Howard Head
Encyclopedia
Howard Head was an aeronautical engineer who is credited with the invention of laminate
skis and the over-sized tennis racket. He was the founder of Head Ski Company
in 1950 and later became chairman of Prince Manufacturing Inc
. The U.S. patents for the laminate skis and over-sized tennis racket are in the name of Howard Head.
In 1947, Howard Head was an aircraft engineer for Glenn L. Martin Company
in Baltimore, and went skiing
for the first time. Head was frustrated with the quality of the clumsy and heavy wooden skis, which made skiing very difficult for beginners. He decided to develop a lighter and more efficient ski that could make skiing much easier for everyone. He left his job and devoted all his time and energy to developing the skis and supported himself with earnings from poker
.
The skis developed by Head were based on the structural principles that he had learned during his experience as an aircraft engineer. In a warehouse he rented from Albert Gunther Inc in an alley off of Biddle Street in downtown Baltimore, he used a technique known as metal sandwich construction. The first skis he made consisted of two light layers of aluminum bonded to sidewalls of thin plywood
, with a center filling of honeycomb plastic. Although these skis were very light, they all broke quite quickly during trials. Head did not give up on his idea, and was encouraged by pro skier Neil Robinson, who assured Head that he would love to use his skis if they did not break. Throughout that winter Head would make a ski pair and send it out to Robinson, who returned it to Head after it broke. Head figured out the flaws of his design, came up with modifications, sent the new ski pair to Robinson, and the process repeated. By the end of the winter of 1947, Head came up with skis that were as strong as wooden skis but were half the weight.
In order to make his skis more efficient, Head made several other changes, like substituting plywood with honeycomb plastic, covering the bottom of the ski with special plastic to avoid the problem of icy bottoms and even introduced steel to harden the edges of the ski. The new improved skis were almost as heavy as the conventional ones, but were stronger and easier to control. Head skis helped to popularize alpine skiing in the U.S.; the innovative equipment made turning significantly easier.
In 1950, Head founded the Head Ski Company, which became very successful. Within a couple of years it was the major supplier of alpine skis in the U.S. The company later diversified into tennis
and other racquet sports; its most notable product was the innovative Arthur Ashe
racquet, constructed of aluminum honeycomb. Howard Head sold the company to AMF in 1969 and retired. After a number of takeovers and acquisitions, HEAD, N.V.
is currently based in Amsterdam
, Netherlands
.
Although Howard was not very good at tennis, he figured out that the equipment for the game needed a lot of improvement or he was going to need a lot more practice. To begin with he became the majority shareholder and chairman of the board of Prince. While Head considerably improved the design of the ball machine, he still did not get any better at the game. He figured it out that it because of the small sweet-spot of the tennis racquet. In order to make the game of tennis easier, Head came up with the design of oversized racquet. He filed and obtained a patent that covered tennis racquets with size 95–135 square inches. He also pioneered the development of the graphite
racquet.
Laminate
A laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate is lamination, which in common parlance refers to the placing of something between layers of plastic and gluing them with heat and/or pressure, usually with an...
skis and the over-sized tennis racket. He was the founder of Head Ski Company
Head (company)
Head N.V. is a sports equipment and clothing company, known mainly for their alpine skis and tennis racquets. Founded as a ski company in Baltimore, Maryland, the company is currently headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Kennelbach, Austria...
in 1950 and later became chairman of Prince Manufacturing Inc
Prince Sports
Prince Sports, Inc., based in Bordentown, New Jersey, is a manufacturer of equipment for racquet sports, primarily for tennis, badminton, and squash....
. The U.S. patents for the laminate skis and over-sized tennis racket are in the name of Howard Head.
Laminate Skis
Glenn L. Martin Company
The Glenn L. Martin Company was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company that was founded by the aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin. The Martin Company produced many important aircraft for the defense of the United States and its allies, especially during World War II and the Cold War...
in Baltimore, and went skiing
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
for the first time. Head was frustrated with the quality of the clumsy and heavy wooden skis, which made skiing very difficult for beginners. He decided to develop a lighter and more efficient ski that could make skiing much easier for everyone. He left his job and devoted all his time and energy to developing the skis and supported himself with earnings from poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
.
The skis developed by Head were based on the structural principles that he had learned during his experience as an aircraft engineer. In a warehouse he rented from Albert Gunther Inc in an alley off of Biddle Street in downtown Baltimore, he used a technique known as metal sandwich construction. The first skis he made consisted of two light layers of aluminum bonded to sidewalls of thin plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
, with a center filling of honeycomb plastic. Although these skis were very light, they all broke quite quickly during trials. Head did not give up on his idea, and was encouraged by pro skier Neil Robinson, who assured Head that he would love to use his skis if they did not break. Throughout that winter Head would make a ski pair and send it out to Robinson, who returned it to Head after it broke. Head figured out the flaws of his design, came up with modifications, sent the new ski pair to Robinson, and the process repeated. By the end of the winter of 1947, Head came up with skis that were as strong as wooden skis but were half the weight.
In order to make his skis more efficient, Head made several other changes, like substituting plywood with honeycomb plastic, covering the bottom of the ski with special plastic to avoid the problem of icy bottoms and even introduced steel to harden the edges of the ski. The new improved skis were almost as heavy as the conventional ones, but were stronger and easier to control. Head skis helped to popularize alpine skiing in the U.S.; the innovative equipment made turning significantly easier.
In 1950, Head founded the Head Ski Company, which became very successful. Within a couple of years it was the major supplier of alpine skis in the U.S. The company later diversified into tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and other racquet sports; its most notable product was the innovative Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was a professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States...
racquet, constructed of aluminum honeycomb. Howard Head sold the company to AMF in 1969 and retired. After a number of takeovers and acquisitions, HEAD, N.V.
Head (company)
Head N.V. is a sports equipment and clothing company, known mainly for their alpine skis and tennis racquets. Founded as a ski company in Baltimore, Maryland, the company is currently headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Kennelbach, Austria...
is currently based in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Oversized racquet
After retiring, Head decided to take tennis lessons and for this purpose he got himself a tennis ball machine, which was manufactured by Prince Manufacturing Inc.Prince Sports
Prince Sports, Inc., based in Bordentown, New Jersey, is a manufacturer of equipment for racquet sports, primarily for tennis, badminton, and squash....
Although Howard was not very good at tennis, he figured out that the equipment for the game needed a lot of improvement or he was going to need a lot more practice. To begin with he became the majority shareholder and chairman of the board of Prince. While Head considerably improved the design of the ball machine, he still did not get any better at the game. He figured it out that it because of the small sweet-spot of the tennis racquet. In order to make the game of tennis easier, Head came up with the design of oversized racquet. He filed and obtained a patent that covered tennis racquets with size 95–135 square inches. He also pioneered the development of the graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
racquet.
External links
- Howard Head
- An interview with Howard Broody. – the physics behind Head's Racquet
- Invention at play.org – inventors – Howard Head
- Head.com – timeline
- Prince Tennis.com – history