Rolling Thunder: The Golden Age of Roller Derby & the Rise and Fall of the L.A. T-Birds

This was a great read , if your a roller games fan , I'd definitely recommend you to read this ,,,,

Scott Stephens' "Rolling Thunder" was an absolute masterpiece on the Roller Games. From its debut in the late 50s after the departure of the Seltzer family and the original Roller Derby to San Francisco, Stephens picks up where Bill Griffiths revives the sport, now called Roller Games International, in Southern California. Through meticulous records and photos of the teams and players, he recounts the history of Roller Games and why it became the preeminent roller sports league well into the late 80s.The story of Roller Games is of one team - the Los Angeles Thunderbirds. The team is the focus of the book and also serves as the anchor for the Griffiths operation. Through boom and bust, the Griffiths and dedicated personnel like Ralph Valladeras, John Hall and others kept the Roller Games going. Alas, it wasn't meant to last forever; in a final glorious year, 1989, Roller Games went out in a blaze of television glory and, while somewhat alive today, it isn't at the same level it used to be (but things can change?).If there were a downside to Stephens' work, there wasn't enough information from the people who actually were a part of the history. Interviews, quotes and anecdotes are infrequent throughout the pages and it would have added tremendously to the book for some background from Valladeras or Griffiths (both father and son, who operated the organization). As it is, "Rolling Thunder" overcame the lack of first hand witnesses and was outstanding because it did present a very well-researched history of the Los Angeles arm of the sport.For those who have a desire to learn the history of Roller Games, this is the book to get. Since the sport (at least with the T-Birds involved) has been quiet for a couple of decades, it might be time for it to make a comeback. This book would provide you an excellent education on a very special time in the history of the game.

I watched roller derby on KTLA channel 5 when I was growing up in San Diego in the 1950s. It was exciting and entertaining, but I had no desire to get out there and skate with them. It looked too wild and brutal for me. However, for Scott Stephens who watched the roller games in the 1960s while growing up in Los Angeles, it was different. He wanted to participate and through grit, determination, and hard knocks he succeeded in becoming a member of the Los Angeles T-Birds, the premiere team, so he became an insider and met many of the people connected with the sport. Now years later, and after a lot of meticulous research to fill in the gaps in his own knowledge, he has produced a book that will answer many of your questions. If you were ever a fan of roller derby or roller games, this is the book for you. I enjoyed his first person account of what it was like to participate in this sport.

A great book documenting the Roller Derby sport when I was a big fan. The book took me back to when I watched Roller Derby on TV and see live games at the Swing Auditorium.The book also describes in great detail the origins of the sport as well as later years of how Roller Derby continued to be a fan favorite.If you had any interest in Roller Derby, this book is for you!

Great story! More pictures would have been nice, but the stories were really interesting. Lots of stuff I never knew! I grew up watching the LA T-Birds and loved reading about the behind the scenes story.

Scott Stephens and his new book “Rolling Thunder” might just prove to be to the Roller Games league what the late Frank Deford and his legendary book “Five Strides on the Banked Track” was to the Roller Derby.Scott accomplishes this in “Rolling Thunder,” the first comprehensive account of “the other” major league of professional Roller Derby and of its fabled super team, the Los Angeles Thunderbirds.Scott points out what worked and, more importantly, what did not -- and the impact those choices had on why the banked-track spectacle was relegated to antiquity, leaving us with only our precious memories.Near the end of his book Scott lists “musts” for success should someone want to revive the roller derby. He is spot-on with his suggestions of everything from franchising out teams, to solid financial investing, to developing real good talent and to fostering the showmanship aspect without going gimmick overboard.I highly recommend Scott Stephens’ book “Rolling Thunder,” which I feel is one of the – if not THE -- best books written on roller derby in the last 40 years.- Ed Koch

I never had the chance to see in person the Los Angeles Thunderbirds or also known as the L.A. T-Birds since I live in San Francisco, CA which was a Roller Derby territory. T-Birds games where occasionally shown on a UHF channel with poor resolution. I had the opportunity to see in action the following teams when they skated against the SF Bay Bombers: Chicago Hawks, New York Bombers (became the New Yorkers for this series), Detroit Devils with John Hall as GM (I hope I'm not wrong). Grateful to have witness the greatness of Shirley, Hardman, John Parker, Ronnie Rains, Jim Trotter, Leroy Gonzalez, Baby Rocco, Norma Rossner, Judi Sowinski, Earlene Brown and the future nemesis of Roller Derby Nick Scopas and Jan Vallow. Ok that I got out of my way! Reading this book gave me the inside of the pain, glory, victory and defeat of a sport tha we loved and still do. Thank you Scott Stephens for telling how it was. From a former Roller Derby skater, Pura Vida!