Bob Letson was a well known competition thrower in the 1980s. He surprised everyone by using a very odd looking "Tennis Racket" boomerang in competition. The tennis racket boom 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 are only found in a few older collections. The tennis racket boomerangs usually come stringed and they 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 thesse and leave the strings on.

This is theTennis Racket boomerang that Bob Letson used to win the "Most Unusual Design" contest at the USBA Nationals, held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1986. Bob also won Australian Round using a Stick Around Gerhards style hook. 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. Originally from the Ben Ruhe collection.