Roller derby invades
Mac Court on Friday
By JIM HUNTER
Of the Emerald
VUhile you’re inside McAr
thur Court watching this Friday’s
roller derbv game don't laugh
The encounter between the San
Francisco Bay Bombers and the
Midwest Pioneers is sport, not
entertainment
And if you don’t agree you're
in the majority because, more
than likely, the only ones that
believe roiler derby is sport are
the International Roller Derby
league empresarios. And it’s
dubious if they really believe it
themselves.
But regardless of what it’s
called it’s prosperous and the
roller derby elite are smart
enough not to tamper with a good
thing
Since its inception in 1935,
roller derby has always been
considered on the same plane
with wrestling. "Hie ring sport
was once a respectable athletic
event but television overexposure
in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s
reduced it to merely a display of
showmanship.
Television also killed roller
derbv during the same period. It
was stagnant until 1956 when
Jerry Seltzer bought the rights to
the sport for $500. Under the
name International Roller
Derby, Seltzer has developed it
into a business whose worth is
estimated between $5 million to
$10 million Last year roller
derby grossed $6 million albne
from attendance plus an un
disclosed, but considerable, sum
from television
Public relations represen
tative Gene Moyers feels the
reason roller derby is so popular
is not because it is a show but
because of “the contact, action
and speed,”
He admitted there is a
"certain amount of showmanship
involved, but it’s just like any
other sport Joe Namath wears
white shoes doesn’t he. Why
single out roller derby?”
According to Moyers, the
audience the event appeals to is
the blue collar worker “I'd say
our hard core support comes
from blue collars. We’re
especially big in the industrial
cities of the east like Buffalo.
Pittsburgh, Cleveland and
Cincinnatti. We re also strong in
the Carolinas.”
In 1970, roller derby drew
2.061.000 and is hoping for about
2.500.000 this year The San
Francisco Bay Bombers outdrew
all other Bay Area teams last
year, attracting 793.000, in
cluding 28.814 at one game
The sic roller derby teams —
the northwest Cardinals,
representing the Seattle Tacoma
Portland area; the Midwest
Pioneers, representing Chicago,
the Southern Mustangs,
representing Dallas-Fort Worth,
the New York Chiefs; the
Northwest Braves, representing
the Boston-Providence
Worchester are and the San
Francisco Bay Bombers - play a
120 game championship season
lasting from the first of May
through September The
majority of these games are
played in the Bay Area because
“this area is a proven draw "
The top four teams then
meet in a playoff to determine the
champion The Bombers have
won the championship six of the
last eight years, including 1970
The rest of the year the six
teams play "exhibition tour
games" in cities throughout the
United States and Canada This
Friday’s' game is the final
exhibition contest before the
regular season begins on Anril 25.
The game in Eugene features
Charlie O’Connell, five time Most
Valuable Player, six time Roller
Derby King and Hall of Fame
member Leading the girls
contingency will be Margie
Laszlo, two time MVP and Roller
Derby Queen The current girls
MVP, Joan Weston, will not be
appearing in Eugene as she is
touring with the Oakland Bay
Bombers.
The average age of a roller
derby performer is 22 although
some veterans, like Ken Monte,
skate until they are in their
forties Most skater’s put in five
or six years in the league with
travel or marriage the main
reasons for retiring
To replace retirees a roller
derby training school has been
set up in Alameda, Calif, to teach
prospective skaters the trade
The center in Alameda has an
enrollment of 500 to 600 out of
which only four or five will make
it to the professional ranks
Training usually lasts eight
weeks
Referees, who many claim
are on the track just to lend the
event an aura of respectability
and do little in the way of spotting
infractions and stopping fights,
are recruited from fans, officials
in other sports and former
skaters
Despite the time consuming
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lights, roller derby is an offense
oriented game with 48 43 a
typical score A point is scored
when a jammer, wearing a
stripped helmet, or a pivot man.
wearing a solid black helmet,
laps a member of the opposing
team It’s the job of the blocker,
wearing a solid white helmet, to
prevent the jammer from
passing them in the alloted one
minute jam
There are two jammers, two
blockers and a pivot man on the
track for each team except when
a player is out because of
drawing a penalty
A quirk of the game is that
the Bombers, usually trailing
after 95 minutes of play, have an
inexplicable knack of scoring the
winning point or two on the final
jam of the eighth and final
period
So after the Bombers pull out
Friday’s game on this last jam
for the umpteenth time and you
wonder how the brains behind
roller derby could seriously
consider this athletic travesty a
sport. don't No matter what they
actually believe it is. they're
laughing all the way to the bank
MOPE
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