A fascinating HL Leonard bamboo fly rod designated as a "Tournament, Champion" model. 9', 3-piece, 2-tips, and built for what feels to me like a #9 or #10. 5 7/8 ounces. This is a most unusual Leonard. The hang tag is inked at the top "WM6", "Tournament Champion", a line that is no longer legible, "9 feet, 5 7/8 oz, No 51 H.L.H." and on the reverse '7915' ". The rod is in excellent original condition and with no patent date on the female ferrules. The snake guides are reverse twist so my guess as to the date of manufacture would be something like the late 1940's to early 1950's. The rod action is a very strong DF. Three up node pattern construction. The main wrap color is transparent (not color preserved) light yellow with green edges and an additional band of maroon at the keeper and male ferrules. The step ferrules are polished bright. The grip is 6" and a generously proportioned cigar built up from 3/8" corks. The reel seat is a slide band of butternut that's been hand flatted. The butt cap has the roller die stamp "Leonard, HL Leonard Rod Co., Makers" in a cartouche and underneath ""Reg US Pat Off", and on the opposite side "Tournament". This rod has about the most aggressive salmon taper I have seen from Leonard yet there is no provision for a fighting butt. So my strong suspicion, in conjunction with the info on the hang tag, is that this was built as a serious tournament casting rod (unlike many Leonards which bore the "tournament" moniker but which were general purpose fishing rods). I do not recall having seen a "Champion" model like this before, so it seems a rare rod indeed. The rod packs into the original bag with the hang tag and the original tube with an earlier style long brass collar and top.