Joan Weston

This fan didn't know much about Joan Weston prior to the 1965 season.  Being a fan for two years and watching on television only up to that point, she was hardly ever on television.  My vision back then was the Bay Bombers.  Charlie O'Connell was the coach and Annis Jensen was the women's team captain.

 

In early 1965, things totally changed!  O'Connell was still the coach, but there was a different woman skater wearing number '38'.  When Walt Harris, the trackside announcer mentioned Joan Weston, it was like "what?"

 

I remembered her skating with the Westerners and the Chiefs for brief periods the previous two years.  My questions were why was she the women's captain and where was Annis Jensen?

 

This blog post is not to slam Joannie.  She is definitely a great women's skater, Hall Of Famer, etc.  However, Annis Jensen was the one I admired growing up as a youngster and she was my favorite of all time!

 

This fan found out a few years later that Jensen was replaced following the 1964 season.  Annis chose not to skate with the Bombers following the Western season because she wanted to spend more time with her family.  She had a very young daughter, Barbara at the time.  Roller Derby management decided to make a change of women's captains.

 

Back to Weston, she was definitely part of numerous championships with the Bay Bombers (1965-1968, 1970-1971).  She led women's teams that were often not the strongest teams in the league.  She would find a way to rally the troops together and would do well.

 

After the 1971 IRDL Western season, Joannie, after a year of injuries, was placed on the Chicago "Midwest" Pioneers team.  Up until the end of the IRDL in December 1973, Weston was a big spark for the Pioneers.

 

In the two years of the International Skating Conference, Weston skated for the Los Angeles T-Birds in the first few months of 1974.  After the August 1974 ISC Championships, Weston ended up back with the expansion Bombers team for the fall season.

 

Then, when the International Roller Skating League began (1977-1987), she was placed on the Bay Bombers.  She would retire a few years later.

 

On May 10, 1997, Joan Weston died of Jacob-Kruetzfeld disease in California, but her sudden death inspires a renewed interest in the game.