This brings back such great memories. I used to watch the Bay Bombers play as a kid growing up in the Bay Area. Nothing compares to old school roller derby!
Saw this live when i lived in Hamilton at the long demolished Forum on Barton Street. Back in 1970 or so. Staged fights. Referee got "attacked" player got "suspended". Priceless.
As i remember between November 1971 until November 1973 The Ny Chiefs at Madison Square Garden televised no less than twenty games against other teams (I know due to the fact i was at most of the Chief games. I sure MSG has those tapes stored away somewhere!!!
I went to a sold-out event bw the Chiefs & SF Bay Bombers circa '72 at MSG. Great seats. Big fight in the seats that rolled down the rows. I'm going down this RU-vid rabbit hole searching for a woman skater, "Fatty Forbes." She went ballistic when she saw the sign that had her name. The match I went to the NY Chiefs rallied back but failed to win, leaving 20,000 fans disappointed.
Notice the "fight." "Punches" always landing on the shoulders, phony "kicks," so called "fights" ALWAYS at the end of the game. PHONY, SCRIPTED, PRACTICED. But thousands actually thought this was "REAL." Just like "wrestling" PHONY as a fourteen dollar bill.
I will always cherish going each Sunday to the Ninth Regiment Armory in NYC back in 1959-60 to watch roller derby.I was a diehard NY Chief fan and rooted for the incomparable Gerry Murray and her son Mike Gammon.Throughout the season,I was so fortunate to have seen Roller Derby's "creme de la creme"-Joanie Weston,Annis Jenson,Bobbie Mateer,Charlie O'Connell,Hal Janowitz,Bert Wall,Charlie "Spec" Saunders. What a time! What wonderful memories!!
Nothing but pure entertainment. All PHONY, all SCRIPTED, just like the (so-called) "wrestling." The "fights" were PHONY, and the outcome was pre-planned. (but some people are easily fooled!)
Goodness, why did this go out of favor...Would watch this on Saturdays (After Cartoons) and spend an hour screaming at the TV with my mom. I was convinced at the time it was totally real....lol.....You know, they could actually pad players up and put'em on rollerblades and make it a contact, real sport and I think it would find traction and probably get popular. I know well never get Rollerball (The movie that turned me into a Derby fan) but you could really have a full contact Derby sport and if done right would be popular I think.....sigh...or not...maybe it's one of those things that has had it's time.
I never went to a live game but loved ktvu ch 2 for broadcasts. Did you see O'Connell see the referee Bill Morisy bent over during fight with Jerry Catell so Charlie gave him a shot to the head.
50 years later and one of the first names that pops up and I so fondly remember is Joni Weston. I know you are likely gone from this rock now but I still think of you fondly and what you did for the sport, Thank You for the memories
I have to start posting again myself as I have some pretty weird games that are not on RU-vid yet. But if I had my wish I would take the create a new league and I would go somewhere in the middle of the way they escaped the new games to keep it more legit maybe 75% of the game will be legit but I would have some scripting for the fans but it would not affect the outcome of the game. As far as the Real non-scripted fight yes they will be penalized just like any other fight but I would have more severe penalties. I would also reintroduce match races for skaters from different teams that just don't get along and want to blow off some steam as long as they were equally matched.
The out-of-control fighting was a turn-off for me. As I noted in the comments for the first half, it's Roller Derby becoming Roller GAMES. I guess that's what Seltzer and Company thought the fans wanted. Oh, well, the rest was history. It would be great to see CLASSIC Roller Derby return. I believe it could, if done right, with all of the cable networks there are today for broadcast.
I started watching The L.A. T-Birds as a kid in the early 60's and loved it. It was the first sport I watched regularly. One day a game went past my bedtime and so next morning I tried looking it up in the morning paper and nothing. There wasn't even a league standing. So I ask my dad why there isn't anything about Roller Derby in the sport section. He said it's not a real sport like Baseball, it's like pro wrestling. I was bummed, it was like finding out there's no Santa. I probably should have figured it out considering they always played the same few teams and where always at home. I still watched it but not with the same enthusiasm. BTW That was the first time I read a newspaper other than for the comic section.
I was 11 years old when this game was played, and I remember some of these skaters. George Copeland was fantastic! I was a die-hard Roller Derby fan for the next 17 years and was sad to see it become a gross sideshow of self mockery. Rollerjam was pretty much the nail in the coffin to what once was a sport with great potential.
Most likely, this was the first series in the '73 Western Season. After this series was over, the re-formed Red Devils with Ken Monte, Bob Woodberry and Ann Calvello came in to skate against the Bay Bombers.
Thanks for the Great Memories of the Most Exciting, Action-Packed Fast & Fun Sports Americans 🇺🇸 Loved for years ❤ amazing skaters! Exciting Games for the entire family to enjoy personalities,
I loved seeing Mike Gammon and Judi McGuire in their younger years. I used to watch them in the 60's and 70's. It was nice seeing Gerry Murray also. I used to speak with her on the phone in her last years. She was a sweet lady.
When I used to watch it years ago Joan Weston Charlie O'Connell Tony Roman peanuts Myers his wife Cliff Butler we're always on the San Francisco Bay bombers team
We used to think the roller derby was a little on the phony side until we were at a game in 1974 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena we were sitting three seats back from Trackside and a skater got picked up and thrown onto the seats and they landed right in front of our family then we knew that it was not phony from that day forward we always got seats higher up it was actually better to get seats higher up it was easier to see the whole track that way
Roller Derby was never staged like wrestling. Sure the skaters would sometimes play up a situation more than it actually was for the enjoyment of the crowd. But it was still a real situation to begin with. You didn't know what was what . Thats what was so exciting about Roller Derby.
