Judy Sowinski, 71; The "Queen of Mean" (Philadelphia Inquirer Obit)
Bill Schenley
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FROM: The Philadelphia Inquirer ~
By Sally A. Downey, Staff Writer
Judy Sowinski, 71, of South Philadelphia, a roller derby coach who won the
title of "Queen of Mean" as a player, died of lung cancer Wednesday, July
27, at Vitas Hospice at Methodist Hospital.
A native of Chicago, Ms. Sowinski skated with the Philadelphia Warriors, the
New York Bombers, and other clubs from 1959 through the early 1980s.
In 1972, she appeared as one of the skaters in the movie Kansas City Bomber,
which starred Raquel Welch.
Ms. Sowinski's career began when an aunt took her to a match at the Chicago
Coliseum in 1959. There, she heard about a tryout and was soon skating for
the San Francisco Bay Bombers.
She started out making $100 a week, plus $25 for food, she told The Inquirer
in 2008. In her heyday, that weekly pay rose to as much as $1,000, plus 1
percent of the gate for matches against such rivals "Pretty" Judy Arnold.
One roller derby website described Ms. Sowinski as "Arnold's sneering
opponent." She told The Inquirer that "the more obnoxious I could be, the
more money I could put in my pocket."
Though roller derby had been around since 1935, it became popular in the
1960s when a California promoter created the roller games circuit. During
televised games, opposing teams and skaters feuded. Story lines became part
of the game, and referees were urged to look the other way when fights broke
out.
Though some likened roller derby to pro wrestling, Ms. Sowinski told The
Inquirer that she had taken it seriously, and she quit when she thought it
had gotten too theatrical.
After leaving roller derby, she was a lab courier at Thomas Jefferson
University Hospital for almost 20 years.
In 2003, she became involved in a roller derby revival as coach of the Penn
Jersey She Devils, an amateur team in Mount Laurel. She also coached a men's
team, the Hooligans, with former roller derby skater Arnold "Skip" Schoen.
"At first she wasn't even paid. She just did it for the love of the game,"
said her partner of 30 years, Angela Marano.
The Penn Jersey players, who have daytime jobs, pay dues to help with rink
rent and buy their own skates and safety equipment.
Injuries are frequent, said Holly Prescott, who played with the club for
five years. The University of Pennsylvania graduate skated under a
pseudonym, Goody Two Skates, with teammates nicknamed Lucky Luciano, Classy
Chassis, Shampain, Deuces Wild, Roller Rican, and Cherry Bomber.
As a coach, Ms. Sowinski pushed players to give their all and didn't let
them give up, Prescott said. "She practiced tough love. She didn't want to
hear excuses."
Though Ms. Sowinski's knees were fragile from years of falls, when she
skated in practices "she blew us away and could still hit hard," Prescott
said. "She told us we kept her young."
Ms. Sowinski taught the women endurance, jamming, blocking, and how to fall
on the level hardwood floors. When she played, she told The Inquirer, "we
skated on banked tracks, and there was give when you fell. We had Hollywood
stuntmen teach us how to fall."
In 2010, the roller derby teams bought a used banked track and had it
installed at a warehouse in North Philadelphia.
Ms. Sowinski, who was inducted into the Roller Derby Hall of Fame in 2004,
attended annual reunions of roller derby players in Nevada.
"A lot of them are gone now," she told The Inquirer. "But I had a good time
in my life. I had the opportunity to travel all over the world. I tell the
girls, 'If that's what you want to do, do it.' "
Ms. Sowinski's other passion was fishing at the Jersey Shore, Marano said.
In addition to her partner, Ms. Sowinski is survived by sisters Carole and
Sandy and nieces and nephews.
A Funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, at St. Rita of
Cascia Church, Broad and Ellsworth Streets, where friends may call after 8.
Memorial donations may be made to Vitas at Methodist, 1300 Wolf St.,
Philadelphia 19148.