Who Remembers Roller Derby at Martz Hall?
ROLLER SKATING & ROLLER RINKS WERE POPULAR IN THE 40s, 50s, & 60s. Click LIKE if you remember ROLLER DERBY & ROLLER GAMES or saw them at Martz Hall or the Hamburg Field House.
Roller Derby was like professional wrestling & soap opera on skates. It was the 1st sport I recall with co-ed teams. We loved watching the Eastern Warriors on TV On Channel 48 WKBS "Kaiser Broadcasting" out of Philly. Remember some of their opponents--LA T-Birds, Texas Outlaws, NY Bombers?
It was a thrill to see Roller Derby, the banked track, & announcer Elmer Anderson (pictured below) up front & personal at the Hamburg Field House. It was too far to travel on a school night to the West Philly Arena at 46th & Market Street--right next door to the home of Dick Clark's "American Bandstand".
Roller Derby inspired 2 1970s movies--the Kansas City Bomber with Raquel Welch (Judy Arnold of the Eastern Warriors was Raquel's stunt double) & Rollerball, the sci-fi thriller with James Caan.
Remember the grudge matches between rival skaters, but you never saw grudge matches on TV. That was because promoters wanted to pack the people in the arenas. Grudge match skaters got 1% of the gate PLUS their salary. Elmer is pictured below between 2 grudge match skaters & was often the target of a misplaced punch.
After seeing a rebirth in 1961, roller derby pretty saw its peak in the early 70s. It pretty much disappeared by the mid 70s. Roller Derby & its rough & tumble action reflected the ruggedness of our coal region over 100 years ago. Roller Derby--some great memories growing up for me. How about you--share your roller derby memory below.
As always, thanks for your LIKES, SHARES, & COMMENTS. Please check this page every 2-3 days because Facebook is no longer including all fan page posts in your news feed.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to follow "Coal Region Connections" at their Facebook page at the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/coalregionconnections
