Bob Letson was very active in the competition circuit back in the 1980s. He surprised everyone by using a very odd looking "Tennis Racket" boomerang in competition. These not only worked well, but they had an odd straight-out-and-almost-straight-back flight with a very small turning radius at the point of maximum range. Bob made very few of these tennis racket boomerangs for others. They are rarely offered for sale and only found in a few older collections. The tennis racket boomerangs usually come stringed and look like they are ready to use in a game of tennis. They will work with the strings, but only in stronger winds. In light to moderate winds, you need to cut the strings off for best performance. It is a pain to restring these, so most collectors don't throw these and leave the strings on.

This item is the exact Tennis Racket boomerang that Bob Letson used to win the Australian Round event at the USBA Nationals, held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1986. This is the single arch model with the strings attached. Note the modified leading edge undercutting on the underside! The underside has the following written on it: "This is the World's First Returning Tennis Racket boomerang and the first tennis racket to ever been thrown in a boomerang meet (U.S. National Championship, Atlanta, Georgia, June 6-8, 1986). Hand Made by Robert A. Letson © May 1986 Range = 70 M Wind: 1-10 Knots (no strings) 10-20 knots (strings) Throw: Hard 30º Pitch 30º Roll 50º - 90º From Wind ". This is an incredible piece of history. Comes with a Vitas Gerulaitis Tennis Racket Case (not shown).

Please note: One of the competitors from the 1986 USBA Nationals challenges the above statement that Bob Letson won Aussie Round using one of these Tennis Racket booms. He claims that Aussie Round was won instead by someone else who used a Stick Around copy of the Gerhards Hook. I went back and checked MHR #27 and that issue of MHR says that Bob Letson won Australian Round in the USBA Nationals in Atlanta in 1986, but the article does not mention what boomerang was used. The page that is adjacent to the Nationals writeup has construction plans for this exact Tennis Racket boomerang. This boomerang does have Bob Letson's note written on it saying that it was used in the USBA Nationals and Bob Letson did win the Australian Round event that year, so there is an excellent chance that the above statement is correct.