Ronnie Smith Robinson (25 September 1939April 2001) was an American

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...

skater and coach. The son of boxer

Sugar Ray Robinson Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarded ...

, Robinson grew up distant from his father, who divorced his mother shortly before his birth. Herb Royd and Ray Robinson, ''Pound for Pound: A Biography of Sugar Ray Robinson''. Sugar Ray advised Ronnie not to follow him into the world of

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

.Chester Higgins, "People Are Talking About", '' Jet'', 4 February 1971, p. 42. After watching roller derby on television, he decided to join the sport, and enrolled in its training school in March 1958, initially under the pseudonym "Ronald Smith." He turned professional after five months, being placed on the New York Chiefs team. Robinson was the fourth African American to play roller derby professionally, after Maurice Plummer, George Copeland, and Darlene Anderson. He was a member of the All-Star team for more than ten consecutive years, and was twice named the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

."The Old Brawl Game", ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...

'', November 1973, pp. 56-62. On one occasion, Robinson fractured his arm in several places, and was unsure whether he would ever be able to use it again. He also lost his front teeth in a fight with Bob Woodberry, and suffered several

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

s. In 2004 Robinson was inducted to the

Roller Derby Hall of Fame 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. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Ronnie 1939 births 2001 deaths African-American sports coaches African-American sportsmen American roller skaters Roller derby skaters 20th-century African-American sportspeople