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Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, though it is most popular in the United States.
Ann Theresa Calvello was an American athlete and notable personality in the sport of roller derby.
Olivia Joyce Compton was an American actress.
Joanie or Joannie is a feminine given name which may refer to:
Jim Fitzpatrick is an American author, photographer, portrait artist and former athlete in the sport of roller derby. Fitzpatrick, born and raised in San Francisco, California, skated for the San Francisco Bay Bombers, of the International Roller Skating League (IRSL) Roller Derby, the 1977–1987 revival of the sport. Following a number of shoulder separation injuries, he became a league referee.
Roller Games was the name of a sports entertainment spectacle created in the early 1960s in Los Angeles, California as a rival to the Jerry Seltzer-owned Roller Derby league, which had enjoyed a monopoly on the sport of roller derby — and its name — since its inception in 1935. Roller Games provided a mostly televised, increasingly theatrical version of the sport. Roller Games and its flagship team, the Los Angeles Thunderbirds (T-Birds) has endured several boom and bust cycles, including a roller derby attendance record in 1972, a major reorganization in 1975, appearances on ESPN in 1986, a TV series called RollerGames in 1989–1990, and a small number of untelevised exhibition matches in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, and the early and mid-2000s.
Gerald Edwin "Jerry" Seltzer was the second and final owner of the original Roller Derby league. The league and the sport of roller derby were created in 1935 in Chicago by Leo Seltzer, Jerry's father. Jerry assumed ownership of the league in 1959 and ran it until its demise in 1973.
Earlene Brown was an American athlete notable for her careers in track and field and roller games. She competed at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics in the shot put and discus throw and won a bronze medal in the shot put in 1960; she finished fourth in the discus in 1956.
RollerJam is an American television series featuring roller derby that aired on The Nashville Network from 1999 to 2001. It was the first attempt to bring roller derby to TV since RollerGames.
Leo A. Seltzer is generally credited as the creator of the sport of roller derby, and was the founder and head of the original Roller Derby league from 1935 until his son Jerry Seltzer took over the business in 1958.
Georgia Ann Siedenberg Hase - also known as "Mizz" Georgia Hase - was best known as a heel manager of two prominent roller games teams, the Detroit Devils of the original Roller Games league and Bad Attitude of the syndicated TV series RollerGames and was recognized as the most controversial figure in the history of the game. She had a longtime bitter feud against the legendary Los Angeles Thunderbirds. It was rumored that she tried out for the T-Birds but never got her shot, so went on to skate for, and later manage, the Devils. She put that rumor to rest in an interview done on the debut edition of RollerShoot on the AVE Radio Network on Blog Talk Radio.
The history of roller derby traces the evolution of roller skating races into a unique sport which underwent several boom-and-bust cycles throughout the 20th century. Although it was a form of sports entertainment for much of its existence, a grassroots, early 21st century revival spearheaded by women has restored an emphasis on athleticism.
The American Roller Skating Derby (ARSD) was a professional roller derby league. As of 2012, the ARSD consisted of six teams: the San Francisco Bay Bombers, the Los Angeles Firebirds, the Chicago Pioneers, the Brooklyn Red Devils, the Eastern Chiefs and the Orlando Thunder. Most trained and competed in the East Bay area, but one team, the Firebirds, was based in Escondido, near San Diego.
Kansas City Bomber is a 1972 American sports drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Jerrold Freedman and starring Raquel Welch, Kevin McCarthy and Jodie Foster in her second appearance in a feature film.
Charlie O'Connell was a roller derby skater, considered the premier male star of his sport. He was inducted into the Roller Derby Hall of Fame in 1967, after his first retirement.
Judy Sowinski was a roller derby skater and coach.
Denise Grimes, known as Ivanna S. Pankin, is a roller derby skater and organizer.
Annis "Big Red" Jensen was an American roller derby skater. In 1954, she was the first women's captain of the San Francisco Bay Bombers in the IRDL professional roller derby league. At the time of retirement in 1969, she was the oldest active skater in league history.
Darlene Anderson is an American roller derby skater. Anderson became the first African American woman to play professional roller derby when she was chosen as the first pick for the Brooklyn Red Devils in 1957.
Gerry Murray was an American roller derby skater. She played for most of her career with the New York Chiefs, becoming a popular derby star known for her glamour as well as her on-track rivalry with Midge "Toughie" Brasuhn. Murray was one of the first American sportswomen to sign an endorsement deal and was inducted to the Roller Derby Hall of Fame in 1956.