vintage 1920's Dayton "Pilot" Tennis Racquet  Steel Frame and Wire Strings
-Tubular steel head and throat. Painted brown, approx. 8.75 inches at widest point of head, and 80.5 square inch area. Strung with piano wire (strings intact).
-Octagonal basswood shaft with grooved handle for ease of grippage. Approx. 12.5 inches long. Grip size is 4 5/8".
-Overall length 26.75 inches.
-Original paint and decal. .50 when new!
-Missing leather butt cap.
In 1922, a completely new racquet came onto the market. Invented by former champion and Hall of Famer Bill Larned, the Dayton Steel racquets exploded onto the scene with a painted steel frame and was strung with steel strings. Advertisements claimed the racquet would not warp or break and would eliminate the need of a racquet press. Its streamlined design had less air resistance and made it easier for a player to control. One of the most noticeable traits of this racquet was the high-pitched “pinging” sound made when the ball was struck. The Dayton Steel racquet remained popular with players throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
The use of metal in tennis racquet design intrigued manufacturers as early as the 1890s. The challenges of wood racquets—namely breakage of the frame, warping, and breaking of strings—led individuals and companies to experiment with other materials in racquet construction. Though metal frames were popular into the 1940s, the shortages and restrictions on use of metal because of World War II effectively ended their mass appeal. However, the technology used would pave the way for the development of metal racquets a few decades later.