Wood Tennis Rackets, A Collector's Guide: BANCROFT-WINNER Series

BANCROFT, WINNER Series (Set 1)

WINNER, c.1930s
A later rendition of what BANCROFT would later claim as their first "laminated" (now called plied) frame.

WINNER, c.1940s
A much later rendition of this model name made popular by BANCROFT.

WINNER, DELUXE, c.1940s
This racket illustrates the more colorful graphics used through much of the 1940s.

RESERVED
Reserved.

WINNER, THE NEW (1), c. 1920s
An early example of both the plied frame and cloth reinforcements on the shoulders.

WINNER, THE NEW, (2) c. 1920s
Basically the same as previous example yet with wood "exlaminations" as reinforcements.

WINNER, THE NEW (3), c. 1920s
The same as previous yet with less paint highlighting the natural beauty of the wood.

WINNER, THE NEW (4), C. 1930S
A model which appears to be from the 1920s yets has a leather grip on a smaller square handle.

SUPER WINNER (1), c.1931
An early rendition of Bancroft's most popular racket of the 1930s.

SUPER WINNER (2), c.1936
Another rendition with smaller handle, name on shaft.

SUPER WINNER DELUXE (3), c.1937
Another variation, this model was one of the first to use colorful graphics.

SUPER WINNER (4), c.1940s
Another rendition of this long-running model name, with later graphics, more paint.

SUPER WINNER (5), c.1950s
This rendition includes a feature description right on the shaft, an early use of bamboo.

SUPER WINNER (6), c.1950s
A slight variation from the previous example, yet with several changes in features.

SUPER WINNER (7), c.1960s
A more modern version of this long-running model, again with the stiffer shaft.

SUPER WINNER (8), c.1960S
Not the last rendition by far, just the most recent in the collection.

Reserved

Notes: My apologies for the poor quality of the pictures, both flash and resolution.
Clicking on the picture will link to a larger size of the thumbnail.
Pictures intended to provide general differences in overall characteristics.
All dates are only general estimates of the decade of production.
Comments may be modified from earlier versions of this page.
Suffix numbers () added merely to identify on this page, not for all variations of this model.
Head on WINNER (1) is elongated, head on SUPER WINNER DELUXE & WINNER (2) mishapen by use/stringing.

Distinquishing characteristics: BANCROFT logo decal-none, eagle, coat-of-arms, racket-in-B
BANCROFT name style-script, fancy block, italic, bold block
butt cap types-none, cloth, plastic
butt cap B-USA, Taiwan, Japan
string pads-leather or plastic

Comment on Model: The WINNER was one of the early popular rackets for BANCROFT. Note the unusually elongated shape of the head in the first WINNER. I haven't seen enough models to tell if it was designed this way or is merely due to stringing inconsistencies.
Subsequent new model varieties included the NEW WINNER (1920s-1930s) and the SUPER WINNER (1931-1980s) very popular in the 1930s.
All models were made in the U.S.A. with registration numbers from the 1960s on.