Joan Weston or Joanie Weston (January 20, 1935 – May 10, 1997), known as the "Blonde Bomber", "Blonde Amazon", "Golden Girl", and "Roller Derby Queen", was an American athlete and was the most famous personality in the original

Roller Derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...

Biography

Weston was born in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of ...

, in 1935, and grew up in nearby

Downey Downey may refer to: People *Downey (surname) *Robert Downey Jr. Places *Downey, California, US *Downey, Idaho, US *Downey, Iowa, US Businesses * W. & D. Downey, photographic studio * Downey Studios, created out of a former Boeing plant Schools ...

. In 1954, Weston joined the original Roller Derby headed by promoter

Leo Seltzer Leo A. Seltzer (April 5, 1903 – January 30, 1978) is generally credited as the creator of the sport of roller derby, and was the founder and head of the original Roller Derby league from 1935 until his son Jerry Seltzer took over the business in ...

, becoming a favorite member of the Los Angeles Braves. Her fame increased markedly when in 1965 she was appointed captain of the San Francisco Bay Bombers. She appeared on 19 consecutive all-star teams in that sport, and was the highest-paid female athlete in the 1960s and 1970s. Joan usually skated as the distaff heroine of the sport, no matter what team she appeared with. She remains the most beloved of all historical Roller Derby stars. Her long-time rivals on the track included

Ann Calvello Ann Theresa Calvello (August 1, 1929 – March 14, 2006) was an American athlete and notable personality in the sport of roller derby. Ann Calvello graduated from Presentation High School in San Francisco in June 1947. Calvello competed in roller ...

(August 1, 1929 – March 14, 2006), Cathie Read (August 17, 1940-September 26, 2024), Sandy Dunn (b. January 8, 1945), Jan Vallow (September 21, 1940-October 24, 2024), and Margie Laszlo (November 8, 1942-March 15, 2025). The 1972 film ''

Kansas City Bomber ''Kansas City Bomber'' is a 1972 American sports drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Jerrold Freedman and starring Raquel Welch, Kevin McCarthy and Jodie Foster in her second appearance in a feature film. Plot The film is ...

'', starring

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch (; September 5, 1940 – February 15, 2023) was an American actress. Welch first gained attention for her role in ''Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she signed a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her con ...

, was supposedly inspired by (but not based on) Weston. Weston was a mentor to many professional Roller Derby skaters that made it on a team. She was said to take rookies under her wing. Roller Derby was not Weston's only sport. While a student at

Mount St. Mary's College Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles (known as Mount St. Mary's College until January 2015) is a private, Catholic university primarily for women, in Los Angeles, California. Women make up 90 percent of the student body. Founded in 1925 ...

, Weston played

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

. She was also involved in

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

and

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

. In 1962 she won the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

canoe

outrigger An outrigger is a projecting structure on a boat, with specific meaning depending on types of vessel. Outriggers may also refer to legs on a wheeled vehicle that are folded out when it needs stabilization, for example on a crane that lifts he ...

championship. Weston later married Nick Scopas (b. June 3, 1938) who was also a professional Roller Derby Skater. After her Roller Derby career, she regularly played softball in

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

leagues. In 1997, at age 62, Weston succumbed to

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) is an incurable, always fatal neurodegenerative disease belonging to the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) group. Early symptoms include memory problems, behavioral changes, poor coordination, visu ...

Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...

. In 1999, her life story was sold to

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, producer, dancer, and singer. She achieved stardom and acclaim for playing lighthearted comedic roles in film and television. In a career spanning six decades, she has received ...

Productions. Roller Derby ceased operations in 1973 and as a result the most famous female skater in the sport was never inducted into its Hall of Fame. In 2004, the skater/fan based

Roller Derby Hall of Fame The Roller Derby Hall of Fame, also known as the National Roller Derby Hall of Fame, was founded in 1952,William H. Young and Nancy K. Young, ''World War II and the Postwar Years in America'', p.596 by the editors of the ''Roller Derby News'' paper. ...

based in Brooklyn, New York, corrected this oversight.

References

External links

Joanie Weston obituary/biography
in the ''New York Times'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Joan 1935 births 1997 deaths Sportspeople from Hayward, California American roller skaters Roller derby skaters Deaths from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease Neurological disease deaths in California Sportspeople from Downey, California Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California Mount St. Mary's University (Los Angeles) alumni