I see quite frequently, both Ted Williams signature and Ted Williams by Sears, glass out there. Some of them have the dark blanks, and others have lighter
(like a Wonderod) blanks. I was wondering if anyone could shed light on the possible various makers of his gear - I assume that much of it was what has been
termed around the board "blue collar" gear, but unsure - I've read Wonderod, but also W&M as possible manufacturers - Thanks!
photo by jgestar Very early Fenwick FF84 |
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Ted Williams Rods
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 southernflyfisher |
Ted Williams Rods |
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Sport
Posts: 30 (08/21/08 14:07:09) |
"The ferocious, slashing strike of a good Bass taking a popping bug - well, that's the story reserved for when real outdoorsmen gather around the
campfire after a fine day with rod or gun." Tom Nixon
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quashnet.clarksclassicfl... |
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Sport
Posts: 7 (08/21/08 14:38:32) |
In 1952-53, Williams was active in the Korean War. By 1954, he had formed Ted Williams, Inc. of Miami, Florida, "manufacturers of Ted Williams Standard
and Deluxe Fishing Rods," whose sales agents were Ashaway, Inc. of Ashaway, Rhode Island. On December 27, 1960, Williams signed his exclusive contract
with Sears Roebuck & Co. This doesn't tell you which manufacturers Williams contracted to produce tackle for his own short-lived company, but may give
a time frame in which to look for them. According to John Feldenzer, author of "Of Baseball and Bamboo: Bobby Doerr, Ted Williams, and the Paul H. Young
Rod Co.," The American Fly Fisher, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Fall 2005), Williams even bought some bamboo fly rod blanks
from Paul H. Young and finished them out in 1954 as part of the process of developing his own tackle business. Young had been using Williams' name in his
advertising, and at this point Williams asked Young to cease doing so.
Quashnet's Paul H. Young Rod Database has photos and descriptions of over
320 PHY Co. rods, plus catalogs, accessories, etc. Thank you to all
who continue to send me PHY rod photos and info.
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evanslmtd |
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Master Guide
Posts: 397 (08/23/08 05:57:02) |
quashnet
Excellent information. IMO, it would be a good addition to the Fiberglass Wiki.
Time is precious. Waste it wisely!
Barry |
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southernflyfisher |
Ted Williams, Inc. Catalogue | ||
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Sport
Posts: 31 (08/23/08 10:09:50) |
Somebody paid way more than I planned for a catalogue last night on E-bay. Hoping somebody from here. Also, I paid way more than I expected on a Ted Williams
company (not sears) stick yesterday around the same time - Can't wait to get it, will send pics when it arrives -
"The ferocious, slashing strike of a good Bass taking a popping bug - well, that's the story reserved for when real outdoorsmen gather around the
campfire after a fine day with rod or gun." Tom Nixon
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Whitefish Press |
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Sport
Posts: 1 (08/29/08 17:47:01) |
Serendipity. I just got the Ted Williams catalog on eBay you referenced in the mail today. It is indeed a product of his short-lived association with Sam Snead
(legendary PGA professional) known as Ted Williams Inc. I bought it (and overpaid I'm sure) for three reasons; first, because as my friend Quash noted, he
had a long association with Paul H. Young and I wanted to see if there was a picture of Paul in the catalog as I'm in the process of publishing a book on
Paul H. Young written by his granddaughter. Second, I always wanted to do some research on the Ted Williams Inc. line. Frankly, I was stunned by the amount of
tackle he was selling, and who he got to promote it (Stu Apte being just one of them). As full a line of glass rods as most much larger tackle shops, and many
models carried custom guides it says that Williams himself personally designed. Third, I had never seen a TWI catalog before so I thought it was neat.
And I just logged in to see if anyone knew who made the TWI Pre-Sears rods! Any ideas? -- Dr. Todd http://www.whitefishpress.com/ |
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jgestar |
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Posts: 2661 (08/29/08 19:02:20) ezOP |
Dr. Todd,
Welcome to the Fiberglass Flyrodders! I've never handled a Ted Williams rod. I've seen few photos, and the rods look like they have unsanded blanks. One of the few rod companies I can think of that sold unsanded blanks was True Temper. They made a LOT of OEM rods, so they might be a producer to consider. If you could post a scan or two, the components might ring a bell with some of the forum members. Quash mentioned that Paul Young also sold glass rods. Will the upcoming book address this little, ah, dalliance into other materials? Tom |
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Whitefish Press |
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Sport
Posts: 3 (08/29/08 19:33:02) |
Tom,
You'll have to wait for Quash's magnum opus to answer that question, I think. The Young project is a more historically oriented project, but of course, there are a gazillion photos of PHY items that will boggle the mind. I haven't even come close to going through them all yet, so there may be some fiberglass gems in there too. I'll work on a scan of the fly rods for you. Cheers, Dr. Todd PS I've posted here before but now it says I'm a newbie? Oh well. I read the posts here all the time. I guess I was demoted to "lurker" status. |
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Whitefish Press |
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Sport
Posts: 4 (09/01/08 17:09:58) |
Here are the photos of the TWI fly rods, with a closeup (as close as you can get I guess as the original was infinitesimal...strange way to sell a fly rod). I
blew it up to 300 dpi.
Any ideas on manufacturer? -- Dr. Todd http://www.whitefishpress.com/ |
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TXTrout |
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Guide
Posts: 199 (09/01/08 17:24:39) |
Looks like a wonderod.
Robert.
"Some paths are best not taken alone" John W. Barfield |
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southernflyfisher |
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Sport
Posts: 35 (09/02/08 04:14:47) |
Dr. Todd,
Is that the only page with fly gear? Any reels at all in the catalogue? His Triple Crest/Crown reels from Sears appear to be Bronson's, I'd be interested in what he might have used previously. Also, the TWI rod that I recently purchased is a model 81-2, 7.5', 4.5 oz for HDH Line. It must be earlier than your catalogue, maybe from the first few years of the company. Will post pics when I pick it up - Southernflyfisher |
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Whitefish Press |
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Sport
Posts: 5 (09/02/08 15:24:00) |
There is a lot of other fly gear in there, including several full pages of fly rod lures (which he claims they manufactured themselves), but these are the only
regular fly rods. There is a complimentary line of glass spin, casting, saltwater fly, and boat rods, but these are the only traditional fly rods. There are
more spinning reels and even a casting reel than there are fly reels. It is clear that although Ted loved fly fishing he was putting his money, at least by
1960, on spin fishing. I believe many early (1960-65) Ted Williams/Sears fly reels are Shakespeare? Can't wait to see pics of your rod. A collecting friend
says he has another TWI catalog but can't remember the date offhand and I'm waiting on some scans. Maybe your rod will be in there? -- Dr. Todd
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southernflyfisher |
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Sport
Posts: 36 (09/03/08 04:37:39) |
Dr. Todd,
Thanks for that great info. If it is possible for you to scan the saltwater fly rods/reels and post them that would be great. Since Ted was a bonefish and tarpon guy while living in Islamorada (hence the Miami base of the company with Sam Snead - what an interesting combo!), and lots of the guys like Stu Apte were guiding salt, there may have been an interesting emphasis there. Will get pics of the rod up later today if I get a chance. It's in good shape, obvious that the tube is not original. The sock is blue with orange fringe, I seem to recall a number of Shakespeares with that configuration, however I cannot say for sure that the sock came with the rod, I'm a little disappointed. The rod appears to be a brown unsanded blank, with brown/dark wraps and the male metal ferrule is short, with an open end, hopefully it came that way and was not cut. The cork and reel seat are in excellent shape, the rod itself is in fairly good shape, we'll see after a good cleanup - Best, Southernflyfisher
"We went into business together once. It was a fishing-tackle thing in Miami, but it didn't work out the way we hoped and we got out of it. Finally,
Sears got hold of us both." The Legendary Ted Williams on his good buddy, Sam Snead.
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Whitefish Press |
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Sport
Posts: 7 (09/03/08 06:11:59) |
For those who might be interested, I posted an article on Ted Williams and his famous 1993 Upper Deck commercial on my blog this morning. That commercial
always cracked me up...
http://fishinghistory.blogspot.com/ -- Dr. Todd |
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southernflyfisher |
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Sport
Posts: 37 (09/03/08 07:44:02) |
According to Stu Apte (angler/guide highlighted in the TWI catalogue), he believes that Williams may have been using Conlon/Silaflex blanks in the late
50's, early 60's. This may give a clue. I'm cleaning up the Williams rod that I purchased and will be posting pics later.
Southernflyfisher |
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southernflyfisher |
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Sport
Posts: 38 (09/03/08 08:06:04) |
Here are the pics of my TWI rod - the specs are - Model 81-2, 7' 1/2", 4 1/2 oz., Line HDH.
Anybody recognize anything from the rod - blank, hardware, etc . . . that might lead us to the manufacturer? Thanks! Southernflyfisher
"We went into business together once. It was a fishing-tackle thing in Miami, but it didn't work out the way we hoped and we got out of it. Finally,
Sears got hold of us both." The Legendary Ted Williams on his good buddy, Sam Snead.
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dudley |
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Sport
Posts: 71 (09/03/08 14:39:32) |
I have a Ted Williams spinning rod.
It appears to me to be the same as an H-I rod that someone posted a picture of here recently When Mr. Williams was asked to comment on Carl Yastrzemski, his left field replacement, his answer was; "I have only one thing to say about Yaz, Yaz fishes with worms." |
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- Welcome, Messages, Claves, News, and FAQs
- Fishing with Fiberglass Fly Rods
- Glass Tech
- Collecting Fiberglass Fly Rods
- What's New on the Market
- Rod Pictures
- Classic Fly Reels
- Another Spin on Glass
- Rod Building & Tackle Tinkering
- The Tying Bench
- Fiberglass Fly Rods For Sale
- Fiberglass Fly Rods Wanted
- Fiberglass Flyrodders Wiki
