The History of Racquetball
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Name this Player ??
The first person to correctly identify this player will receive a Hall of Fame Poster as well a can of (3) limited edition Penn racquetballs.
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Send us your answer
* All USAR employees and Board of Directors
are excluded from this contest.
| Congratulations to Dave Letsche of Colorado Springs, CO. He was the first to correctly identify Dr. Bud in the 2nd round of "Name the Player". |
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Where It All Started
As shown in this picture, the Joe Sobek racquet was the first of it's kind. |
Joe Sobek, commonly referred to as "The Father of Racquetball" started with an idea of paddle rackets with strings.
During the Korean war, Joe asked NJ Magnum Co. (North Attleboro, Massachusetts) to make up 25 racquets during their downtime due to the war.
Joe also needed a ball so he called upon a friend at Canfield Rubber Company who ended up going to Seamless Rubber Co. to have the ball created. After many prototypes, the "Joe Sobek" ball was produced.
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Evolution of the Racquet
The racquetball racquet has come a long way since the days of the Joe Sobek model, which was made of wood with a leather wrap grip. Racquet frames shortly after transitioned to alloy then fiberglass and now graphite composite. Every year manufacturers are striving to be the leader in new racquet technology by releasing new frame designs, stronger and lighter materials in which to construct the racquet.
1971 - Aluminum alloy frames introduced.
1972 - Fiberglass frames enter the sport
1979 - Graphite frames introduced.
1984 - Oversize frames forever changed the game.