Roller derby is an American professional team sports entertainment based on formation roller skating around a track. It is a contact sport played by both men and women.
In 1935, during the worst times of the Depression-era, a man named Leo Seltzer invented a spectacle called Roller Derby. Originally, the derby was just a simulation of a cross-country roller skating race, where participants circled a track thousands of times to simulate the distance between Los Angeles, California and New York, New York. Occasionally, massive collisions and crashes occurred as skaters tried to lap those who were ahead of them. Seltzer realized this was the most exciting part and tweaked his game to maximize the carnage.
A game play summary: two teams of five skaters face off on the track. Each team could consist of four blockers and a jammer,or, three blockers and two jammers, each position possibly indentifed by a helmet design, and, all skating counter-clockwise. The jammers score points by passing members of the opposing team. The blockers try to stop the opposing jammer from passing them, while also pushing around the opposing team's blockers to help their own jammer score.
Some of the "athletes" who compete in roller derby adopted stage names and gimmicks. Elbowing and body blocking is allowed, but participants are not allowed to trip or punch other players. The violence can appear to leave the track and may include striking opponents with available objects. If the violence wasn't carefully controlled, severe injuries and deaths could certainly occur. Most roller derby type games use a banked track, while others may use a standard flat skating rinks .
Roller derby achieved a first wave of televised popularity in the 1950s, similar to that of professional wrestling. In 1958 it split into two organizations, Roller Derby and Roller Games, each of which maintained regional strength through the early 1970s. The most fabled team in roller derby throughout these years was the Bay City Bombers .
In 1973 Roller Games bought out Roller Derby, but the high overhead costs and other factors led to it failing two years later. Several attempts were made in the late 1970s and 1980s to revive roller derby, including an effort with ESPN, without much effect.
In 1989, television producer David Sams teamed with Roller Derby owner Bill Griffiths Sr. to create a modern version of the sport called RollerGames . Instead of a banked oval track, a figure eight track was used where one side heavily banked, and included obsticles such as the "Wall of Death" (which was located on the heavily banked side) and the "Jet Jump". As a tie breaker, two skaters would skate around a pit full of alligators. The first skater to skate around the pit five times or to throw his opponent into the alligator pit was declared the winner.
The show also included "halftime entertainment" by musical performers (all the musical performaces were actually filmed on a separate day) and commentary by Wally George. Main commentators for the show were former college basketball announcer Chuck Underwood and producer David Sams (who used the word devastating every chance he could get). Former Phoenix news reporter Shelley Jamison was the sideline reporter. It premiered in 95% of the country. Critics generally panned the show, but it got lots of positive reaction from teenagers.
The world famous Los Angeles T-Birds were one of the teams used for the show (the other teams were The Rockers, Hot Flash, The Violators, Bad Attitude, and The Maniacs). Many of the athletes that skated for Griffiths in the past were used for RollerGames. The show only lasted half a season before getting cancelled due to lack of interest, poor production values, and the main production company going bankurupt. To this day, Griffiths regrets the decision of doing RollerGames.
Yet another revival attempt took place between 1998 and 2000 as the Orlando-based RollerJam. Despite strong funding and a television deal, this too did not survive. Possibly because of a lack consistancy in how to present the product.
After two decades of losing popularity, the sport is experiencing a 21st century revival, particularly among women, with amateur all-volunteer leagues popping up in in urban centers across the country. Locally-focused leagues with punk rock promote-it-yourself sensibilities are presently gaining in number and strength, with successful flat-track and banked-track leagues established in Austin (Texas Rollergirls and Lone Star Rollergirls), Phoenix (Arizona Roller Derby and Renegade Rollergirls), Tucson (Tucson Roller Derby), Los Angeles (L.A. Derby Dolls), New York (Gotham Girls Roller Derby), Chicago (Windy City Rollers and Wreckin' Rollers), Seattle (Rat City Rollergirls) and many other locations.
Two movies named Rollerball have been produced, loosely based on the roller derby concept. The first film was released in 1975, while the second film came out in 2002. Both are set in dystopian futures, although the second was much more action-based than the first one, which spent more time discussing social and political issues.
