History
On a very cold night in the small town of Lance Creek, Wyoming, Georgia Siedenburg was born in the back seat of a Chevrolet automobile. As the third child of Fred and Wyoma Siedenburg, Georgia was cared for along with her two older sisters, Althea and Janet. Fred, an oil well driller at the time, oftentimes had to relocate to different towns for the sake of the job. Fred took his wife and 3 children (Georgia now 6 months old) to Hollydale, California. The constant changes in moving may have played a factor in Fred and Wyoma soon separating. The children would mostly spend their time under the care of their mother, and visit their father when his job situation stabilized. Over the course of many years, Fred remarried and moved to Lyman, Wyoming where Georgia stayed with him during her fifth grade school year. Georgia would visit her mother, Wyoma, back in California during her summer months. This cycle would continue into Georgia's high school years.
In between these years, Wyoma, had also remarried and gave birth to a 4th daughter, Shirley, and soon moved to Lewellen, Nebraska to a farm 6 miles out of town. With no electricity, no running water and the use of corn cobs for heat in an old cast iron stove, the living conditions were humble. Hard work was mandatory on the farm, as Georgia found out. At times she would be up at 4:00 in the morning in sub-zero weather to milk cows... a story commonly embellished by the older generation, but a reality to the innocent teenager.
Wyoma soon gave birth to triplets, Frank, Steve and Neil, and depended upon Althea, Janet and Georgia's help in taking care of them. Georgia, along with her sisters, decided to stay with their mother in Nebraska to help raise children. It was here that she enrolled into Lewellen High School for her freshman year.
Moving as much as she did as a child, it became hard to make long-term friends. It was not always easy for Georgia to meet new people being extremely shy. She found joy in riding her horse, and spending time with her boyfriend, with whom she'd developed a relationship in her short time there. Indeed, high school life was fun for Georgia, yet something was missing. She even sang in the choir and played in the school's band, yet her satisfaction was not fulfilled. "Sports were not heard of for girls..." Georgia states. Physical Education (P.E.) was her favorite class, yet girls were not encouraged to compete in any sports. A desire for competition ran deeply through her mind. Once again, these pleasures were short lived and her dreams put on hold, as she had to move once more. Georgia, a junior now, found herself on the road again to California leaving behind her horse and boyfriend (in that order).
Her family settled in Bellflower, California where all seven of them crammed into a one room motel until her parents found a home. To Georgia's surprise, the motel actually had a TV set, the first one she'd ever seen. Curiously, she turned it on. What showed on the screen quenched the desire Georgia had burning within her! It was the first time she ever witnessed Roller Derby! "This is great..." she thought, "...at long last a sport that we women have an option to compete in." Roller Derby was in her mind.
The family soon found a home and settled in. "Little did I know that Russ Massro and Mary Youpell lived just around the corner..." says Georgia. "Baby Joyce Ray was a student at Bellflower High." Remember, due to extreme shyness it was very hard for her to meet people. However, at long last she had met Joyce Ray. Unfortunately, they met only in time for Joyce to go head to head with a train of which ended her skating career.
Georgia continued to watch Roller Derby every week and the desire to become a Roller Derby skater grew stronger and stronger. She knew that one day she would become a skater, just like her idol, Julie Patrick. Her parents did not share the same goals for her. Georgia had to wait until she was on her own to pursue her dream. In the mean time she went to live games at the Olympic to see her favorite skaters, Julie Patrick and George Copeland. Going to the games made her desire to be a skater only stronger. "I can still hear the roar of those wheels as the skaters skated by me..." Georgia remembers. "The speed, the action, all the green dust... all of it combined made it thrilling for me. I knew I wanted to be part of it."
In 1956, Georgia graduated from high school. Three months later she started training at the Leeward Training Center in Los Angeles. The training did not last too long as she met her future husband at a Roller Skating ring, with him having no desire of her pursuing Roller Derby. She stopped training and got married. In 1961, two years later, her only daughter Christina was born. "All of this time I still had Roller Derby on my mind." says Georgia. In 1963, she started training again at the Olympic Auditorium under Terry Lynch. She trained with Sally Vega, Danny Reilly, Larry Lewis and many more. One year later she was picked up by Dave Pounds and Liz Hernandez to skate on the San Francisco Clippers.
"My first game with Liz was not the best one to remember. We all know that she was super fast and I was super slow. Well, in the warm up she took off and left me like I was standing still, I was very SCARED, very embarrassed and very disappointed..." tells Georgia. "In my first game I blew it." Feeling as though she could never keep up with Liz Hernandez, she soon found herself on another team, The Texas Outlaws with Shirley Hardman. "She was a great skater and captain."
"I also skated for Loretta Behrens. This also was not a fond memory." Georgia recalls. John Hall had given Georgia a phone call and told her that Loretta wanted Georgia to skate for her the next evening. It sounded promising, so Georgia accepted the offer. "Little did I know that it would be worse than skating with Liz..."
When Georgia arrived at the arena the next night, Loretta gave her the message that she (Georgia) wasn't the person she wanted skating with her. Still being incredibly fragile in confidence and shy on top of it, the statement stunned Georgia. "Great. That gave me all the confidence I really needed..." Georgia sarcastically says. "She continued to tear me down as the night went on!" The increasing pressure from Loretta caused Georgia to go further into her shell... so scared out of her wits that it "felt paralyzing." As a result, her showing did not go so well, and Loretta declared that Georgia was not good enough for her team and did not want her back. Georgia never skated for Loretta again.
"People have to be treated different..." she begins, "...some people you can rip apart and they will come back with a vengeance, but me, it did not work that way." It would take many years before the two even conversed with each other again. "I hated Loretta for many years until I met her again a couple of years ago," continues Georgia. "I met the person not the skater and now we are friends."
Around the time of the Loretta situation, Lou Sanchez and George Copeland went "Outlaw." Some of the skaters followed the split and some chose to stay. Georgia opted to leave with Copeland, Sanchez and the rest. In a game at the El Monte Legion Stadium, Georgia Hase finally came into her own as a skater... not the best skater, she'll admit, but one finally able to hold her own. A person who froze completely at the thought of taking a jam, finally found herself taking an abundance of them with confidence! In fact, Marge Forrest had to comment to Georgia to "leave some jams for someone else" due to Georgia taking them all! "I got caught up in the game," says Georgia. "George Copeland (god bless his soul) believed in me and my skating career began." Unfortunately, Copeland was drafted into the service. Georgia skated one more game with Lou Sanchez in Texas, and hung up her skates afterwards to stay at home and give her daughter more attention.
It was around this time that Georgia and her husband divorced. With a daughter left to support, she became a parking checker for the city of Santa Monica and also became a police officer for the city of Los Angeles. "I never went back to Roller Games for some time but again it never left my mind."
In the late 70s, Georgia found herself at the training center John Hall owned in Pico Rivera, California. The center worked out a deal that soon became legendary. Georgia was finally on her way to doing the job she would become most famous for...
"Managing."
The Management Years
Though becoming a solid skater in her own right, Georgia Hase found her true niche in roller-sports: "Management." For many years she would lead the Detroit Devils, and would eventually return as their manager in the late '90s and through to the 2000s. However, nationwide fame came at an opportunity to manage a new team for the figure-8 track of "Rollergames" in 1989.
It was during this time period that Georgia Hase aligned herself with such skaters as "Monster-Man" Bernie Jackson, "The Latin Spitfire" Patsy Delgado, Charlie Saunders (son of roller-derby great "Specs" Saunders), and "The Bopper" Gale Bowers to participate as the rogue group of rule-breakers known as "Bad Attitude." She would manage her team to several victories over the course of "Rollergame's" two seasons of existence. Her managerial skills, however powerful, did not outmatch her skills to get underneath the skins of practically everybody associated with the program. She became a household name as being the most diabolical manager ever witnessed on television!
Georgia Hase's name could be heard at least 10 times each taping whether her team was skating or not. Her involvement in such controversial matters constantly made her the focal point of hatred within the league. Nobody was safe from Georgia's rage, not even her own players! Look at an irate Georgia Hase standing over the fallen Patsy Delgado
(right) after a botched play! She was the force behind the T-Bird twins, Kristine and Jennifer Van Galder, splitting apart to skate for different teams. She was also responsible for the suspension of the T-Birds competing in the league for a month, and was a driving force behind the involvement of alligators during "Sudden Death Overtime" if a tie had occurred during a game.
What possibly secured her spot as the most despised personality on "Rollergames" was her petition to have T-Bird captain Ralphie Valladares thrown off of the team if he was to be inducted into the "Hall Of Fame." Such involvement to topple the "Living Legend" at the time (Ralphie passed away in 1998) could only be traced back to their personal past.
Georgia Hase, along with our own Lou Sanchez, was a skater for the Texas Outlaws. The Outlaws were regarded as one of the best teams in roller-sports history in the '60s. They usually made it to the final round of tournament competition, only to face the T-Birds, coached by the "Guatemalan Flyer" Ralphie Valladares. In the many times these two teams faced each other, the Texas Outlaws always got 2nd place! They could never win it all... possibly because of Ralphie. The fact that Lou Sanchez's team never won a world's championship bothered him. It's possible that this same logic applied to Georgia, who, still bitter at Ralphie Valladares, found any and every chance to dispose of him for good. The controversy got so heated that Commissioner Bill Griffiths, Sr. called for a public vote on the matter. Over 90% of the viewing public voted in favor of Ralphie, therefore, thwarting Georgia Hase's petition.
Nobody knows for sure exactly how a sweet, innocent farm-girl from Wyoming became one of the most hated individuals in roller-sports ever. Some may credit her bitterness from hatred towards Loretta Behrens, others may say it stemmed from her years in law enforcement. Nobody knows for sure other than Gerogia herself, and she won't speak on it. Her scars on the public were even felt over ten years later on a 2001 poll taken at
www.amiannoying.com claiming that 75% of web-roamers still found Georgia Hase annoying!
Today
"Mizz" Georgia Hase, the once hated sports figure, now actually answers to "Miss." Over the course of 15 years, she's calmed down quite a bit, and is trying to enjoy life by letting others enjoy theirs. She actually possesses a grandmotherly charm nowadays, and if you catch her on a good day, she may actually smile. In fact, her later years have given her much to smile about. She has a grandson, Michael Martin, who will become a Second LT. in the Marines upon graduation in December of 2006, and a granddaughter, Melissa Martin, who attends college at Chico State. "I feel that the games have helped me to overcome some of my shyness, but by all means, not all of it..." says Georgia. She still feels she has a long way to go. When asked about her favorite personalities within roller sports, Vicky Steppe's and "Electric" Randi Whitman's names were first mentioned. "I believe they are what you call: true professionals..."
I'm sure, following her childhood idol, Julie Patrick, she never knew how much of an impact she'd make on the fans of roller-sports. Her name and managerial legacy will forever stay etched within this sport and within the minds of roller-derby fans all across this nation.
"I knew my ability was there. I just could not bring it out until George Copeland. If he ever reads this I wish to thank him for the confidence he had in me." Also, she wishes to thank Jim Greene, who she considers her number one fan.
Georgia Hase, we tip our hats off to you.
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The DerbyDog wishes to thank Georgia Hase for taking the time to share her story with me, and for allowing me to share her story with you. Georgia, you are a class act and one remarkable woman! Thank You.
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