Joe Canevari
It's funny but when Roller Derby first came on TV I wasn't that interested in it. I was born & raised in Brooklyn, NY & loved sports, all kinds. I played basketball, football, baseball, roller hockey & all local games like stickball, punchball, squareball, etc. We used to get a lot of sports televised in NY when I was a teenager & I loved watching them all. Especially college basketball in the Fall & Winter. Well when Roller Derby came on TV it was the Fall I believe & my Mom & Dad got caught up in it & watched all the time. I wanted to watch college basketball but in those days everyone only owned 1 TV set & we watched Roller Derby.
My father was not the kind of man you said "I don't want to watch this" to.*nbsp; So I just went into my room & did other things. Then my Mom & Dad decided they would start going to games & always asked if I wanted to go along. I always said no. This left me at home with the TV to myself. Well this went on for quite awhile until one time the Brooklyn Red Devils were skating at the 14th St armory in Bklyn & it wasn't but a long bus ride from where we lived. I decided what the heck, it's local so I'll go.
We got to the armory & through the ticket line & on to our seats. The first thing that hit me was the green color of the track & the smells of the place. Then it was time for warmups & the visiting team was the Philadelphia Panthers with their white & black striped jerseys & black shorts with white trim. I sat there & watched every little nuance. I remember seeing Buddy Atkinson, Elmer Anderson, Hal Janowitz, Ann Calvello, etc. They finished & then my home team came out with their solid white jersey's with red trim & red shorts with white trim. Same thing.
I watched everyone in warmup. Ken Monte, Sam Skobel, Toughie Brashun, Slugger Kealy, Val Panzitta, Lenny Murro & I'm not sure but I think Julie Patrick was on the Devils also. The game started & I was in awe. I sat there like I was mesmerized watching every little block, every score, etc. Halftime had a match race between Skobel & Atkinson. They started out together for a few laps & then Atkinson dumps Skobel. Sammy jumps up & starts chasing Buddy while Buddy is thinking I have this race won. Finally Buddy turns to see Sammy almost catching him & he starts to speed up but it's too late. Sammy catches him, throws a block at him & rides him into the rail and Sammy goes across the finish line. I thought that was the greatest race I had ever seen.
Let me tell you I was now a Roller Derby fanatic. I couldn't get enough of it after that. When they announced they would be having Jr Roller Derby I was right there. I went down to the 14th st armory in Manhattan & got on the track for a short 10 mins. There were so many kids there they had to break us up into groups to get us all on the track. I remember my first turn on the track. I got up around the turn onto the high bank & my momentum carried me down the straightaway & right to the infield toward Gene Gammon. Gene did a quick dodge out of my way & I continued across the infield to the other straightaway thinking, "wow I'm good I never fell down after that manuever". Yeah, right.
I got on a team that was looking for players & skated Jr Derby for maybe a year. Then they announced that they were opening a training school in Passaic, NJ for anyone that wanted to join the Derby. Of course I was right there. The first day was my birthday so I can never forget that. We had a great training school that was being taught by Billy Bogash, Gene Gammon, Bucky Buckholtz, Hank Goldberg. Mary & Helen Gardner were also there. We had a great training class that came out of that school also. Many future skaters & stars. Charlie O'Connell, Joe Chaump, Art Hickey, Jack DeCarlo, Al Stewart, Don Smith, Toby Tullo, Dick Keve, Jack Warden & myself. The girls were Joan Kazmierski, Alvena Strang, Mary Lou Roberts, Peggy Conlon, Millie Aaro, Sandy Floyd, Peggy Schwartz, Joan Spanghel, Mary McGrath. These were the ones who made the teams. There were many, many others that didn't make it.
I was lucky enough to make the Red Devils, my favorite team. I was in heaven. We were to open on Oct. 9th, 1952 against the NJ Jolters in the Jersey City Armory. That first night in the dressing room I was in awe of all the skaters that I used to see skating in games; Ken Monte, Bill Reynolds, Red Smartt, George Vogt. The other teams had skaters like Moose Payne, Don Lewis, Sam Marchese, Joe Marinaro, Punky Gardner. I thought to myself, what a lucky guy.
We lived at the Empire Hotel in Manhattan & we had to train every day. Training was hard work. We paced endlessly till we thought our legs were going to fall off. Then we would have breakaways from the pacing where you had to break from the front of the pace & catch the back of the pace. Then 2 people breaking away & then 3. Other times it would be the last person breakaway skate by the pace go a lap & become the first person in the pace. There would be jumping chairs while skating around. This went on every day & during the games you were expected to use these skills you were learning even though you didn't get to skate much. Chaump, Hickey & myself were the rookies & we had to divide each period equally. It was a great life though even with all the hard work.
We had what they called a kitchen where we ate breakfast, lunch, & after game snacks. It was run by a cook that Derby hired & the food was good. Every unit that you skated on had a kitchen. In those days when you went to the games you had to be dressed up with either a suit or a sport jacket,slacks & tie. The women had to wear dresses with a nice blouse or dress suits. There was no such thing as wearing slacks to a game or jeans.
We traveled around quite a bit to different cities. Louisville, Chicago, Nashville, Miami, Canton plus always coming back to NY area to skate against the Chiefs or Jolters. What a great life for an 18 yr old kid that loved to skate & loved to travel. I made so many lifelong friends in Roller Derby & had so much fun with them. People like Jim Ciota, Bob Sumsky, Charlie O'Connell, Art Hickey, Joe Chaump, Peggy Conlon, Gerri Abbatello, Loretta Behrens, Nellie Montague, Lory Halloran, Hal Janowitz, Joe Foster, Billy Gardner, Nick Scopas. I could go on & on forever.
My Roller Derby career went from Oct '52 to May '57 when I got drafted into the Army. When I got out of the Army I skated in the NY area with what they call outlaw leagues from '61 to early '66. In July of '66 I went back to the Roller Derby & refereed & skated some with the Cardinals. Skated the winter road tour of '67 with the Chiefs, back to refereeing when we got back to the Bay area. Skated the '68 winter tour with the Bombers & stayed with the Bombers through the '68 season till I quit & went back to NY. I have to say I truly enjoyed my career with the Roller Derby & if I could do it again I would with no hesitation but would like to know what I know now.
For someone who started out not liking Roller Derby to someone who lived, ate & breathed Roller Derby is truly amazing. It afforded me so many travel oppotunities that I would never have had if not a skater. It taught me to be independant & street smart to be able to live on my own. It taught me how to get along with other people no matter their race, religion, etc. I want to thank all my fellow skaters for the great ride that you helped give me through the years, especially my good friends. I will always remember you & Roller Derby forever.
Joe Canevari
Joe Canevari, Loretta Behrens, & Hal Janowitz