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ROLLER DERBY HISTORY
Roller Derby began in 1935 as a spin-off of the six day bicycle races of the Great Depression. A few notes scribbled on a tablecloth in Chicago's Old Ricketts Restaurant by Leo A. Seltzer, spawned an American sports revolution, with over 200,000 spectators in attendance for the opening game. Between 1935 and 1960, the sport gained popularity with the help of television's growing audience. Teams at this time were co-ed, and as the leagues continued to grow, so did corporate interest in the sport. In 1973, Seltzer's organization sold the rights to Roller Derby to the Los Angeles Roller Games and discontinued operations in 1975.
In the 1980's, "roller derby" type games were broadcast on ESPN. A bastardization of the sport, these games featured skaters battling on a track that had "alligator pits" and a "wall of death." Attention was on actors and non-talented, overweight skaters, rather than the talented speed skaters, to perpetuate prefabricated storylines. An honest sport that had once flourished became forced and choreographed, losing credibility with most of its initial supporters. In 2000, Roller Jam (the official name for the latest partnership in Corporate ownership of the original roller derby games) was a spectacle of bad taste and finally cancelled within two years of its inception.
Since 2000, Roller Derby has been resurrected with the creation of women-only leagues beginning in Austin, Texas and spreading throughout the country. These games, although resembling the earlier matches of 1960's and 1970's, have taken a modern twist: burlesque meets the X Games meets World Wide Entertainment. On a flat track, two teams race each other in five-member packs. The pivot keeps the pack's pace, and a jammer scores points by passing members of the opposing team. Everyone else is a blocker, either aiding or deterring the jammer's movement around the track.
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