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), and a small number of untelevised exhibition matches in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, and the early and mid-2000s.

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.

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