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| Article: How Roller Derby Got Its Start |
How Roller Derby Got Its Start
From the Museum
Nov/Dec 2007
By: Jody Boyce
The museum is called for an interview whenever roller skating hits the news. Since I started working here there has been one topic: roller derby. Its revival is reminding everyone who remembers roller derby the first time it was cool just how much fun they had skating as kids.
But why roller derby?
Leo Seltzer, the inventor of the dance-a-thon, wanted to capitalize on the popularity of roller speed skating in the 1930s. He designed a marathon speed race to take place at the Chicago Coliseum with a tract banked 30 degrees for 3,735 miles - the distance from NY city to San Diego, CA.
Twenty-five teams were recruited from the best of the best speed skaters. Each team was one man and one woman. One team member had to be skating at all times: 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. Inside the track there were cots and food for the team member that was resting.
The Transcontinental Roller Derby, as it was named, began on Aug. 13, 1935. Newspapers all over the country followed the derby and gave daily updates on the skaters' progress. Only 9 team finished. The winners Clarice Martin and Bernie McKay completed the race on Sept. 22, 1935 after skating for 493 hours and 12 minutes.
Seltzer had a smash success on his hands and full-length or smaller versions of the Transcontinental Roller Derby were held all over the U.S.
In Miami in 1937 one skater illegally shoved another out of the way. The referees called foul and the skater was removed. The crowd went wild. One sportswriter covering the event, Damon Runyon, suggested in his paper that Seltzer change the rules of the roller derby to include the thrills that made the crowd go crazy. The new rules were inspired by football and hockey. Each team was now composed of 5 women and 5 men. Instead of a race of the distance against your opponent and the clock, it became a matter of lapping each other while tallying up the bruises.
The games were called "bouts." Each bout was made up of a number of "jams". The jams are the slugging, shoving, and thrusting that roller derby is so famous for. The jam ends when a skater falls, the lead skater calls it off with a hand signal or the 2 minutes time limit expires.
Roller derby was first broadcast on television on November 29, 1948. The players formed the National Roller Derby League with 6 clubs: the New York Chiefs, the Brooklyn Red Devils, the New Jersey Jolters, Philadelphia Panthers, Chicago Westerners, and the Washington D.C. Jets. The last regular season derby bout was held in December 1978. Skaters Ann Cavello and Betty Boyd are pictured here at a bout in 1950.
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) was founded in 2004. In 38 leagues across the country women from every walk of life from kindergarten teacher to grad student get together and play. They put on persona's with their quad skates and costumes. Name like "Glitter Done" of team Gang Green of the No Coast Derby Girls (at home in Lincoln, Neb.) or "Thunderella" and "Patti Wakin" of the Kansas City Roller Warrior teams Dog Fightin' Dames and the Bionics. Once the fishnets are on the gloves are off and a grand time is had by all.
To find your local roller derby league go to http://www.wftda.com. To purchase the postcard of the 1950 derby bout or if you would like more infomratoin about the museum visit us at www.rollerskatingmuseum.com.
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