The Joan Barber Story
Once I met up with Loretta on the Internet I suddenly had a flood of memories. I was startled to realize what a truly profound impact that the derby had in my life.
I started to watch roller derby on the television in the 1950's. As a family we all loved the sport very much and my Dad began to take me to live games where I would see the Chiefs. Gerry Murray was my personal idol. When I saw her skate, boy was I impressed. Needless to say after I saw the other women out on the track whirring by so fast, I just wanted to give it a try. Even though I was roller skating at local rinks and enjoyed to speed skate, I had never seen anything like the skating on the banked track.
By 1953, the derby had opened a weekend training center at the 14th Street armory in New York, and you better believe that I was there. A teenager and hungry to learn the banks, I began to train with so many of the best of the time. I fell in love with the sport and the rush of riding those high banks. There I was with so many future roller derby stars. I worked out with Cathie Read, Vinnie Gandolfo, John Hall, Barbara O'Leary, Frankie Macedo, Janis Williams, Jay Shaw and so many others. I had to wait before I graduated from High School. I was seventeen at the time but in six months I was on a team.
I was training with the great Buddy Atkinson Sr. back then and it was he who picked me to become one of the skaters on the Red Devils team. What a thrill. I was chosen along with Frankie Macedo, Vinnie Gandolfo and Barbara O'Leary. I remember that Frankie picked me up and we took a plane to Chicago. I bunked with a group of skaters. We shared sleeping quarters. This was where I met Loretta Behrens, or the person that the fans called "Little Iodine". My first game, I skated with Loretta on the team named the Westerners.
A Bunch Of New Kids
My buddies from the training school were there on the team as well. I became good friends with Cathie Read by this time but the real savior of the day was Loretta. There we were, new kids as they called you in the derby. Nervous, inexperienced and just a little home sick. For some of us this was our first time away from home. But Loretta was really great. Unlike some of the other skaters that had been skating for a few years, Loretta took extra time with us new kids. She was the nicest person you would ever want to meet. She was one of the best. She had style and skated as a true professional.
That first game I had a male number partner. They always tried to team the women up with male number partners. My partner was Freddie Noa who came all the way from Hawaii and was a Hawaiian speed skater. We hit it off right away. It was on the Westerners that I was able to get to the front of the pack and jam very once in a while. I remember that first point I scored. That was when I really felt that I had made it to professional sports. What a thrill.
No Idea The Sport Would Blossom
At the time, I focused on my training and enjoyed it very much. There were so many things that I would have never thought would happen. I had no crystal ball to predict the future. Looking back from the 21st century, I now realize that I was part of something bigger than what I ever expected. For one, as time went on, those skaters that I trained with became such huge stars in the sport. And the sport itself became immensely popular. Everyone loved the game. The sport attracted well heeled fans, many of who were well known in the world of business or entertainment. The game was televised all the time and broke attendance records all over the world. And then there was this other person I met. I trained with Janis Williams. Later I married a person not in the derby named Victor Zappasodi.
The track at that time was very big. I remember that it took all my strength and wind in order to keep moving around those steep banks. We kept that pack moving at a very fast clip on that old Red Devil team. This was by far a most memorable time in my life. Traveling to Chicago is also where I met Hal Janowitz. I was mostly responsible for pack control and keeping the action moving as fast as possible. Boy, that was hard work and I miss that type of game of this day. I remember I used to get the pack moving so fast on some jams that the jammers could never reach the rear and the time would run out. The fans would go wild.
The crowds were very big. And I remember the fans being so friendly. They shouted your name, waited to greet you after the games and acted as if they knew you. One family I will never forget. The Dickersons would come to each and every game. They were very friendly and gradually made friends with each of the new skaters. They lived in Downers Grove and over time they began to adopt all of new kids as part of their family. They would invite all of us over to their house for holiday dinners. What a great family. And what great fans of the roller derby. I love them like my own family to this day.
Then it happened. We ended up skating against my childhood idol. God what a thrill. We were in Gerry Murray's home town and the fans were thunderous. They loved Gerry and so did I. But there I was on the other team and shaking like a leaf.
Hollywood Here I Come
After this stint on the Red Devils, we and a few other skaters were sent to the Hollywood Ravens team that operated out of California. And I was sent to Seattle. We skated against teams such as the California Braves and New York Chiefs. I was with my husband at that time, Janis, and we got to travel with Sharon Alsop and Frankie Fren. Then the Ravens team folded. I injured my knee. The derby management would bring in a whirlpool to our living quarters for me. I would have to sit in this big whirlpool and soak my leg before each game. Eventually it was that injured left knee that force me to leave my skating and my family of friends. My heart stayed with the group and all the fans.
I came back and worked in the derby front office with Bobby Johnstone.
A Great Life
I am so pleased to have found this column on the Internet. Even though my time as a professional athlete was fairly short, this was the most wonderful time of my life. My life took an unforgettable turn through this glorious world. The roller derby was such a professional outfit to work for and all the people that I met and mentioned here are still in my thoughts and prayers. I not only met the only man I would marry and spend the rest of my life with, I was perhaps a small part of something that millions of people remember and love. The roller derby changed my life forever.