• Source: Roller Games

      • Roller Games was the name of a sports entertainment spectacle created in the early 1960s in Los Angeles, California as a rival to the Jerry Seltzer-owned Roller Derby league, which had enjoyed a monopoly on the sport of roller derby — and its name — since its inception in 1935. Roller Games provided a mostly televised, increasingly theatrical version of the sport. Roller Games and its flagship team, the Los Angeles Thunderbirds (T-Birds) has endured several boom and bust cycles, including a roller derby attendance record in 1972, a major reorganization in 1975, appearances on ESPN in 1986, a TV series called RollerGames in 1989–1990 (and its corresponding arcade game by Konami and its video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System; there was also a pinball machine based on the show), and a small number of untelevised exhibition matches in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, and the early and mid-2000s.


      History




      = 1960s and 1970s

      =
      In 1960, after Roller Derby had settled into its new home in the San Francisco Bay Area, former Roller Derby skater Herb Roberts founded the Los Angeles-based National Skating Derby, Inc., and its flagship Los Angeles Thunderbirds team. The first match was skated in 1961. In late 1961, the company was acquired by Bill Griffiths Sr. and Jerry Hill.
      In the 1960s, Roller Games experienced rapid growth, and established teams in Baltimore, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Florida, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Japan. Roller Games eventually encompassed several separate leagues: National Roller Derby (NRD), which was renamed to National Roller League (NRL); Canadian National Roller League (CNRL); and Japanese National Roller League (JNRL). Aside from the L.A. Thunderbirds, NRD/NRL teams over the years included the Chicago Hawks, Detroit Devils, New York Bombers, Texas Outlaws, Philadelphia Warriors, and Brooklyn Red Devils. Many matches were broadcast live on Los Angeles television affiliate KTLA, with Dick Lane calling the play-by-play. He was famous for saying "Whoaaaa, Nelly" (predating Keith Jackson) when fights broke out between the players. Lane's play-by-play was often assisted in the press box and on the infield by Bill "Hoppy" Haupt. The Olympic Auditorium was the league's primary venue. Eventually, the flagship station for Thunderbirds games was changed to KCOP, with taped repeats appearing in prime time on KBSC.
      In order to compete with Roller Games' international flair, Seltzer's Roller Derby also formed its own International Roller Derby League (IRDL), which included Roller Derby's most famous teams, the Bay Bombers, Midwest Pioneers, and Jolters, among others.
      Some former Roller Derby stars found new fame in the Roller Games, and a handful of skaters simply went back and forth between the two organizations. After 1968, however, the Roller Derby to Roller Games defections were quite few; instead, a handful of Roller Games skaters returned to their roots and began skating for the Derby again.
      On September 15, 1972, an interleague match between the Los Angeles Thunderbirds of Roller Games (National Skating Derby) and the Midwest Pioneers of Roller Derby (International Roller Derby League) set a roller derby attendance record of 50,118 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
      In 1973, Jerry Seltzer shut down Roller Derby and sold the promotional rights to Bill Griffiths, who immediately disbanded Roller Derby's IRDL and his own NRL, but recruited some of IRDL's star skaters to skate in an NRL successor league, the International Skating Conference (ISC), which was to focus on the Los Angeles Thunderbirds. Teams in the ISC included the L.A. T-Birds, the Eastern Warriors, and several international teams: Team Canada, the Tokyo Bombers, and the Latin Libertadores. The league also featured the San Francisco Bay Bombers in certain games, in which the storylines were built around the Thunderbirds claiming the Bombers were infringing on their territory; the Bombers continued to skate in spite of this. (This incarnation of the Bombers was also unique in that three notable veterans, Ann Calvello, Joan Weston, and Annis Jensen all skated on the same team. Jensen's daughter, Barbara Baker, also skated for the Bombers.)
      In 1975, Griffiths shut down Roller Games operations in the face of dwindling popularity, which some attributed to the organization's increasing emphasis on theatrics and entertainment. However, skaters quickly organized a new version of the club, and a new training center opened. Thunderbirds games were locally broadcast on KBSC Channel 52, the Kaiser Broadcasting station for the Los Angeles market, allowing for distribution to other Kaiser stations like San Francisco's KBHK-TV, Chicago's WFLD and Detroit's WKBD. Jerry Hill headed up the Philadelphia-based team, the Warriors, whose games were broadcast on Kaiser-owned WKBS with announcer Elmer Anderson.
      The revitalized league prospered in the late 1970s and early 1980s: its home venue, the Olympic Auditorium, was sold out for matches on Saturday nights; games were aired on TV (as Roller Superstars); and skaters "Psycho" Ronnie Rains and Ralphie Valladares became minor celebrities in Los Angeles.
      In 1985, the "International Roller Derby League" name was reactivated (although it was still in the Roller Games format), retaining many skaters from Roller Superstars (renamed Championship Roller Derby) and recruiting new skaters. Along with the Los Angeles T-Birds, the other teams were now known as the Northern Devils, Western Outlaws, Golden State Bombers, Hollywood Hawks and Eastern War-Chiefs. Games were skated at the Showboat Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas, with the exception of Eastern War-Chiefs games which were played at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. This version of the IRDL was broadcast on ESPN and hosted by Los Angeles radio personality Paul Greenwood with play-by-play analysis by former roller derby skaters Ted Marolf and Jess Adams. Despite having a number of games skated from 1985–1986, the club again fell into decline, with its aging skaters having no place to practice after the closure of the training facility. Griffiths retained the rights to the Roller Games name, however, and organized several matches in 1987 and 1988.


      = RollerGames

      =

      In 1989, television producers David Sams and Mike Miller worked with Griffiths to produce RollerGames, a U.S. television show that presented an even more theatrical variant of the sport for a national audience. It featured a steeply banked figure-eight track, an alligator pit, and a number of skaters who had been in the Roller Games league, as well as younger participants. It was broadcast for one season (1989–1990) before its distributor, Quintex Media, went bankrupt. The bankruptcy was not related to the popularity of RollerGames. Ratings for the series were actually quite high, even beating the popular American Gladiators.
      Sams provided color commentary while Chuck Underwood handled the play-by-play, and was famous for saying "That was absolutely DEV-A-STAT-ING!" Shelley Jamison served as the "on-the-track" commentator while the late Wally George did halftime commentary.
      The show currently airs in reruns on Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 1.


      = Roller Games International

      =
      Following the cancellation of RollerGames, Griffiths organized three untelevised Roller Games International (RGI) events:

      August 8, 1990 in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)
      August 9, 1990 in Calgary, Alberta (Canada)
      February 6, 1993 in Auburn Hills, Michigan (USA)
      All three matches were T-Birds vs. RGI All-Stars.
      The organization remained dormant for the rest of the 1990s, although the six teams from RollerGames still performed for the public in the Super Roller Dome with the same rules.


      = 2000s

      =
      Griffiths' son, Bill Griffiths Jr., relaunched Roller Games International in 2000.
      In 2003, former Roller Games skater Lou Sanchez used the T'Birds name in a one-off match, National Roller Derby League.
      In 2004, Bob Sedillo purchased the T-Birds name for use in a disastrous exposition match in Phoenix, Arizona against a team of young female skaters associated with the modern revival of the sport.
      As of December 2004, the Bob Sedillo-owned Roller Games International (RGI) league still operates a single team, the Los Angeles Thunderbirds (T-Birds). A match between the ARSD's San Francisco Bay Bombers and RGI's Los Angeles Thunderbirds (T-Birds) took place on July 29, 2006 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. The Bay Bombers defeated the T-Birds 81-79.
      The T-Birds' last home was at the Pomona Fairplex. Several games were skated there in 2007 and 2008. Promotions ceased once trademark owner Bill Griffiths sued Sedillo's Pegasus Media Group. Bob Sedillo died in December 2009.


      See also


      RollerGames — the 1989–1990 television show
      RollerJam — the Roller Derby revival TV show (1999–2001)
      Georgia Hase


      References




      External links


      Los Angeles Thunderbirds (unofficial website)

    • Source: RollerGames

      • RollerGames is a U.S. television series that presented a theatrical version of the sport of roller derby, and featured a number of skaters who had been in the Roller Games league (1961–1975), as well as younger participants. It was broadcast for one season (1989–1990). The series came from the combination of Roller Games owner William Griffiths, Sr. and the television production team of David Sams and Michael Miller. Chet Forte served as the show's director for its entire run. Chuck Underwood served as play-by-play commentator while Sams provided the color commentary. Former TV reporter Shelly Jamison was trackside reporter and Hot Seat host and conservative commentator Wally George hosted halftime segments known as RollerSports Central.
      After a 30-year absence, Fox Sports 1 began to air the series again on August 1, 2020 to celebrate the series' 30th anniversary. A fan page on Facebook was also launched.


      Format


      The show took place in the Super Roller Dome (which was actually an airport hangar), where all matches were broadcast. Instead of a banked oval track, a figure eight track was used where one side was heavily banked. It included obstacles such as the "Wall of Death" (which was located on the heavily banked side) and the "Jet Jump." The only ones who could score during each 45-second scoring cycle were the "jetters," who wore helmets and got six points if they got above the top line for three steps on the Wall of Death without going over, and two points if they got between the two lines for three steps. The "Jet Jump" had a 12-foot marker that allowed six points if the jetter got past it, and two if the jetter landed in front of it. In either case, the jetter had to land safely. Also, there were only four skaters on the track at a time (instead of the usual five).
      The rest of the cycle involved traditional roller derby elements of scoring one point for every opponent lapped. The players got as many 45-second cycles as possible within four six-minute quarters (cut down from eight 12-minute periods in traditional roller derby). The team with the most points won. The last cycle went the full 45 seconds regardless of what the period clock said.
      The first jetter to legally enter the jetwave won the status of "lead jetter"; s/he could signal the referees to cut off the cycle early, by tapping his/her helmet. S/he could also enter the jetwave again for more points, but only after s/he had passed all the opposing team's skaters. (This was extremely rare, but it happened occasionally.)
      As a tiebreaker, two skaters would skate around a pit full of alligators. The first skater to skate around the pit five times or to throw his or her opponent into the alligator pit was declared the winner. The debut episode was the only time live alligators were ever used, as no ties ever happened after that (although a "news report" featured another tiebreaker). The episode revealed one of the rare times that the T-Birds lost the championship, with the Violators taking it after the T-Bird skater got pushed into the alligator pit (although later footage revealed that Skull, the manager, cheated by interfering, but the Violators got to keep the Commissioner's Cup in spite of that).
      Instead of a penalty box, skaters that committed misdemeanors sat in a "penalty pod," one of each was located on either side of the broadcast booth where Sams and Underwood called the action. Because the rules said there were always four skaters on the track, a jetter got one bonus point each time they passed the skater inside the pod. Referee Don Lastra (and the other referees) frequently referred to the penalty pod as "jail," and would tell skaters who got a penalty to "go sit down." (Lastra would also fine players specific amounts of money; these fines were to be paid out of pocket as a check and given to him, since he issued the fines. Fines usually were issued if the act incurring a penalty came in between a period or after the end of the game, but the players who got fined always said vindication was theirs, and thus a moral victory was earned).


      Teams


      The "world famous" Los Angeles T-Birds were one of the teams used for the show. Other teams were the Rockers, Hot Flash, Violators, Bad Attitude, and Maniacs...all of whom were members of the fictional World Alliance of RollerSports (which is the actual legal division name of Sams' company). Many of the athletes that skated for Griffiths in the past were used for RollerGames. (The Hot Flash team was referred as "Hollywood Hot Flash" on a couple of occasions.)
      Some of the most visible skaters included twin sisters Jennifer & Kristine Van Galder, the "T-Bird Twins" (two blonde waitresses that Sams recruited while dining at a trendy LA area eatery), "The IceBox" Robert Smith, brothers "Mr. Mean" Harold Jackson & "Monster Man" Bernie Jackson, Michael Flaningam "The California Kid", "Skinney Minnie" Gwen Miller, "Electric" Randi Whitman (who got her nickname because of her hair), "Stars and Stripes" Matt Bickham, "Dar The Star" Darlene Langlois, "Latin Spitfire" Patsy Delgado, "Sweet" Stephanie Garcia, and Rocker Speed Skater Michael "Fish" Fischer (along with guitarist on the RollerGames theme song, who was forced to leave the team before the first telecast because he broke his hand in practice), and Ralphie Valladares, whose daughter Gina skated for Hot Flash.
      Other past Roller Derby personalities to appear on RollerGames included "Mizz" Georgia Hase, the cantankerous heel manager of the Detroit Devils and Bad Attitude, and "Little" Richard Brown, the Maniacs' top skater who got to manage and coach several skaters on RollerJam and previously skated for several teams including the Philadelphia Warriors, Baltimore-Washington Cats, L.A. T-Birds and Eastern War-Chiefs. "Dar The Star" Darlene Langlois was a former T-Bird herself, having been wooed away from the team by another former T-Bird turned Rockers manager, D.J. Terrigno. However, Dar remained on good terms with her former team, frequently coming to the aid of the T-Bird Twins after they were temporarily separated and defending them against the derision of Sweet Stephanie.


      = Rosters

      =


      Episode guide


      PILOT: Commissioner's Cup
      SEMI-FINALS: T-Birds vs. Bad Attitude; Rockers vs. Violators
      FINALS: Violators vs. T-Birds
      CHAMPIONS: Violators
      T-Birds vs. Bad Attitude
      Hot Flash vs. Bad Attitude
      T-Birds vs. Hot Flash
      Maniacs vs. Violators
      Rockers vs. Violators
      Rockers vs. Maniacs
      Bad Attitude vs. T-Birds (rematch; see #1)
      Violators vs. Bad Attitude
      T-Birds vs. Violators
      All-Star Game (Western Alliance vs. Eastern Empire)
      T-Birds vs. Maniacs
      Maniacs vs. Rockers (rematch; see #6)


      Storylines



      Some of the storylines were off-the-wall, but tame by today's standards — the main storyline was a controversy involving the T-Bird Twins being drafted as one person (more on that below), rather than two. Hair-pulling and catfights were crowd favorites. When a fight broke out, the cameras frequently cut to a shot of an angry woman in a pink dress, glaring at the skaters.
      The show became noted for its "big controversy:" according to a report from Sams, Georgia Hase claimed the T-Bird Twins were improperly drafted as one entity. Thus, Jennifer went to the Violaters, and Kristine went to the Maniacs. At the same time, the league office informed Ralphie Valladares that he was to be the first inductee into the Hall of Fame. This led Hase to object that, according to the rule book, Ralphie could not enter unless he hung up his skates for good. The league office did not intend for that to happen. Hase then decided that Ralphie would never skate again, as well as never go into the Hall of Fame.
      After two rule violations by John "Guru" Drew (manager for the Maniacs) and Chuck Skull (manager of the Violators) of physically abusing each of the T-Bird twins, Sams and on-the-track commentator Shelly Jamison brought up how each twin's contract was null and void, thus returning them to the T-Birds. This led Griffiths, Sr., as commissioner, to let the public decide on how this situation was to go. The American public overwhelmingly elected that Ralphie continue to skate while being inducted into the Hall of Fame, and that the twins return to the T-Birds for good (viewers in the continental 48 states could vote by calling a 900 number, while Alaska and Hawaii residents had to write a letter to a specific address, as the 900 number was not available to them). The exact number of votes was 75,468, with 96% voting "YES" and only 4% voting "NO."
      Although the show was canceled after one season, the show also featured an episode where Ralphie challenged the "unholy 3" ("Mizz" Georgia Hase, Guru Drew, Skull) to a 3-on-1 match race. Griffiths, Sr. pointed out that 3-on-1 wasn't legal according to league laws (during an interview with Wally George), but 2-on-1 was, so Skull had to drop out. While Ralphie dealt with Georgia and Drew, "Stars and Stripes" Matt Bickham reported to Shelley Jamison that he'd keep an eye on Skull. Due to the bankruptcy of Qintex, the distributor, which caused the show's untimely cancellation, that match race never took place. The show also offered the public a chance to dial the same 900 number and vote on whether or not the alligators should be banned from the sport, but due to the cancellation, the viewers never got to see the outcome.
      Following the bankruptcy and demise of Qintex (who also distributed Kids Incorporated on The Disney Channel in 1988 and 1989), distribution of RollerGames was taken over in 1990 by LBS Communications (now part of Fremantle), which rebroadcast and repackaged 12 of the original 13 episodes (excluding the All-Star Game) in edited versions with new match commentary replacing the original commentary by Underwood and Sams, and with newly-recorded interviews with RollerGames skaters and personalities conducted by Sean "Hollywood" Hamilton replacing the Rollersports Central and halftime music performance segments.


      Production


      In 1989, television producers David Sams and Mike Miller teamed with Roller Games owner Bill Griffiths, Sr. to create a modern version of the sport marketed as Rock and RollerGames. Sams provided color commentary while Chuck Underwood provided the main play-by-play.
      The show also included halftime entertainment by musical performers like Lita Ford, Warrant, Exposé, and had halftime commentary by Wally George. Former Phoenix, Arizona news reporter Shelly Jamison served as sideline reporter. RollerGames premiered in 95% of the country, and, though generally panned by critics, was well received among teenagers and college students.
      Director Chet Forte (best known for directing the early days of ABC's Monday Night Football) was recruited to direct the show. Many of the graphics and camera techniques were unique for the day, like the cameras on the skaters. Additional segments were directed by producer David Sams, Joe Dea, and wrestling director Andrew Hecker.
      Post Production design and graphic looks were created by lead editor Jonathan Moser and incorporated many state-of-the-art effects (at that time) and technology, as well as utilizing an Amiga computer for special graphic effects.


      Reception


      In many cities, RollerGames aired late at night, against Saturday Night Live, while in others it aired mid-day on Saturdays. Although the show's ratings were quite good, even beating out American Gladiators, it only lasted one season before getting canceled due to the show's distributor, Qintex, going bankrupt. However, co-producers Motown Productions and Sams/Miller Productions did not go bankrupt due to RollerGames. RollerGames delivered a 4.7 national rating vs. the American Gladiators 2.5 rating. Its debut in New York scored a 9.3 overnight rating.


      Revivals


      The show paved the way for a revival ten years later with the 1999 premiere of The New TNN's WSL RollerJam, where former RollerGames skaters Richard Brown, Patsy Delgado and Ray Robles skated.
      In January 2008, RollerGames coproducer David Sams announced that he "intends to put banked-track Roller Sports back on Television and the Internet in 2008." He later announced that The David Sams Organization was recruiting skaters, coaches, trainers, and cheerleaders for a series that "will be taped in the Los Angeles area, as early as this summer and fall." He also said "A tour is being planned for the winter/spring of 2009." Those plans fell through after a couple of years.
      Following the cancellation of RollerGames, Griffiths continued promoting an untelevised league under the name Roller Games International, which continues the sport of RollerGames to this day. The original TV series is now controlled by the producing parties, which retained the rights.
      Sams talked about RollerGames and what the future would hold for a revival on an episode of the RollerShoot podcast hosted by Mike Summers and Bob Guercia on Action VR Network which would later spawn plans for the show's return to TV years later.


      = The Return

      =
      In the summer of 2020, David Sams announced on Facebook that RollerGames was returning to television for the first time in 30 years on Fox Sports 2 every Saturday at 10:00pm Eastern/7:00pm Pacific with replays on Fox Sports 1 every Sunday and FS2 every Monday. Fox Sports and Sams agreed to add the replays to fill the void of lack of live events caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The replays premiered on FS2 on Saturday, August 1, 2020, but do not feature the original musical performances shown on the original 1989 broadcasts because of music rights issues. They were replaced by Douglas Cooper Getschal's performance of "Rock & RollerGames" (from the later-in-the-season All-Star Game) on every episode except for two episodes featuring performances of "Hit & Run" by Tammy Hanson. (See below) Also, it was Sams' belief that the focus should be on the "athleticism of the skaters." The video from the 1989 series is remastered to air in as high quality for current-day HD displays as much as possible, with graphical elements re-done and the video panned to fill a widescreen 16:9 display. A RollerGames episode marathon was also broadcast on Christmas Day on Fox Sports 1. The newly-revived episodes now also air on YouTube.


      Post-RollerGames


      Many skaters retired after RollerGames following the series cancellation, but some carried on in other phases of roller derby. As mentioned, Richard Brown, Ray Robles, Patsy Delgado and referee Don Lastra made appearances on the 1999 TNN derby revival RollerJam. Lastra left after two episodes due to injury. Robles and Delgado joined the show in its second season with both starting with the Illinois Riot. Delgado would later join the Florida Sundogs while Robles lost a match race with fellow skater Mark D'Amato and was forced to wear inline skates. Stephanie Garcia would also continue skating into the 2010s before officially retiring and would go on to purchase the original T-Birds franchise not tied to the series. The T-Birds Twins, Kristine and Jennifer Van Gelder are now interior decorators.


      Merchandise


      Konami released two different video game versions of RollerGames in 1990 for different platforms: a coin-operated version and a console version for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The arcade version adapts the format of the original TV series, while the NES version is a side-scrolling action game.
      In 1989 the World Alliance of Rollersports released a CD Soundtrack album featuring the show's theme song "Rock & RollerGames", as well as team theme songs "Made In The USA" (T-Birds, sung by Rockers skater Darlene Langlois), "Hit And Run" (Hot Flash, sung by skater Tammy Hansen), "Rock It" (Rockers, sung by Langlois, Hansen and Holly Fields), "Bad Attitude" (Bad Attitude, also sung by Hansen), "Kick Butt" (Violators) and "No Brakes" (Maniacs). The album was produced by Douglas Cooper Getschal, who sang "Rock & RollerGames" and a few other tunes. (The RollerGames music is currently being used on the internet radio program RollerShoot.)
      In 1990 Galoob released seven action figures from show characters.
      In 1990, Williams released a pinball game, RollerGames, designed by pinball designer Steve Ritchie, with features the main theme song recomposed by Dan Forden.
      G.C. London Publishing, the original publisher of Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine, put out its first and only issue of RollerGames Magazine. A second issue, cover-dated March 1990 and announced in the debut issue to go on sale on January 2, 1990, was never published.


      References

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