Judy Arnold
Judy was born in San Francisco, California to Ruth and Tom Arnold. She has an older brother and a younger brother; Bill and Tom. All three of them were very competitive.
Many think of Judy as the best skater of her time in Roller Derby and Roller Games. She played basketball in city leagues, which gave her a lot of confidence in her skating career. She states that playing basketball in San Francisco was instrumental to keeping her out of trouble as a child.
She first got into roller derby in the 1950’s, by watching games on her black and white television set. She did not like what she saw and turned the TV off immediately . . . women fighting each other was something that was unheard of. However, she enjoyed skating so much that she decided to go to the games at the Armory in San Francisco with another kid from down the street. Once she saw the game live, she fell in love with it. She was only twelve or thirteen years old at the time, but decided to see if she could enter the training school to become a skater. She stayed in the school for three years before being picked for a team.
Jerry Seltzer selected her in the early 60’s to be a player for the San Francisco Bay Bombers. She was just a teenager at the time, but made Rookie of the year. Reflecting on the moment, she said, “I can honestly say, I was a very surprised young lady.”
Her trainers in school were Ken Monte and Lou Donovan. Lydia Clay was another young girl in her training school. She used to drive Judy to and from school every day. At that time, the training fee was $2.00 per session. However, when they saw Judy’s ability as a skater, she was allowed to train for free. She was allowed to try different skating maneuvers at the school, which made her time there a lot of fun, especially since all she wanted to do was skate.
Later, she skated for the Philadelphia Warriors with incredible finesse. This was the point in time when she was considered to be at the top of her game. Her skating ability developed and became very natural. Also, she was allowed to skate with both men and women. She learned by watching other skaters and trying out their moves. The skater she admired the most was Jan Vallow. Judy always thought Jan Vallow was truly a great skater. However, Judy felt that her most competitive skaters were, Liz Hernandez, Loretta Behrens, Diane Syverson and Shirley Hardman. She said that Shirley was most gifted!
She and Joan Weston skated together on the San Francisco Bay Bombers. Often, people ask her what that was like. Judy and Joan were good friends. She thought Joan was a great lady. Also, Joan attended Catholic School and was the only skater Judy knew at the time who was interested in God.
When she left the Bombers, she also left the Roller Derby League that Jerry Seltzer owned and started. She was approached by Bill Griffith and asked if she wanted to skate for his company. She felt that it was a great opportunity for her, because she loved skating so much. He asked her to skate for the Warriors, who at the time were called the Hawaiian Warriors. They were the home team of the state of Hawaii. “How could anyone turn down an offer like that?” Judy said. “It was one of my favorite places on Earth. How could any woman not enjoy having one of those beautiful leis placed around their neck?” Leis were not cheap at the time, they ran around $10 each. Eventually, the warriors became the home team in Philadelphia, and in Puerto Rico.
As years passed, Judy became a celebrity, and was easily recognized. However, she was able to handle it. She remembers a specific night in Puerto Rico when the fans went wild. They wanted to meet all of the players. The arena was so packed that fans were sitting right against the track. When the game was over, the team could not leave the arena, because the crowd was so large that the skaters were being mobbed. Because they couldn't use the regular exit doors, Buddy Atkinson Jr. tried to get them out through the Hutch (the door leading to the staircase that went to their dressing rooms). However, the crowd was so large that when Dru Scott, another Warriors skater, tried to go down the hutch the fans trampled her to the floor.
Besides the Bombers and the Warriors, Judy also skated for the Chicago Hawks, the San Francisco Shamrocks, and the Texas Outlaws. Many times she played on the visiting team, but her favorite games were when she was the home team. She loved to feel the adoration of the crowd. She felt that she was very lucky injury wise. Her worst injury occurred when she caught the kick rail and broke her ankle in seven places. She was not able to skate again for approximately four months, and it was very painful.
When asked about the kind of woman that typically played roller derby, Judy said, “There is no simple answer, we had married women and we had single women. For the most part, all of the female skaters were very athletic.” In the early 70’s, the female Derby women went on strike. They felt that they should receive the same pay as male skaters. Judy was not one of the women who went on strike because she always felt that she was paid very well. When she felt that she should have a raise, she went directly to her boss. As her skills increased, so did her salary. Judy thanks those who think of her as the best all around skater. Although top skaters were paid well, it was certainly no comparison to what professional baseball players made. Judy loved to skate, so the salary she made seemed fine.
When Roller Derby merged with Roller Games, it was not a happy time for Judy. She preferred to skate just for games. When she left roller derby in 1975, there were many who thought roller derby had come to an end. Although interest in roller derby was waning, her leaving was no reflection of this.
There rumors that Judy had skated for Raquel Welch as her body double with the Kansas City Bombers. When asked about this, Judy said, “I certainly did . . . and it was this time of working with Raquel that I realized that money, fame, and beauty does not make a person happy. Raquel, who was certainly a beautiful person, did not seem to be a happy one.” This was the time in her life when she realized that she was not where she wanted to be. She wanted more then just money. The void in her life made her feel empty and she knew that the answer lay with God. In 1975 she realized that she wanted to give her life to Jesus Christ. She wanted to go to Bible School. She said, “I finally realized it was not what I say, it’s what God says.”
Judy was asked to comment on today’s roller derby. She thought the RollerJam might make it. Their skating story lines were signs of the time. The new style of roller derby popping up around the United States made Judy laugh, but she chose not to comment on the new type of skaters and the games. It was obvious that Judy has continued to follow roller derby since leaving in 1975.
In 2002, Judy suffered from a major heart attack. When asked about her health she said, “Yes, I did have a heart attack in June of 2002. It took some time to get back to normal, but with exercise and proper eating I recovered. I do try to eat properly and exercise, but there are times when I do slip, and we all do. I am very grateful to God that I lived through the heart attack and am able to continue my work as his servant.”
written by
Steven Springs