The Roller Derby Hall of Fame, also known as the National Roller Derby Hall of Fame, was founded in 1952,William H. Young and Nancy K. Young, ''World War II and the Postwar Years in America'', p.596 by the editors of the ''Roller Derby News'' paper. Johnny Rosasco and Josephine "Ma" Bogash were the first two skaters to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was initially displayed at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, where the home offices of the sport were located. Skaters could only be inducted after their retirement. However, four skaters were inducted and then returned to skating:

Ann Calvello Ann Theresa Calvello (August 1, 1929 – March 14, 2006) was an American athlete and notable personality in the sport of roller derby. Ann Calvello graduated from Presentation High School in San Francisco in June 1947. Calvello competed in roller ...

, Annis Jensen, Ken Monte and Charlie O'Connell.Keith Coppage, ''Roller Derby to RollerJam'', p.122 When the International Roller Derby League, by then run by Leo Seltzer's son,

Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

, closed in 1973, the Hall of Fame also closed. As a result, several acclaimed skaters who had never retired were not inducted. In the late 1990, Roller Derby fan Gary Powers built up a collection of memorabilia, principally through buying and selling on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

, but also with donated memorabilia from former skaters. His collection of Roller Derby memorabilia is the largest in the world. He made contact with former skaters, including Calvello, Gerry Murray, Billy Bogash,

Ivy King Ivy King was the largest pure- fission nuclear bomb ever tested by the United States. The bomb was tested during the Truman administration as part of Operation Ivy. This series of tests involved the development of very powerful nuclear weapons i ...

and Buddy Atkinson, Sr. and, by early 2004, his house was described by ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' as an unofficial roller derby hall of fame. In September 2004, it was opened on an official basis, with the permission and blessing of Jerry Seltzer, with Powers named as its Executive Director and Curator. According to

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

, the re-opened Hall of Fame "not only honors legends of the game but includes memorabilia like jerseys, tickets, and programs, preserving the history of the banked track sport".Cowboys, croquet, insurance in U.S. halls of fame
,

, 16 April 2010 The National Roller Derby Hall of Fame & Museum closed in New York City in 2015, relocating to Palm Springs, California.

Members

Members of the original hall of fame are: Since re-opening in 2004, the following additional members have been inducted: {, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! name ! role ! date inducted , - , Elmer Anderson , skater , 2004 , - , Judy Arnold , skater , 2004 , - , Mike Gammon , skater , 2004 , - , Johnny Karp , skater , 2004 , - , Annabelle "Slugger" Kealey , skater , 2004 , - , Julie Patrick , skater , 2004 , - , Ronnie Robinson , skater , 2004 , - ,

Judy Sowinski Judy Sowinski (7 July 1940 – 27 July 2011) was a roller derby skater and coach. Sowinski was born in Chicago, and became interested in roller derby after watching a game at the Chicago Coliseum in 1957. She tried out and was soon picked up as ...

, skater , 2004 , - ,

Ralph Valladares Ralph Valladares (July 31, 1936 – November 13, 1998), often known as Ralphie Valladares, was a roller derby skater and coach. Born in Guatemala, Valladares moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was twelve years old. He hoped to beco ...

, skater , 2004 , - ,

Joan Weston Joan Weston or Joanie Weston (January 20, 1935 – May 10, 1997), known as the "Blonde Bomber", "Blonde Amazon", "Golden Girl", and "Roller Derby Queen", was an American athlete and was the most famous personality in the original Roller Derby. ...

, skater , 2004 , - , Buddy Atkinson, Jr. , skater , 2005 , - , George Copeland , skater , 2005 , - , Jack "Toddy" Geffinger , skater , 2005 , - , Shirley Hardman , skater , 2005 , - , Bobbie Johnstone , skater , 2005 , - , Joe Nygra , skater , 2005 , - , Carl Payne , skater , 2005 , - , Monta Jean Payne , skater , 2005 , - ,

Jerry Seltzer Gerald Edwin "Jerry" Seltzer (June 3, 1932 – July 1, 2019) was the second and final owner of the original Roller Derby league. The league and the sport of roller derby were created in 1935 in Chicago by Leo Seltzer, Jerry's father. Jerry assu ...

, executive , 2005 , - , Leo Seltzer , executive , 2005 , - , Kathleen "Gene" Vizena , skater , 2005 , - , Mary Youpelle , skater , 2005 , - , Sid Harnesk , skater , 2006 , - , Walt Harris , announcer , 2006 , - , Terri Lynch , skater , 2006 , - , Russ Massro , skater , 2006 , - , Barbara Mateer , skater , 2006 , - , Carol Meyer , skater , 2006 , - , Kitty Nehls , skater , 2006 , - , Freddie Noa , skater , 2006 , - , Ken Nydell , announcer , 2006 , - , Ronnie Rains , skater , 2006 , - , Tony Roman , skater , 2006 , - , Jan Vallow , skater , 2006 , - , Richard Brown , skater , 2007 , - , Jerry Hill , executive , 2007 , - , Judi McGuire , skater , 2007 , - , Bill Morrissey , referee , 2007 , - , Mary Lou Palermo , skater , 2007 , - , Jean Porter , skater , 2007 , - , Marion "Red" Smartt , skater , 2007 , - , Bob Woodberry , skater , 2007 , - ,

Darlene Anderson Darlene Anderson (born March 19, 1939) is an American roller derby skater. Anderson became the first African American woman to play professional roller derby when she was chosen as the first pick for the Brooklyn Red Devils in 1957. Life and s ...

, skater , 2008-2009 , - , Mary Gardner , skater , 2008-2009 , - , Bill Griffiths, Sr. , executive , 2008-2009 , - , Dick Lane , announcer , 2008-2009 , - , Billy Lyons , skater , 2008-2009 , - , Paul Milane , skater , 2008-2009 , - , Dave Pound , skater , 2008-2009 , - , Gertie Scholl , skater , 2008-2009 , - , Mary Ciofani , skater , 2010 , - , Lydia Clay , skater , 2010 , - , Bob Hein , skater , 2010 , - , Frank Macedo , skater , 2010 , - , Gil Orozco , skater , 2010 , - , John Parker , skater , 2010 , - , Hazel Roop , skater , 2010 , - ,

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To ...

, writer , 2010 , - , Loretta Behrens , skater , 2012 , - , Dolores Doss , skater , 2012 , - , Margie Laszlo , skater , 2012 , - , Bob Lewis , skater , 2012 , - , Larry Lewis , skater , 2012 , - , Bob Satterfield , skater , 2012 , - ,

Frank Deford Benjamin Franklin Deford III (December 16, 1938 – May 28, 2017) was an American sportswriter and novelist. From 1980 until his death in 2017, he was a regular sports commentator on NPR's ''Morning Edition'' radio program. Deford wrote fo ...

, writer , 2012 , - , Sandy Dunn , skater , 2014 , - , Joe Foster , skater , 2014 , - , John Hall , skater , 2014 , - , Liz Hernandez , skater , 2014 , - , Ruberta Mitchell , skater , 2014 , - , Cathie Read , skater , 2014 , - , Silver Rich , skater , 2014 , - , Leroy Gonzales , skater , 2016 , - , Bill Groll , skater , 2016 , - , Ken Kunzelman , announcer , 2016 , - , Norma Rossner , skater , 2016 , - , Rosetta Sunders , skater , 2016 , - , Nick Scopas , skater , 2016 , - , Delores Tucker , skater , 2016

External links

Official website

References

1952 establishments in New York City Halls of fame in New York (state) Roller derby Sports halls of fame