Jim Fitzpatrick (athlete)
Encyclopedia
Jim Fitzpatrick is an author, sports photographer, and former athlete in the sport of roller derby
. Fitzpatrick, born and raised in San Francisco, California
, skated for the San Francisco Bay Bombers, of the International Roller Skating League (IRSL) Roller Derby, the 1977–1987 revival of the sport. Following a number of shoulder separation injuries, he became a league referee.
In 1980 he skated in an altered version of Roller Derby which combined Roller Derby rules with those of Roller Ball called Roller Superball. This series was held in Luna Park Arena in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 1987, he performed Roller Derby stunt skating in an MTV
-aired music video for the song "Love Is Not a Game" by McAuley Schenker Group
.
He returned to skating in 1993, competing on Team USA in the Roller Game
World Cup, held in Tokyo
, Japan
. Roller Game (created in Japan), inspired by Roller Derby, was a male-only, full-contact, legit sport in which the athletes wore hockey pads and rules were strictly enforced. If one fought, they were ejected from the game. Other rule changes helped simplify the game. Only one team was on offense at a time and only one jammer (potential scorer) was used. Sets were used instead of the traditional periods. The best three out of five sets determined the winner of the game.
Fitzpatrick wrote and compiled the photo-rich coffee table book
Roller Derby Classics… and more!, published by Trafford Publishing
, a self-publishing
and print on demand
publishing company, in 2005 (ISBN 1-4120-6678-6). Noted derby queen Ann Calvello
wrote the foreword of the book.
In 2007 Fitzpatrick published his second book "I Have a Chin! A Japanese Chin" by Trafford Publishing. It's a children's picture book about one of his dogs (ISBN 9781425113865).
Fitzpatrick is married and has two children, and still resides in the San Francisco Bay Area
. He is currently the ARSD (American Roller Skating Derby) trainer and the General Manager of the San Francisco Bay Bombers. On October 13, 2007, the Bombers won the ARSD Championships at Kezar Pavilion and Jim was voted 2007 General Manager of the Year.
In 2008 he published his third book, "When I Shot Good & Bad Guys (Who wrestled at the Cow Palace)", through Arena Publishing, Inc. (Standard Copyright License). It's a photo book consisting of wrestling photos taken by Jim during the late 1970s while he worked as the staff photographer for former wrestling promoter Roy Shire's Big Time Wrestling.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2008 the SF Bay Bombers returned to KOFY TV20 - Cable 13 with a one-hour special. Dan Ferrari, Jim Fitzpatrick and Brad Wagner were listed as the Executive Producers for the show. On March 14, 2009 the SF Bay Bombers first game aired and was the highest rated show that day for the age group of 18 to 34 (refer to article below in external links). Ferrari, Fitzpatrick and Wagner are the Executive Producers for the games which will initially air once a month, leading up to a weekly showing.
Jim came in number 2 on the Top 10 Males' list for Movers and Shakers in the July edition of XR News (Roller Skating Magazine). (refer to the link below.)
On Sept 12, 2009 the San Francisco Bay Bombers won the 2008-2009 ARSD Championships at the Cow Palace arena. Fitzpatrick was voted 2008-2009 General Manager of the Year along with Georgia Hase.
Jim appears in the 2009 Roller Derby documentary, "Rolling Thunder" which is part of "The Roller Derby Chronicles", a three-disc DVD retrospective of the golden years of Roller Derby, by Video Service Corp. He was interviewed regarding his involvement in the SF Bay Bombers resurgence.
Jim was interviewed on an episode of ABC7's Emmy award-winning public affairs show, "Beyond the Headlines" by the host, Cheryl Jennings. The program aired in November 2010.
On March 19, 2011 the San Francisco Bay Bombers won the 2010-2011 ARSD Championships at Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco. Fitzpatrick was voted 2010-2011 General Manager of the Year.
In April 2011 Fitzpatrick became one of a growing number of former professional athlete who joined the Butkus Foundations' Steroid Education campaign, "I Play Clean". The non profit campaign, founded by NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus, focuses on tackling the issue of steroids among high school athletes.
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
. Fitzpatrick, born and raised in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, skated for the San Francisco Bay Bombers, of the International Roller Skating League (IRSL) Roller Derby, the 1977–1987 revival of the sport. Following a number of shoulder separation injuries, he became a league referee.
In 1980 he skated in an altered version of Roller Derby which combined Roller Derby rules with those of Roller Ball called Roller Superball. This series was held in Luna Park Arena in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 1987, he performed Roller Derby stunt skating in an MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
-aired music video for the song "Love Is Not a Game" by McAuley Schenker Group
McAuley Schenker Group
McAuley Schenker Group was a band featuring core members Robin McAuley and Michael Schenker , a successor to Schenker's earlier band Michael Schenker Group. McAuley was initially contacted to replace singer Gary Barden in MSG...
.
He returned to skating in 1993, competing on Team USA in the Roller Game
Roller Game
Roller Game was a variation of the sport of roller derby that was played in Japan by the Roller Game League, established in 1990. Roller Game was played on either a flat or banked track, and on either traditional roller skates or inline skates...
World Cup, held in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Roller Game (created in Japan), inspired by Roller Derby, was a male-only, full-contact, legit sport in which the athletes wore hockey pads and rules were strictly enforced. If one fought, they were ejected from the game. Other rule changes helped simplify the game. Only one team was on offense at a time and only one jammer (potential scorer) was used. Sets were used instead of the traditional periods. The best three out of five sets determined the winner of the game.
Fitzpatrick wrote and compiled the photo-rich coffee table book
Coffee table book
A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...
Roller Derby Classics… and more!, published by Trafford Publishing
Trafford Publishing
Trafford Publishing is a publisher using print on demand technology, formerly based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and now based in Bloomington, Indiana, USA.-History:...
, a self-publishing
Self-publishing
Self-publishing is the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. The author is responsible and in control of entire process including design , formats, price, distribution, marketing & PR...
and print on demand
Print on demand
Print on demand , sometimes called, in error, publish on demand, is a printing technology and business process in which new copies of a book are not printed until an order has been received...
publishing company, in 2005 (ISBN 1-4120-6678-6). Noted derby queen Ann Calvello
Ann Calvello
Ann Theresa Calvello was a U.S. athlete and notable personality in the sport of roller derby.Ann Calvello graduated from Presentation High School in San Francisco, CA in June 1947....
wrote the foreword of the book.
In 2007 Fitzpatrick published his second book "I Have a Chin! A Japanese Chin" by Trafford Publishing. It's a children's picture book about one of his dogs (ISBN 9781425113865).
Fitzpatrick is married and has two children, and still resides in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. He is currently the ARSD (American Roller Skating Derby) trainer and the General Manager of the San Francisco Bay Bombers. On October 13, 2007, the Bombers won the ARSD Championships at Kezar Pavilion and Jim was voted 2007 General Manager of the Year.
In 2008 he published his third book, "When I Shot Good & Bad Guys (Who wrestled at the Cow Palace)", through Arena Publishing, Inc. (Standard Copyright License). It's a photo book consisting of wrestling photos taken by Jim during the late 1970s while he worked as the staff photographer for former wrestling promoter Roy Shire's Big Time Wrestling.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2008 the SF Bay Bombers returned to KOFY TV20 - Cable 13 with a one-hour special. Dan Ferrari, Jim Fitzpatrick and Brad Wagner were listed as the Executive Producers for the show. On March 14, 2009 the SF Bay Bombers first game aired and was the highest rated show that day for the age group of 18 to 34 (refer to article below in external links). Ferrari, Fitzpatrick and Wagner are the Executive Producers for the games which will initially air once a month, leading up to a weekly showing.
Jim came in number 2 on the Top 10 Males' list for Movers and Shakers in the July edition of XR News (Roller Skating Magazine). (refer to the link below.)
On Sept 12, 2009 the San Francisco Bay Bombers won the 2008-2009 ARSD Championships at the Cow Palace arena. Fitzpatrick was voted 2008-2009 General Manager of the Year along with Georgia Hase.
Jim appears in the 2009 Roller Derby documentary, "Rolling Thunder" which is part of "The Roller Derby Chronicles", a three-disc DVD retrospective of the golden years of Roller Derby, by Video Service Corp. He was interviewed regarding his involvement in the SF Bay Bombers resurgence.
Jim was interviewed on an episode of ABC7's Emmy award-winning public affairs show, "Beyond the Headlines" by the host, Cheryl Jennings. The program aired in November 2010.
On March 19, 2011 the San Francisco Bay Bombers won the 2010-2011 ARSD Championships at Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco. Fitzpatrick was voted 2010-2011 General Manager of the Year.
In April 2011 Fitzpatrick became one of a growing number of former professional athlete who joined the Butkus Foundations' Steroid Education campaign, "I Play Clean". The non profit campaign, founded by NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus, focuses on tackling the issue of steroids among high school athletes.
External links
- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20051105/ai_n15763985
- http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2009/03/roller_derby_ratings.php
- http://www.arsdbombers.com/
- http://issuu.com/xrnews/docs/july_09_pdf?mode=embed&layout=http%3A//skin.issuu.com/v/color/layout.xml&backgroundColor=080000&showFlipBtn=