Roller Games

Olympic Auditorium then and now.

 

When Roller Derby moved its headquarters from the Los Angeles to San Francisco Bay Area in 1958, there were a few skaters that weren't risking to move.  Some of the older skaters left the game and there were others that were displeased with the pay they were getting.  Also, four years prior, skaters from the Midwest (Chicago) and Eastern (New York) areas had to move because Roller Derby moved westward. 

 

Sid Cohen, a former Seltzer employee, along with Freddie Cohen and Herb Roberts arranged an overseas venture to Paris, France for four weeks.  There were 28 skaters, mostly formerly with Roller Derby, went on the trip.

 

They skated in Paris at a venue known as the Palais Des Sports.  It wasn't called Roller Games at the time but known as Roller Catch.  One team was known as the Outlaws and the other was the Blue Devils.

 

The tour was apparently successful.  By March 1961, Roberts, the initial commissioner and owner of this league, was able to get a television deal to start the league. KTLA TV, with Dick Lane as the commentator would call the action.  Lane had previously commentated Los Angeles Braves games in 1954. 

 

The five team league consisted of the Los Angeles T-Birds, Detroit Devils, Texas Outlaws, Hollywood Stars and Arizona Raiders.  

 

The Los Angeles Thunderbirds would be the San Francisco Bay Bombers of Roller Games.  That meant they were the "home" or flagship team wherever they went.  Their televised games were at the Olympic Auditorium, a venue that held between 9000-10000 fans.  It was the Kezar Pavilion of the National Skating Derby.  The Thunderbirds would also skate at the Sports Arena, Long Beach Arena, the Kia Forum, El Monte Legion Stadium and other Southern California arenas.

 

There were a number of great skaters that went over from Roller Derby.  Red Smartt, Ralphie Valaderes, Charlie Saunders, Lou Sanchez, Shirley Hardman, Julie Patrick and Roger Schroeder were among those who jumped.

 

In the first season in what was called the National Skating Derby, it wasn't the Los Angeles T-Birds, but the Detroit Devils that would win the first championship.  That would be against the T-Birds.

 

In 1965, the San Francisco Bay Shamrocks would skate games in Northern California for about seven months.  I never saw a game but saw results from their games in the local papers.

 

The following year, 1966, there would be inter-league play for the first time between Roller Derby and Roller Games teams.

 

However, this blogger and fan didn't really start following Roller Games until around the Spring of 1969.  There were several games on television involving the T-Birds on Saturday mornings on a UHF station in the Bay Area known as KBHK TV, Channel 44.  Dick Lane would call the action  I did watch several of the inter league games on television with the Bay Bombers and several of the NSD teams such as the Detroit Devils and the Texas Outlaws.

 

In the early 1970s, one UHF station started showing the Eastern Warrior games based out of the Philadelphia area with Elmer Anderson calling the action.  The Warriors seemed to have more of the Roller Derby style with skaters such as Buddy Atkinson Jr. and Judy Arnold leading the men's/women's squads.

 

Then in 1971, a friend of mine and I visited the Los Angeles area on vacation around the Fourth Of July weekend.  We finally had an opportunity in seeing Roller Games at the Olympic Auditorium.  It was the T-Birds in action against the Texas Outlaws.  A sellout crowd was there to cheer the T-Birds to victory on a Sunday afternoon.  The rest is history!