RollerDerby Games It’s1973 Roller Derby game between The Midwest Pioneers and the Jolters. This is a great game from the Oakland Coliseum; your announcers are Walt Harris and Ken Kunzelman. Enjoy the complete game where Jerry Catellis interviewed at the end of the first half and Buddy Atkinson is interviewed at the end of the game. The final score is Pioneers 49 and the Jolters 48 in this digitally remastered video.
The sport had its origins in the banked-track roller-skating marathons of the 1930s. Leo Seltzer and Damon Runyon are credited with evolving the sport to its competitive form. Professional roller derby quickly became popular; in 1940, with more than 5 million spectators watched in about 50 American cities. In the following decades it predominantly became a form of sports entertainment. Later theatrical elements overshadowed athleticism. The games as originally started died on the vine during the years of gas shortage. The cost of moving teams from one place to the other was too expensive. Gratuitous showmanship largely ended with the sport's grass roots revival in the first decade of