Looking Back At Michigan’s Hard-Hitting Men & Women of Detroit Devils Roller Derby Team

When it comes to contact sports, I can’t think of another sport that’s more hard-hitting and sends more chills up my spine than watching old videos of roller derby leagues. At one time, Michigan had their own Roller Derby team in the Detroit Devils.

The team dated back all the way from the 1960s and went all the way up to the late 1980s. However, their rivalry with the T-Birds from Los Angeles is one of the most legendary rivalries of all time. It was not uncommon while watching these games to see players absolutely wreck each other.

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People are skating from behind and just punching them in the face. Leaping up and body checking them flat on their back. If any one of those players isn’t walking with a limp today, I think they deserve to be taken care of for the rest of their lives.

As the Los Angeles Thunderbirds roller Derby website details, the Detroit Devils were one of the best teams in the league of all time:

The Devils would eventually qualify for the Roller Games finals seven times (equaled only by the Outlaws) and became one of only two opposing teams to win a World Series title. They are arguably the most famous rival of the Thunderbirds in Roller Games history.

 

Below, you can watch a video that was uploaded by the Los Angeles, Thunderbirds roller derby team, as they go back in the vaults and remember this epic rivalry

Our Roller Game of the Week took place at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California in 1980. Our video is courtesy of Scott Stephens, author of the book “Rolling Thunder”, The Golden Age of Roller Derby and the Rise and Fall of the L.A. T-Birds.