Roller Games

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Roller Games was the name of a sports entertainment spectacle created in 1961 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. National Skating Derby, Inc., the company behind Roller Games, was founded by former Roller Derby skaters and was owned by Bill Griffiths, Sr. and Jerry Hill. It provided a televised, theatrical version of the sport until failing in 1975. Griffiths and two television producers revived the operation in a more glamorous form in 1989, as the short-lived television show RollerGames. The league was revived as Roller Games International from 1990 to 1993, and again under Griffiths' son in 2000.

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[edit] Additional history

Roller Games actually consisted of several separate leagues, including the (U.S.) National Roller Derby (NRD) which was renamed to National Roller League (NRL) and consisted of the Northern Hawks, Detroit Devils, New York Bombers, Texas Outlaws, and Brooklyn Red Devils. Roller Games also encompassed the Canadian National Roller League (CNRL) and Japanese National Roller League (JNRL).

Roller Games was mainly broadcasted 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.

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.[1][2]

In 1973, Seltzer shut down Roller Derby and sold the promotional rights to 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.[3][4]

However, by 1975, the circus-like approach doomed all of Roller Games, and fans deserted the arenas. Griffiths closed down Roller Games, but retained the rights to the name, and occasionally organized one-off matches between teams of former Roller Games skaters in the years that followed.

[edit] RollerGames

Main article: RollerGames

In 1989, two television producers David Sams and Mike Miller, worked with Griffiths to produce RollerGames, a U.S. television show that presented an even more theatrical version 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 went bankrupt.

[edit] Roller Games International

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

All three matches were T-Birds vs. RGI All-Stars.[5]

Griffiths' son, Bill Griffiths Jr., relaunched Roller Games International (RGI) in 2000.[6]

[edit] Current activity

As of Dec. 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 ARDL Bay Bombers and the RGI Los Angeles Thunderbirds (T-Birds) was scheduled for July 29, 2006 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20030728065919/www.rollersport.us/history2.cfm
  2. ^ http://www.rollerderbypreservationassociation.com/modules.php?name=Leagues&op=ShowLeagueAll&id=175&id_cat=32&categories=ROLLERGAMES
  3. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20030728071050/www.rollersport.us/history4.cfm
  4. ^ http://www.rollerderbypreservationassociation.com/modules.php?name=Leagues&op=ShowLeagueAll&id=179&id_cat=32&categories=ROLLERGAMES
  5. ^ Post by "williamwsl1" on bankedtracknews, February 24, 2000.
  6. ^ http://www.rollerderbypreservationassociation.com/autohtml.php?filename=Banked_Track_News_Archives/issue09.htm
  7. ^ http://www.rollergames.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=80&Itemid=76 (dead reference; check archives)

[edit] External link

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