I loved watching women's roller derby on tv in Detroit in the 1960s!! That elbow action was real!! Don't think I ever watched the men's roller derby..ever 😅
I remember my mother use to take us to Kezer stadium almost every Sunday to the roller derby in the 70's. Also i remember a retired skater Buddy Atkinson Sr had a roller derby training center in Alameda CA on webster street
I started watching Roller Derby with the L.A. T-Birds as a kid in the early 60's and loved it. It was the first sport I ever followed. 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 sport like Baseball, it's like pro wrestling. I was bummed, it was like finding out there's no Santa. I probably would have eventually figured it out considering they always played the same few teams and were 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 the comic section.
Calll me dumb for this comment because I probably deserve it - I am a 42 year old male who was born in 1981 that just watched Roller Derby for the 1st time 10 minutes ago - I always use to hear Red Foxx mentioning the Roller Derby on the Sanford and Son TV Show - so I was watching reruns of Sanford and Son on RUclips tonight and heard him mention it again, so I decided to try to find videos on the Roller Derby - I never liked Wrestling so I doubt that I would have liked Roller Derby as a kid either - i wonder was this sport disappearing by the mid 80s because I never saw it on commercial or anything 🤷🏾♂️
@@christopherbrock8913 Roller Derby made a comeback between 1977-87 then in the end, it just folded surprisingly no different then the original one in December of 1973.
@@georgegong6813 I checked it out on RUclips (sort of like hockey, wrestling, and skating at the same time) 🤣 skating and beating someone a$$ at the same time - before the Internet when people were bored, they would shoot marbles, talk on a house phone for hours about nothing, or watch Roller Derby 🤣 but Roller Derby was a little before my time in its height - but I dam sure miss the late 80s and 90s (when things moved slower and people had more respect for each other) 🤷🏾♂️
This was a well done documentary. It never came within a ordered four DVD packet on Roller Derby "Rolling Thunder" from my memories. I've got to get it out to see if it was even included. Some of the scenes I don't recall.
@@kevinm6790 Games was much more theatrical. There was literally a fight after every jam. WWE styled interviews. Literally a more offensive game in terms of the very high final scores. Signs of any real defense didn't seem to exist with Games as opposed to Derby.
Baltimore Cats, Judy Arnold and Little Richard Brown. Saw them at the Baltimore Civic Center on my 10th birthday. One time they played at Glen Burnie School. If my parents slept in on Sunday, we watched Roller Derby.
Very good documentary. We had 2 indy channels and one carried Roller Derby and the other Roller Games. RD had much better skaters, RG was very heavy on showmanship, less on skating, but they did have the hilarious Dick Lane doing the broadcasting. Interesting that Charlie O and Ann Cavello were once a romantic item. Somehow I gotta believe Ann was a rather freaky chick in the sack.
GREAT ERROR IN CALLING JOAN WESTON WAS THE GREATEST FEMALE SKATER WHEN IN REALITY JUDY ARNOLD OF THE EASTERN WARRIORS WAS THE GREATEST FEMALE SKATER BEING PAID 50,000 DOLLARS WHAT CHARLIE OCONNEL WAS BEING PAID THAT IN ITSELF SHOWED WHO WAS THE GREAREST FEMALE SKATER.
As a kid I used to occasionally watch roller derby in the late 60s early 70s. To me, it was just disorganized mayhem. I could never figure out what rules there were and folks just kept beating on each other. I thought it was stupid. But I didn't like wrestling either. LOL
Man, I used to LOVE watching the Roller Derby on TV in the late 70's/early 80's!! ♥
I loved watching women's roller derby on tv in Detroit in the 1960s!! That elbow action was real!! Don't think I ever watched the men's roller derby..ever 😅
YES!
I remember my mother use to take us to Kezer stadium almost every Sunday to the roller derby in the 70's. Also i remember a retired skater Buddy Atkinson Sr had a roller derby training center in Alameda CA on webster street
Great info! I was listening to Leon Russell and wanted to see the old derby videos... remember, he fell in love with "The Queen of the Roller Derby "😅
Every Saturday in the 70s I would watch the T birds kick ass
I started watching Roller Derby with the L.A. T-Birds as a kid in the early 60's and loved it. It was the first sport I ever followed. 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 sport like Baseball, it's like pro wrestling. I was bummed, it was like finding out there's no Santa. I probably would have eventually figured it out considering they always played the same few teams and were 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 the comic section.
My ,90 year old grandma never missed a match on TV. She would be up yelling at the TV. Great fun as a child
Thank you for sharing ❤️Still a great fan of Roller Derby
Calll me dumb for this comment because I probably deserve it - I am a 42 year old male who was born in 1981 that just watched Roller Derby for the 1st time 10 minutes ago - I always use to hear Red Foxx mentioning the Roller Derby on the Sanford and Son TV Show - so I was watching reruns of Sanford and Son on RUclips tonight and heard him mention it again, so I decided to try to find videos on the Roller Derby - I never liked Wrestling so I doubt that I would have liked Roller Derby as a kid either - i wonder was this sport disappearing by the mid 80s because I never saw it on commercial or anything 🤷🏾♂️
@@christopherbrock8913 Roller Derby made a comeback between 1977-87 then in the end, it just folded surprisingly no different then the original one in December of 1973.
@@georgegong6813 I checked it out on RUclips (sort of like hockey, wrestling, and skating at the same time) 🤣 skating and beating someone a$$ at the same time - before the Internet when people were bored, they would shoot marbles, talk on a house phone for hours about nothing, or watch Roller Derby 🤣 but Roller Derby was a little before my time in its height - but I dam sure miss the late 80s and 90s (when things moved slower and people had more respect for each other) 🤷🏾♂️
I had never seen this before and thought it was very well done.
Grew up in the Bay Area and watched the game on KTVU channel 2.
Great job on the story of Roller Derby.
This was a well done documentary. It never came within a ordered four DVD packet on Roller Derby "Rolling Thunder" from my memories. I've got to get it out to see if it was even included. Some of the scenes I don't recall.
Love this ❤ was always #1 Francine Cochu fan ❤
There was a major difference between the IRDL and Roller Games. People just lumped them all together.
Can you explain the difference? I grew up watching Roller Game of the Week in LA in the 70’s, and it looks the same to me.
@@kevinm6790 Games was much more theatrical. There was literally a fight after every jam. WWE styled interviews. Literally a more offensive game in terms of the very high final scores. Signs of any real defense didn't seem to exist with Games as opposed to Derby.
L.A..T-birds. Raines, Valadares, Joannie Weston.& the others you mentioned. We were fans.
Baltimore Cats, Judy Arnold and Little Richard Brown. Saw them at the Baltimore Civic Center on my 10th birthday. One time they played at Glen Burnie School.
If my parents slept in on Sunday, we watched Roller Derby.
The IRDL concentrated on the sport. Not the drama and constant fights that LA had. Look up Bill Griffiths.
Very good documentary. We had 2 indy channels and one carried Roller Derby and the other Roller Games. RD had much better skaters, RG was very heavy on showmanship, less on skating, but they did have the hilarious Dick Lane doing the broadcasting.
Interesting that Charlie O and Ann Cavello were once a romantic item. Somehow I gotta believe Ann was a rather freaky chick in the sack.
I remember,in my town we can had Roller Games. The D.C. Cats
They were the Baltimore Cats, then the Baltimore-Washington Cats then the DC Cats
I love God and my neighbors 🤩 girls???? 😻 Hahaha 🤣 crazy people hahaha 🤣🤣🤣
Was this the Spike TV doc that proceeded the launch of Roller Jam?
No they were two completely different though well written documentaries.
You know who would have made a great Roller Derby Queen? Laura Ingraham.
GREAT ERROR IN CALLING JOAN WESTON WAS THE GREATEST FEMALE SKATER WHEN IN REALITY JUDY ARNOLD OF THE EASTERN WARRIORS WAS THE GREATEST FEMALE SKATER BEING PAID 50,000 DOLLARS WHAT CHARLIE OCONNEL WAS BEING PAID THAT IN ITSELF SHOWED WHO WAS THE GREAREST FEMALE SKATER.
As a kid I used to occasionally watch roller derby in the late 60s early 70s. To me, it was just disorganized mayhem. I could never figure out what rules there were and folks just kept beating on each other. I thought it was stupid. But I didn't like wrestling either. LOL
Watched it in the 60's on TV in New York...loved it...lots of personalities.... skating...action...and strategy. Thanks for sharing.
Too much talking about Derby,not enough showing it.
PHONY as a twelve dollar bill, all acting and scripted Like "wrestling" is. Just entertainment but nothing "real" about roller derby.