Marjorie Clair Louise Theresa Brasuhn Monte (January 27, 1923 – 9 August 1971), known as Midge "Toughie" Brasuhn, was a

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. Born in

St Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

, to a German-American family, Brasuhn acquired the nickname "Midge" as a child by virtue of her height - only 4'11".Herb Michelson, ''A Very Simple Game'' She joined the roller derby in 1941, in Minneapolis,"Roller Derby Star Dies", ''

Daily Herald Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', August 25, 1971, section 2, page 1 and soon married Ken Monte, a fellow skater. Brasuhn rose to fame in the late 1940s with a billboard campaign showing her with green dye on her face asking the question "Who Is Toughie?" She regularly competed against

Gerry Murray Gerry Murray (September 30, 1920August 9, 2019) was an American roller derby skater. She played for most of her career with the New York Chiefs, becoming a popular derby star known for her glamour as well as her on-track rivalry with Midge "To ...

, sometimes on a one-to-one basis,'Toughie' and Gerry in Half-Mile Match Contest
, ''

Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the ''Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...

'', February 16, 1950 and in 1949 took a leading role in the film '' Roller Derby Girl''. In 1950, she was voted one of the ten leading sportswomen by the Sportswriters of America, and she became the captain of the Brooklyn Red Devils. She was known for her aggressive play, and would sometimes knee her opponents in the jaw. Brasuhn retired from competition in 1962, and was subsequently inducted into 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. ...

.Keith Coppage, ''Roller Derby to RollerJam'', p.122 In the mid-1960s, she briefly skated with the rival Roller Games, before moving with her son to Honolulu, where she died unexpectedly in 1971.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brasuhn, Toughie 1923 births 1971 deaths Sportspeople from St. Louis Roller derby skaters American people of German descent