You’ve Rolled a Long Way Baby!

The first roller derby match began on August 13, 1935 in the Chicago Coliseum and was the brainchild of Leo A. Seltzer.  Originally created as an outgrowth of then-popular marathon events, such as walkathons and bicycle races, this was one of the first opportunities for Americans to watch women compete in a sport with men using the same rules.

Called the Transcontinental Roller Derby, this indoor endurance race covered 3,000 miles, the distance between San Diego and New York City, and lasted one month. The winners would be the man and woman team that covered the 3,000 miles in the shortest time.

Teams skated 11 ½-hour days every day for the entire month and were required to skate a designated number of miles each day.  Each team was required to have one member skating at all times or risk being disqualified. Crowds packed the coliseum to watch the racing and could measure their favorite team's progress by a large electronic map that measured the distance skated. 

On September 22, teammates Clarice Martin and Bernie McKay won the first roller derby with a winning time of 88 hours, 22 minutes and 3 seconds.  Of the 25 starting teams, only nine finished.

After the Transcontinental Roller Derby's success, Seltzer decided to form teams and take them on the road.  In 1937, a suggestion by sportswriter Damon Runyon changed the face of the pure endurance race to the more aggressive battles between players. During the next 25+ years roller derby gained amazing popularity and played to crowds of 10,000+ per day. In its heyday on television in the 1960’s and early ‘70s it had even morphed into a morality fight between good and evil, with the “good” team always winning.

Today the game’s line-up and scoring systems remains close to that taken from Damon Runyon’s suggestion in 1937.  Following are the three positions and how they rate in the scoring category:

Ohio Roller Girls

Currently, Ohio Roller Girls' league has over 100+ girls on their roster and is split into four individual teams. With team names like Band of Brawlers, Blackeye Bullies, Sprockettes, and The Take-Outs you know there will be some great action on the track. The Ohio Roller Girls organization is not just made up of skaters -- there are also coaching staff, referees and support staff that take it to the track. If you'd like to get involved as a coach, referee or skater or one of the many needed volunteers, take a look at their Web site for more information.

If you'd like to see more video of the Roller Girls in action, make sure you tune into our Local On Demand channel, CHANNEL 411. Once on CHANNEL 411, select SPORTS, then click GENERAL SPORTS, scroll to Roller Girls and click PLAY.

Download your AroundRR.com and Ohio Roller Girl wallpaper here

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