My family has had 49ers season tickets since before I was born, and we’re longtime Giants fans. But of all the great stars I watched on the field in Candlestick Park, I have equally strong memories of meeting Ann Calvello on the way inside the stadium.

Chronicle archive

Calvello, one of the greatest roller derby stars of all time, took tickets at Candlestick Park up until the early 2000s. (She died in 2006.) As I stated once before, this was kind of like like going to a roller derby match, and getting your ticket taken by Willie Mays. My mother, who went to the same high school as Calvello (Presentation High in San Francisco), was always excited to see the roller derby legend. I’m guessing that’s why roller derby stars often settle in the Bay Area. To generations of fans, they aren’t a gimmick. These are sportsmen and sportswomen. These are idols.

When I was searching through the archives and discovered the Golden Gate Park roller skating photos that showed up on the blog yesterday, I was thrilled to find a smaller folder marked “ROLLER DERBY.” Most of these images are what we call “handout art,” which means they weren’t taken by Chronicle staff. I found photos that date back to 1939 — just four years after the first-ever roller derby exhibitions began in 1935.

Below are six decades of local roller derby history, with at least one photo each from the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. It’s worth noting that the scene is still going strong. (See this column by my SFGate colleague Beth Spotswood.) You can watch the 2011 version of the SF Bay Bombers this weekend on March 19 at Kezar Pavilion. The Bay Area Derby Girls league has a match on the same night at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond. More info here.

R.I.P. Bay Area roller derby stars Ann Calvello and Joanie Weston. Your roller derby thoughts in the comments.

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Chronicle archives

1939: On the far left is roller derby legend Josephine “Ma” Bogash, the first female inductee in the Roller Derby Hall of Fame. I think she looks just like George’s mother-in-law on “Seinfeld.” She teamed with her son Bill Bogash, who died two years ago at age 92.

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Chronicle archives

1944: This date is an estimate based on the uniforms and hair styles — the caption information had been torn off the photo and lost. You can’t tell since I shrunk the photo down, but people dressed really well for roller derby matches in the 1940s. I see several people in suits and ties. (Maybe this match took place right after church …)

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Gil Harris/Special to the Chronicle

1949: The caption reads: “Red Smartt of the Oakland Roller Derby team tries desperately to maintain his balance after receiving a block from an opposing skater.” Red and the boys were set to play a Chicago team at the Oakland Auditorium, where “ladies will be admitted free opening night Aug. 4th upon payment of federal tax only.” Red became a roller derby legend, but in most of the photos I’ve seen looks like he’s about to fall down.

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Chronicle archives

1956: That’s “Specs” Saunders and Buddy Atkinson in the striped shirts, part of a roller derby show playing “nightly except Sundays at Winterland,” according to the caption. I’m assuming that’s the historic Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, which got its start as an ice skating rink. It may have been the era, but a vast majority of male derby stars had hair like Gavin Newsom.

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Dick Skuse/Special to the Chronicle

1956: Here’s a distant view of roller derby action at the Cow Palace. This photo, more than 50 years old, shows the Bay Bombers colliding with the New York Chiefs. I wonder if it smelled like a combination of urine and popcorn back in the 1950s. That’s not a shot against the venue. If I ever finish that time machine I’ve been working on, five out of the eight events I’ll be attending first will be at the Cow Palace.

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Chronicle archives

1962: I love this photo of a young Ann Calvello (number 35), just a few years into her incredible career. The Hayley Mills haircut didn’t last long — by the time her career ended, Calvello had rainbow-colored hair and skin tanned to an almost pewter color. Her demeanor never changed, though. That fist always seemed to be cocked. Calvello went to school in San Francisco and was living in San Bruno when she died a few years ago. The documentary “Demon of the Derby” is a great career retrospective.

UPDATED! 12:55 a.m.Several commenters have corrected me that this is a young Judy Arnold, not Calvello. I was going by an old picture of Calvello (see it here), not a caption, so I have no reason to disagree. Thanks for correcting me. Apologies to Judy Arnold and her fans!

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Chronicle archives

1978: Calvello (left) and Bay Bombers legend Joanie Weston in one of their many epic battles. It looks like they’re in an outdoor arena. Any guesses? There are two more photos in the archive that look just like this one.

For about 25 years, these hall of famers seemed to battle on a nightly basis. Weston, the most popular skater in the sport, was also a longtime San Francisco recreational softball player and lived in the city. I wonder if Weston and Calvello ever ran into each other at Safeway — and if they checked each other into the produce tables.

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Chronicle archives

1980: A Bay Bomber (I think) delivers an elbow to a competitor. This is the roller derby that I remember. It occasionally aired on one of the UHF channels — maybe TV-20 or 36? (In recent years, the new Bombers have also appeared on KOFY.) I think she’s getting ready to use that right skate to stomp the competition. Ann Calvello would be proud.

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PETER HARTLAUB is the pop culture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle and founder of this parenting blog, which admittedly sometimes has nothing to do with parenting. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/peterhartlaub. Your questions answered on VYou at www.vyou.com/peterhartlaub.