(1973) Roller Derby Pioneers vs Renegdes 2nd Half

[@HemiVic]

I remember watching Roller Derby with Chet Coppock calling the action. Before becoming a very popular Sports figure for NBC Chicago, he was the play by play announcer for The Midwest Pioneers of Roller Derby on Channel 32. I once remember him saying, if you have any questions regarding Roller Derby, send your questions to him but if it regarded Roller Games and the L.A. Thunderbirds, he didn’t want to hear it! If you watch the games and compare Roller Derby to Roller Games, the Roller Derby skaters appeared to be better, faster with more serious matches! Roller Games was more like Pro Wrestling with showmanship and arrogant interviews by the skaters!

[@terryscott2007]

Bringing back good memories from my childhood 😅

[@benkleschinsky]

NASCAR, Boxing, Roller Derby, Bowling. 70's had the best sports!

[@user-fg2ls9js8g]

Outside the L A T-Birds, Midwest Pioneers my other favorite Roller Derby Team, would have loved to see them as a kis

[@kathykotlan1130]

Loved roller derby.Was vice president of John Early's fan club.

[@craigirwin4771]

Great stuff. I went to the game at Mt. Prospect, one of the games they promoted on air. Front row. Best games were at the Amphitheater on the south side of Chicago. Packed houses. 10,000 in that old barn.

[@georgegong6813]

Remember only able to see a few games from the old Amphitheater on television where I resided in the San Francisco Bay Area.

[@michaelangileo2760]

Roller Derby features some amazing athletes. Cool !

[@fredforscher7991]

Didnt riley skate with la than

[@georgegong6813]

@@fredforscher7991 Might had floated between teams. Remember Reily's role often as a red shirt too. Also Bill Griffiths owned all the teams in Games as Seltzer did Derby.

[@georgegong6813]

Fans in the Midwest & East Coast were so fortunate to catch interleague games where sadly after catching the bug, much too late to view any in the San Francisco Bay Area. Last interleague games in the mid 60's. I caught the bug in 1969.

[@josephwilliams3185]

Joan Weston R.I. P

[@michaelangileo2760]

1973 - sapphire blue. God bless everyone.

[@unitedamericans8587]

The beginning of the end for ROLLER DERBY!!!

[@georgegong6813]

Sadly agree though those inter league games were interesting!

[@stuntgirl56-therachelvande24]

we are seeing the resurgence of roller derby leagues all over and add to the soap box derby racing for some strange racing. do not forget the Barbie Car races and the Alaska car launching along with the camper trailer demolition derby, so many things so little time

[@stuntgirl56-therachelvande24]

such a great time, no cell phones, phones attached to the walls, no computer interruptions or war rooms from people not down with being an American, gas lines, giant Oldsmobiles that you could put everything in and go to National Parks for vacations, gas wars, Mars Bars, Bit-O-Honey bars, strawberry picking for kids, no high pitched 5G waves driving the whales and ocean life crazy enough to beach themselves, NASA and GM with some of the best commercials ever, Alka-Seltzer, Oscar Meyermobile and star gazing where hopes were up and windows were down, rv

[@chriszenko6355]

They where pulling in big crowds in the mid 70s. I saw a Chiefs game as a kid it was a sellout at Madison Square Garden against the Bombers. Surprised they never tried to bring it back in the 70s form

[@Melissa-SC73]

Agreed! The crowds were big back then. If todays roller derby was like it originally was back then, they’d probably have larger crowds & more interest in roller derby.

[@donniehagy5125]

@@Melissa-SC73 Yep; pretty sad when it's only women skaters; they skate on a banked track, and STILL cannot stand upright.

[@Melissa-SC73]

@@donniehagy5125 Agreed with you.

[@TheVerbalVolley]

There are too many sports competing for attention and too many channels nowadays. The Derby should never have folded into Roller Games, which was a travesty of the sport. Theatrics over skating...a terrible decision. And Games mistreated the Derby skaters terribly. Joannie was relegated to being a side show and eventually just walked away from the sport, out of embarrassment at what she had to do and what was done to her.

[@lawrenceloebman8961]

I used to goto the Santa's village too watch the pioneers

[@donniehagy970]

Much better picture that the DVD I have of this game.

[@williebowen1043]

Loyal fan of the LA & Australian Thunderbirds

[@miguelvarela7154]

we want to see the philadelphia warriors

[@castlev1986]

wow what a close line from hell swing she hit the ground so hard

[@castlev1986]

also I love it when the guy said I tried working for a living & it was the worst day of his life LOL

[@nickmad887]

love it

[@castlev1986]

what a killer move of her going under the arms like that they didn't see that coming

[@jeffthekillercriticremixer5968]

what is the name of the song that plays at the beginning

[@DrewKane]

This is obviously pro-wrestling on wheels.

[@castlev1986]

this has to be the best roller derby game I have ever seen. did see the girl number 8 shoot out a tooth LOL wild man loving it

[@georgegong6813]

Would had loved to view more interleague games especially with my favorite Bay Bombers taking on Roller Games teams to see how they would had faired. Only team I noticed the Bombers skated against during the 70's was the Philadelphia Warriors. Believe that was the only interleague game performed by them.

[@loudenkliehr3633]

Do you know if the Chiefs--the third of the main three home teams--ever play inter-league games? Chiefs/Warriors perhaps? Before the ISC, I mean.

[@georgegong6813]

Yes the Northern Hawks with John Parker, Georgie Adams, & Jennifer Richards comes into mind Louden. A Boston television station I forgot which has a old news clip in it's archives. Forgot the station identification letters or channel number sorry,. Though if you dig far enough on the internet you might be able to find it! Other teams I've read the Chiefs did interleague battle with prior to the merger with the ISC was yes the Philadelphia Warriors. That must had been quite a match up Arnold vs Dunn. Trevino vs Moreland. Ogbin vs McGwire. Groll vs Atkinson Jr. Gammon vs Brown.

[@lasktdave]

In '73 or '74, can't remember exactly which year the Bomber came to L.A. and did a two week series against the Tbirds. They pretty much whooped the Bird's butts.

[@lasktdave]

The two interleague games I know of with the Chiefs besides th Hawks was the Warriors and Reilly's Renegades.

[@loudenkliehr3633]

One season, can't recall which but I'll say 1970, the Bay Bombers played series against two teams made up of Roller Games stars. The New Yorkers were pretty much the New York Bombers of that season with Raines, Porky Parker, Ken 'The Killer' Willis, Judy Swenski and the Southern Mustangs that featured Jan Vallow and Nick Scopas--before they returned to the Derby--with several Texas Outlaws and Chicago Hawks. Short series both. A week each.

[@stuntgirl56-therachelvande24]

announcer sounds like Bill Shonnelly of the Trailblazers of Portland Oregon

[@castlev1986]

my god look at the wide load number 1 mowing down every one

[@castlev1986]

just love how the cops just walks by as someone just hit come one in the face like nothing happen fucking sweet must be on the million dollar man's pay roll

[@robertworsham]

what happened to bob hein?

[@davidsnowden2160]

William Tucker He had died..

[@rayasher3580]

"spunky hunk of ebony stardom." Only Chet could come up with that.

[@lasktdave]

I couldn't believe he said that.

[@MuddySyrup]

which skaters have passed away.

[@georgegong6813]

Sadly quite a few! :(

[@castlev1986]

lol 59 looks like super Mario lol

[@castlev1986]

so far the number 8 is the most fair player on the team come on

[@lasktdave]

You are joking?

[@georgegong6813]

@@lasktdave Would start him up. Review his/her other comments. Not taking any of this seriously just trying to be a comedian.

[@castlev1986]

another bad ass take down from number one the other girl lucky she didn't sit on her

[@JJN259]

RENEGADES!

[@castlev1986]

loved number 2 with the side slam & she didn't even see the elbow to the face coming a girl like that you just wanna make her your wife

[@lasktdave]

Candy Mitchell. She was a really tough skater.

[@andyr1313]

If my time frame is correct, Jerry Seltzer shut down the Roller Derby within two months of this broadcast...

[@georgegong6813]

Moot point though no you aren't correct. Tony Smith for example didn't skate Fall of '73. Nick Scopas was no longer a Pioneer. Went to the Jolters. Darlene Forbes also didn't skate Fall of '73. I make this late '72 perhaps Winter "73. Tony Smith never skated on the Pioneers either for that matter Summer of '73 in San Francisco Bay Area

[@georgegong6813]

Also Johnny Wrice wasn't even a Pioneer in this lineup if it was Fall ';73 within that time period you mentioned. Just crossed my mind!

[@mikeziggirelli7224]

It wouldn't be long. By the beginning of 1974 the ISC (Internaitonal Skating Conference) was formed. Joan Weston was a T-Brird as was Ronnie Robinson. Bob Hein was a Warrior. The Chiefs remained intact and were added to the Warriors, Cats , Tokyo, Latin Libs, and a Canadian team. The Renegades also were added but didn't last long.

[@NYRNGR1]

This game was from January of 1973. Lots of interleague games that year. While the Pioneers were skating against the Renegades in the Chicago area, the NY Chiefs were skating against the Hawks, the Bay Bombers were skating the Los Angeles T-Birds and the Jolters were skating the Warriors in Philly. I hated Roller Games so I really didn't enjoy these interleague games.

[@castlev1986]

wow she got shot out of the ring lol

[@ricopetrilli1084]

Too bad the ones against the T-Birds don't exist.

[@ricopetrilli1084]

Or the Hawks

[@castlev1986]

& I just love it when number 8 goes over to the other team home fans & just rubs in their faces LOL he should of taking their kids coke & drink it all or drink some of it & splash it on some guys faces that has a hot gf lol & see him try to come over the other side lol that would of been funny

[@donniehagy5125]

That was Danny Reilly!

[@castlev1986]

@@donniehagy5125 someone should of gave him a wwf run back in the day i can see how he worked the people hating him & i liked him beating up on everyone lol good heel

[@donniehagy5125]

@@castlev1986 Oh he made a great heel. He skated for a long time for the T-Birds (as a "face"), but I remember when he was getting ready to break off and start his own team a/k/a the Renegades. Danny seemed to have owned most of opponents. He would f*uck anybody!

[@castlev1986]

they should have mean gene talk to them after the game I can just see the blonde girl saying well YOU KNOW something Mean Gene they came with weak low blows cheap shots now they can go back to the bar & drink all the sorrows away.

[@castlev1986]

the blonde girl number 53 on the pioneers side is hot

[@stephengiorgis7072]

Sherry Erlich

[@NYRNGR1]

@@stephengiorgis7072 Sherry Erich.

[@kathykotlan1130]

That is Sherry Erich #53.

[@castlev1986]

@@kathykotlan1130 nice well she's smoking hot

[@castlev1986]

I bet some of the teams playing are dead & I bet some or most of the people watching are dead

[@freddymarcel-marcum6831]

Dude it's 1973, not the eighteenth century.

[@castlev1986]

@@freddymarcel-marcum6831 i bet some are dead i know for a fact some of the team players are dead. i looked them up

[@freddymarcel-marcum6831]

@@castlev1986 that's... great...ok