[Carl LaFong]

I seemed to me that there were only ever two teams—the LA Thunderbirds and the Bay Area Bombers.

[ErnBatavia]

"Whoa, Nellie!!"

[TomGuy]

I seemed to me that there were only ever two teams—the LA Thunderbirds and the Bay Area Bombers.

IIRC, Roller Derby emerged in the 20s or 30s and continued into the 60s. It faltered and reformed with about 6 teams.

Roller Games came into existance, but it was more like pro wrestling -- for entertainment rather than gamesmanship. RG had 6-8 teams.

RD was losing ground and sort of merged with RG in the 70s.

The newly merged RG/RD still didn't gain much viewership.

A while later (90s) a female-only league emerged.

Wikipedia has a short history: Roller Derby.

[Roccus]

In the late 50’s I used to go to RD at the 14th St. Armory in NYC where the NY Chiefs skated.