Roller Derby to RollerJam: The Authorized Story of an Unauthorized Sport

by Keith Coppage

Roller derby first appeared in Chicago during the Depression. With the advent of television, this dynamic, sometimes violent sport became a national favorite. In Roller Derby to RollerJam, Keith Coppage takes a fond look at the origins, history, and players of the game who made it successful, from promoters to superstars.

Genres: Roller Derby, Nonfiction

148 pages, Paperback

First published July 27, 1999

Reviews

[Tristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This publication is full of encyclopedic facts about the origins of Roller Derby and has some really fantastic photos. It's truly written out of love and respect for the game. What is distracting is the almost commercial end of the book, in which the Hollywood reality-show-esque "RollerJam" was going to be the "future of Roller Derby." We all know that did not happen. I'm happy to say, that Roller Derby actually took a more DIY, punk feminist turn and is thriving around the country. It's not televised, but has gone back to it's "carnie" roots - where you actually have to show up to the ring and see your favorite teams skate. If you haven't gone to a game, you should look up your local team and go check them out!

[S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

#33 opposite the Contents page used to babysit me.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most in-depth history of the beginning of the sport.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incomparable history of the original Roller Derby. Sharply written, impeccably researched, and overflowing with an unparalleled collection of photographs; this—alongside Frank Deford's Five Strides On The Banked Track: The Life And Times Of The Roller Derby— is an absolute must-read for any Roller Derby aficionado. Indeed one might read the first three chapters of Keith Coppage's book, then read Deford's in its entirety, then return to Coppage. That will carry the amateur historian forward to the darkness before the dawn of the modern age of roller derby.

This is a book that warrants being in print, especially considering that the market for it grows and grows as the modern sport grows. That being said, it is in desperate need a of new cover. The front cover of this book is as unappealing and terribly designed as the interior is mesmerizing and inspiring.

Like any history of a sport and cultural phenomenon that continues to evolve and move forward into the future, this history has its limitations. While Deford's book ends just before historic Roller Derby's zenith and startling abrupt demise, Coppage's history wraps up just as the 1999-2000 RollerJam made an significant effort to reintroduce this unique American sport (and just before RollerJam's equally abrupt—but less surprising—demise).

Roller Derby to RollerJam is also a singularly "Seltzer-centric" history, utterly omitting any form of the sport that spun off from the Seltzer family creation, most notably the 1961-1975 L.A.-based Roller Games (that not only limped on in select cities from '75 into the eighties, but also spawned a flash in the pan TV revival in 1989-90, known to have influenced some involved in the current roller derby revival). Roller Games also established a firm toehold in Japan through the nineties at least. Also, two years before publication of this book, a clone of the classic Bay Bombers et al sprang up in San Francisco, and continues to play Derby in the historic (and banked track) style to this day.

Know your history. Embrace your history. Without Leo Seltzer there would be no Roller Derby. Without Leo Seltzer's Roller Derby, there would be no Jerry Seltzer's Roller Derby. Leap forward to today: Without all of that there would be no modern roller derby, a phenomenon that is sweeping the globe. Speaking to the derby faithful: None of us would be here without the Seltzer's creation, and its successes. However, the ripples that they put out into the pond extend beyond a linear A-B-C narrative. A truly definitive history of this sport we love has yet to be written, although frankly Keith Coppage might be just the man for the job. Certainly nothing more complete could ever be written without using his research and his book as its foundation.