The 1968 Season

Richmond Auditorium

 

The 1968 season was, no doubt, the most historical and memorable season whether it was Roller Derby or Roller Games.  A lot of memorable moments happened.

 

Going back to the end of the 1967 season, San Francisco Bay Bombers' great, Charlie O'Connell, would retire temporarily and would take a front office job with the team.  O'Connell, in a halftime ceremony, would be inducted into the Roller Derby Hall Of Fame.  Along with Ann Calvello in 1968, both skaters would be the last two in the 20th century to be inducted.

 

The Bombers would begin 1968 with a new coach in Bob Woodberry.  The women's field was totally revamped with Joan Weston as the only remaining female skater.  Delores Tucker would come on to the Bombers and the two worked very well together.  Also Francine Cochu, the 1967 Female Rookie Of The Year, was added onto the team.

 

Woodberry's start as a coach was a little rocky.  He was tossed out of an early game for having the maximum penalty minutes.  Apparently, it turned out to be a mistake.  The officials, seeing this, turned a loss into a tie.  For some reason, the tie was never skated off.  Yet, Bob and the Bombers would win their first series.

 

Meanwhile, due to racial tensions in 1968, there was a forfeit and two games canceled.  Because of the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, an early June game saw the end of the starting gun.  All games going forward would have the use of a whistle.

 

Charlie O'Connell, by the end of May, would return as the Bombers' coach replacing Woodberry.  Woodberry would be placed on the New England Braves who would eventually win the 1968 pennant.  Because Charlie's number was retired, he would skate the rest of the 1968 season wearing the number 31.

 

There were only four teams in the IRDL (Bombers, Braves, Cardinals and Pioneers) that year.  There would still be some NSD teams skating against the team such as the Devils and Outlaws.  The series between teams were not as long as other seasons.

 

The Kezar Sunday games were moved up to afternoons to make things more fan friendly (supposedly).  However, KTVU Channel 2, would have the games on a delayed basis at 9:30pm the same night.  There would also be competition from a UHF station regarding Roller Games Of The Week.  Their show would come on an hour earlier, at 8:30pm on Sunday nights in the Bay Area.

 

According to the Roller Derby Reporter, the race for first place going into the last week of the season was very tight.  The Pioneers won the mid season Founder's Cup but they wanted more, a pennant.  The New England Braves would finish first in a very close battle.

 

In the Championship round, the Bombers would win their fourth straight championship, 42-41 over the Northwest Cardinals before over 11,000 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.  The Pioneers would upset the favored Braves by a point for third place.  The Oakland Arena would be holding its first Roller Derby Championship of any kind.  It wouldn't be the last either.  For the Bombers, it would be the first time any team would win four straight championships!

 

In the National Skating Derby, the biggest surprise was what happened to the Los Angeles T-Birds.  

 

The T-Birds would lose to the New York Bombers in the mid season President's Cup.  It was the first time that the New York team would win the mid season tournament.

 

In the Championship Finals, after the T-Birds won  six consecutive championships, the Detroit Devils defeated the T-Birds in two overtimes to win their first championship.  It was the same Devils who won the initial President's Cup over the T-Birds.  The 1962 match up took four overtimes to complete.

 

In the eastern portion of the United States, the Philadelphia (Eastern) Warriors would be skating their first full season in the Philadelphia area.  

 

What will the 1969 season provide for both leagues.  The 1969 season post will be out soon!