STX has always been a brand at the forefront of lacrosse innovation. STX (a contraction of the word "sticks" but commonly called "S-T-X") is a global sports equipment manufacturer based in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a subsidiary of Wm. T. Burnett & Co. STX makes lacrosse equipment, field hockey equipment, ice hockey equipment and at one time golf clubs, but its main business is in manufacturing of men's and women's lacrosse sticks and protective gear. The company was founded in 1970 by Richard B.C. Tucker, Sr. as STX INC. STX's first stick was the double wall, synthetic lacrosse head, which was the first synthetic stick and the only type used to score goals in the first 1971 NCAA Championship.
Richard B.J. Tucker Sr. grew up playing lacrosse in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins, upon graduating in 1951, he joined the family business, Wm. T Burnett & Co., which would prove to be one of the most significant moments in the history of the modern lacrosse era.
As the business was based in Baltimore it was such surprise that Tucker would find himself working with former lacrosse stars in Joseph Sollers Jr. (President of Burnett and former Hopkins Lacrosse All-American), Bill Crawford (former University of Virginia goaltender). Until this point lacrosse sticks were made of wood which were timely to produce and had a relatively high level of inconsistency in the final product. With access to the latest in raw material technology, the assistance of Roland Fracalossi (industry leading chemist at Burnett) and the desire to make the game more accessible along produce a more consistent piece of equipment, Tucker and his partners began experimenting with various fabrications for a synthetic lacrosse head.
The first time a synthetic head was used in live game play was between the US Naval Academy and West Point in 1968. The game took a monumental step forward that day. Only year later, in the first NCAA Lacrosse National championship, Cornell outscored Maryland 12-6 for the win. Every single goal scored during the match was done so with an STX lacrosse head, a dramatic shift from just 12 months prior when wooden sticks were the standard.