 |
 |
 |
|
In the annals of Philly sports history, if you blinked you probably missed this team. Not to be confused with the Philadelphia Warriors roller team that moved from Hawaii and played here from 66-74, this version of the Warriors preceded them by about 20 years. Our cuz, the late great Eddie Gottlieb, promoted almost anything that would fit into an arena along the east coast from the 1920s thru the 60s--including the legendary Sphas's basketball team, the Philadelphia Stars baseball team in the Negro Leagues, wrestling, boxing, ice hockey, marathon dancing, banked track roller skating marathons, rodeos, auto shows, soapbox derbies--until he started the Basketball Association of America with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1949. Roller Derby as a sports attraction was launched in the 1930s by infamous promoter Damon Runyon and became wildly popular well into the 1940s. By the 1950s Roller Derby became a staple of weekly television, programmed along with boxing and wrestling. Gottlieb had dates to fill at the old Pennsylvania Arena at 46th & Market, and in the early 1940s got a semi-pro roller derby team called the Warriors on track. This was before the basketball Warriors. Sometimes Gotty called the team the roller derby team Philadelphia Panthers. Sometimes it was hard to keep track! The Warriors roller derby days of Judy Arnold and her crew were from a later era and had a nice run. But this vintage design is a rare blast from the past, 1940s style.
Color: White
sweatshirts are $30, hoodies are $35, heavyweight cotton fleece
FREE SHIPPING
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|