AT ITS PEAK, SKATING CRAZE FILLED ROSE BOWL WITH FANS.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

Right from the start, roller derby was more spectacle than sport - though it was a very different game in the early days, according to a history of the game published by the Roller Derby Preservation Association.

Roller derby got its start in 1935 when a former film publicist named Leo Seltzer combined the dance marathon craze of the Depression era with a burgeoning national roller skating frenzy.

Seltzer traveled throughout the country with his portable banked oval track, charging spectators 10 to 25 cents admission to watch teams of two - one man and one woman - skate 64,000 laps or 4,000 miles in six weeks.

But audiences had little interest in the long-distance skate-a-thons until Seltzer joined forces with sportswriter Damon Runyon, who developed a much more violent - and popular - form of the game.

Roller derby soon evolved into its modern blend of show business, pro wrestling and roller skating. Two five-member teams of men and women rotated time on the track, and skaters began pushing, elbowing and slamming their opponents into the track's side rails. To enhance their speed, teammates would sling each other forward like missiles.

Each team had a ``jammer'' - the only team member who wore a helmet - who started at the back of the pack and had 60 seconds to pass as many opponents as possible. One point was awarded for each opponent passed and the team with the most points at the end of the game won.

Crowds went wild and their numbers grew rapidly, filling local venues such as the Olympic Auditorium, the Pan Pacific Auditorium and Pasadena's Rose Bowl.

In 1947, roller derby made its television debut and soon became one of America's most popular sports. The same year, Seltzer moved to Encino and brought his New York-based team with him.

Seltzer's new team, the Los Angeles Braves, debuted in 1953 at the Rose Bowl, drawing some 60,000 fans.

Five years later, the team became the L.A. Thunderbirds when it was purchased by San Fernando Valley resident Bill Griffiths.

Roller derby's popularity began to wane in the late 1980s and within a few years national interest in the sport was virtually nonexistent. Faced with flagging crowds and rising costs, roller derby teams began folding and the sport became a part of American cultural history.

Today, with the release of the movie ``Rollerball'' and the emergence of violence-packed inline roller games such as TNN's Roller Jam, some believe the time is ripe for a roller derby comeback.

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(1 -- 3; 1 color only) A photo shows former L.A. T-Birds. In their heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, roller derby matches sold out arenas. Today's T-Birds hope for a return to such glory days.