The glory days of roller derby. I loved it. Got to meet Danny a couple times. I played baseball with his little brother Kevin. Roller derby now is a joke.
I remember when Danny Reilly's Renegades skated against the New York Chiefs at Madison Square Garden in March 1973. One of the most exciting games, I've ever seen.
@@LosAngelesThunderbirds Yes, I became a New York Mets fan in 1973. I loved Cleon Jones, Willie Mays, Tom Seaver etc. Anyway, that's enough. We should only talk about Roller Games/Derby in your channel. Lol.
It's so funny how "Games" broke all the standard rules of Roller Derby. In Derby, the moment a skater turned around and slugged an opponent (Charlie O'Connell was notorious for this), one point was awarded to the opposing team, O'Connell went to the penalty box, and the play was over. These kind of shenanigans in Games were commonplace and left me laughing. I also couldn't take Games seriously, as there was ALWAYS some type of drama--real or imagined--going on.
Donnie, your comments and participation on the page are appreciated but please note that both Games and "Derby" were scripted with the winners pre-determined. Many of us, myself included, preferred the more straightforward games of "Derby" but that didn't translate into higher attendance. Since both leagues were absolutely not legit, it was almost more honest to go the wrestling route and just make it a show. Seltzer's Roller Derby wasn't legit, nor were the fights. They were meant to draw fans in and they did. I wanted it to be real. I wanted league standings, teams franchised in every city, etc., so I understand your feelings.
@@LosAngelesThunderbirds Thank you for your reply. I can only speak on the Derby games I actually attended or saw on television. The games I saw in person (speaking on the fights) looked pretty real to me. I had the pleasure of getting to speak to Ann Calvello (in person) and in the future, we actually corresponded by letter. She told me herself the skaters played up some of the "tension," but she also told me she had suffered way too many injuries for everything to be pre-determined or scripted. The point I made about the T-Birds was it was like watching some horribly made soap opera. EVERYTHING was always so dramatic. That BS was not in Derby and it didn't lose any fans. To each his own, I presume (and Dick Lane was my second favorite announcer).
@@LosAngelesThunderbirds I was always curious... thanks for that info. Thank you for this fantastic channel. I grew up in Toronto, Canada loving roller derby and trying to catch all i could on TV. We did have our Canadian All-Stars led by Paul 'The Bear' Rupert but was always a huge fan of the T-Birds. Thanks again.
@@kevinm6790 - this guy repeated it ad nauseam. That's cool if you like him, but there is no comparison between him and Elmer Anderson, Dick Lane, Ken Kunzelman, Don Drewry or the greatest Derby announcer - Walt Harris.
Danny Reilly was one of the best men skaters on the T-Birds. Great defense player. These clips bring back so many great memories. RIP Mr. Reilly.
When did he pass away? Is there an obituary? I used to train with him at the Olympic Auditorium in L.A.
@@EagleRockers According to a tribute on Facebook, he passed in 2001; he was just 2 weeks away from his 56th birthday.
@@GreatMewtwo Thanks for your reply. Sorry to hear he died young-ish. He was only 6 years older than me,
Dannys Nickname Was The Carrot Top
What a beast Danny Reilly was...
The glory days of roller derby. I loved it. Got to meet Danny a couple times. I played baseball with his little brother Kevin. Roller derby now is a joke.
Danny was at his very best skating heel as the Tokyo footage shows.
Loved Danny, RIP it was fun skating with you at the rink
Ona of the best! A great skater! God bless you more in heaven sir!
Great Roller Game Footage! Thanks Scott!!!!
I remember when Danny Reilly's Renegades skated against the New York Chiefs at Madison Square Garden in March 1973. One of the most exciting games, I've ever seen.
1973 was a good year in baseball too. Willie Mays in the series with the Mets!
@@LosAngelesThunderbirds Yes, I became a New York Mets fan in 1973. I loved Cleon Jones, Willie Mays, Tom Seaver etc. Anyway, that's enough. We should only talk about Roller Games/Derby in your channel. Lol.
I love watching him , great!
Reilly and Rains! Whoaaa Nelly!!
Rip Danny
LOVE Danny Reilly! And also GREGORY ROBINSON!!!!! and also PURDY Peggy Fowler!!! And also THE 747! OMG Funny! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Why is there no video footage of the game between the T-birds and the Pioneers at Comiskey Park, which drew 50,000 peoplr?
It's so funny how "Games" broke all the standard rules of Roller Derby. In Derby, the moment a skater turned around and slugged an opponent (Charlie O'Connell was notorious for this), one point was awarded to the opposing team, O'Connell went to the penalty box, and the play was over. These kind of shenanigans in Games were commonplace and left me laughing. I also couldn't take Games seriously, as there was ALWAYS some type of drama--real or imagined--going on.
Donnie, your comments and participation on the page are appreciated but please note that both Games and "Derby" were scripted with the winners pre-determined. Many of us, myself included, preferred the more straightforward games of "Derby" but that didn't translate into higher attendance. Since both leagues were absolutely not legit, it was almost more honest to go the wrestling route and just make it a show. Seltzer's Roller Derby wasn't legit, nor were the fights. They were meant to draw fans in and they did. I wanted it to be real. I wanted league standings, teams franchised in every city, etc., so I understand your feelings.
@@LosAngelesThunderbirds Thank you for your reply. I can only speak on the Derby games I actually attended or saw on television. The games I saw in person (speaking on the fights) looked pretty real to me. I had the pleasure of getting to speak to Ann Calvello (in person) and in the future, we actually corresponded by letter. She told me herself the skaters played up some of the "tension," but she also told me she had suffered way too many injuries for everything to be pre-determined or scripted. The point I made about the T-Birds was it was like watching some horribly made soap opera. EVERYTHING was always so dramatic. That BS was not in Derby and it didn't lose any fans. To each his own, I presume (and Dick Lane was my second favorite announcer).
@@LosAngelesThunderbirds I was always curious... thanks for that info. Thank you for this fantastic channel. I grew up in Toronto, Canada loving roller derby and trying to catch all i could on TV. We did have our Canadian All-Stars led by Paul 'The Bear' Rupert but was always a huge fan of the T-Birds. Thanks again.
OMG! Danny Reilly= Chris Farley 8:15 min
When did Danny Reilly died
A tribute to him on the T-Birds Facebook page says that died in 2001, just 2 weeks before his 56th birthday.
I always HATED when that announcer would repeatedly say, OH ME, OH MY. Give me a break and get some new material!
All the great classic sports announcers had phrases they were known for repeating when things got exciting.
@@kevinm6790 - this guy repeated it ad nauseam. That's cool if you like him, but there is no comparison between him and Elmer Anderson, Dick Lane, Ken Kunzelman, Don Drewry or the greatest Derby announcer - Walt Harris.
@@JJN259 Yeah, he definitely isn’t on my favorites list. I really liked Dick Lane.
Superstar！
Too bad a lot of Roller Derby and Roller Games were thrown out or erased.