The Sumsky's
Peggy and Bob Sumsky
Bob and I have been discussing our Derby days, or is it daze. We have decided that we were in the Derby at the best time, the 50's. We skated with the likes of Gerry Murray, Gene Gammon, Midge Brasuhn, Ken Monte........the people who made the Derby an exciting game to watch. We were new kids with great hopes and they helped us hone our craft. Charlie O'Connell, Joe Chaump, Joe Canevari, Artie Hickey, Joan Spangehl, Alvena Strang and Marylou Roberts and I, were all involved in the Junior Roller Derby before we entered the Passaic Training School, in 1952. We were among the 10 boys and 10 girls that were chosen, at the end of the training, to turn Pro. We skated, ate and lived with the "Greats of the Game" and became an instant family. We saw Charlie go from "new kid" to "King".....Bob was skating on the track at Teaneck Armory in 1953, when Freddie Cohen asked him if he'd like to travel with the Derby. He was just skating because Artie Hickey asked him if he'd like to try the track....in the next group came Joanie Weston....and who can forget the cute young kid from L.A., Georgie Copeland. In N.Y. we found Darlene Anderson, Carol Phillips, Nick Scopas and still later Little Mike Gammon and Buddy Jr. We really do owe a lot to our Derby Family........the money was not the greatest but the memories are priceless.
Peggy and Bob Sumsky
This is what came out of derby marriage - The Sumsky Family
