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Ralph Valladares (July 31, 1936 – November 13, 1998), often known as Ralphie Valladares, was a roller derby skater and coach. Born in Guatemala, Valladares moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was twelve years old. He hoped to become a jockey, but his weight reached , and he turned his attention to roller skating.〔Lorette Behrens, "(Ralph Valladares )", ''Derby Memoirs''〕 He joined the roller derby at the age of seventeen,〔"Roller Derby Action Scheduled on Ventura County Fair Track", ''Press-Courier'', August 16, 1987〕 initially skating for the Los Angeles Braves.〔 He soon moved to the Miami Westerners and,〔"Westerners Nab Third Victory", ''Miami News'', January 21, 1955〕 despite being the shortest male skater, he immediately became regarded as a star, leading the scoring.〔"Roller Derby Returns Here", ''Miami News'', January 13, 1955〕 Valladares joined the rival Roller Games on its inception, in 1960, becoming a founder member of the Los Angeles Thunderbirds team.〔Tom Johnson, "These Skates Have Been Through Hell", ''Milwaukee Sentinel'', October 24, 1986〕 He spent the next thirty years with the organisation, and was involved in coaching, and also in setting up events in Japan and Australia.〔Andre Mouchard, "After a decade of dormancy, roller derby is poised to attempt one more comeback", ''Orange County Register'', November 30, 1998〕 He retired from skating in 1987,〔 but returned for the ''RollerGames'' television show.〔 Valladares kept the same skates through the majority of his career. He noted that he once ran over them with his own car, and they also survived being frozen under of ice, following the evacuation of a venue in which he was competing.〔 Outside roller derby, Valladares appeared as a shipping clerk in a 1980s television commercial for IBM.〔 He had previous acting experience as a skater in the ''Kansas City Bomber'' movie.〔 He married fellow roller derby skater Gloria "Honey" Sanchez twice, on both occasions on March 17. The couple had a daughter, Gina, who also skated with the Roller Games.〔Robert Rogers, "Derby brings back the '70s", ''San Bernardino County Sun'', October 19, 2007〕 Both of Valladares' marriages ended in divorce, although the couple remained close and spent much time together until Valladares' death.〔"Cheap Seats", ''Spokesman-Review'', November 19, 1998〕 He died in 1998 at home in Pico Rivera, California,〔"Obituaries: Ralphie Valladares; Starred With Roller Derby's T-Birds", ''Los Angeles Times'', November 15, 1998〕 having suffered with liver cancer for some time.〔 In 2004, Valladares was posthumously inducted into the Roller Derby Hall of Fame.〔"(Events and Inductees )", ''Roller Derby Hall of Fame''〕 ==References== 〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ralph Valladares」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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