GENERAL TRENDS:
18th Century: Wood
19th Century: Steel
20th Century Aluminum and Titanium
21st Century: Nanotechnology
2005 PowerMetal launches first Sporting Goods Products
1967: Wilson Sporting Goods introduced the first popular metal racket, the T2000. Rackets with a metal head existed as early as 1889, but were not popular.
Late 1970's: Graphite tennis rackets introduced.
1980s Over-sized composite frames over-take the classic wooden racquet.
1990s: Graphite/Epoxy frames get lighter and more powerful.
2003 Nanotech Racquets from Yonex, Babolat, Wilson and Head launched.
1884: According to legend, Bud Hillerich creates the first wooden baseball bat for Louisville player Pete Browning. Louisville Slugger is born.
1924: William Shroyer issued a patent for the first metal bat.
1969: Easton Sports develops and Aluminum Bat.
1970: Hillerich & Bradsby manufactures the first aluminum bat for the company.
Worth Sports introduced the game's first aluminum baseball bat.1991: The Baum Bat Inner core made from resin-impregnated fibers and yarns with an ash wood surface.
1993: First titanium bats introduced by Worth and Easton and soon outlawed by Baseball governing bodies.
1990’s: Graphite/Epoxy Composite Bats gain in popularity for baseball & softball.
2003: Rawlings launches amorphous metal shell technology bats.
2005: Easton Sports launches CNT bats with nanotubes.
1850's: The cambered ski invented by woodcarvers in the province of Telemark, Norway.
1882: The first hickory skis invented by Bjorn Ullevoldsaeter and George Aaland.
1928: Solid aluminum ski prototyped in France.
1959: The first successful fiberglass ski was invented by Fred Langendorf and Art Molnar in Montreal.
1949: Howard Head's plywood-core, pressure-bonded aluminum Head Standard with continuous integral steel edge began its journey toward becoming the most commercially successful early metal ski.
1990’s: Steel and titanium laminates make skis more durable and parabolic shapes make skis easier to turn.
2005: Head launches amorphous metals in skis.
1502: King James IV of Scotland commissions a bowmaker in Perth to make a set of golf clubs.
1600's: Clubmakers begin to create forged metal clubs.
1700's: Clubmakers begin to create clubs with steel shafts.
1826: Clubmaker Robert Forgan of Scotland begins to make hickory golf shafts.
1963: Clubs are manufactured by investment casting. Karsten Solheim’s Ping brand makes forgiving putters and irons.
1973: Graphite shaft introduced, but take over 15 years to gain wide-spread popularity by golfers.
1978: Gary Adams designs steel metalwoods and TaylorMade’s corporate history begins.
Late 1980s: First Titanium Clubs sold in Japan at over $1000 USD each.
Mid 1990’s: Titanium Drivers take off in the US following Callaway Great Big Bertha Success. Wooden woods replaced by steel and titanium.
1996: First Titanium Irons Launched in the U.S. by Tommy Armour.
1997: First Bulk Metallic Glass Putters and Irons sold in Japan.
2003: Graphite Body/Titanium Face construction driver heads are launched in Japan and the U.S.
2004: USGA restricts clubhead size to 460 cc size constraint on top of C.O.R. limit of 0.830
*Republished by permission, Gannett News Services, excerpted from USA Today, November 17th, 2004, "Nanotech Could Put a New Spin On Sports"
**Additional dates added by PowerMetal Technologies, Inc. using data gathered from industry experts and company websites.