Sensational new money maker!
September 18th, 2007 by Kilwag
I’ve scoured the web for more examples of Skateball (or Skate-Ball - they can’t make up their mind). The only thing that turns up besides our previous post is another actual pinball game. (More on that later.) Jeff Hottle had this old low-res image of a Skate-Ball flyer he got off the web ages ago, but the original source remains shrouded in mystery.
A full retail business including skateboarding accessories, roller skating and other youth oriented products. Skateball is made up of 4 different ramps, bowls, runs and moguls each with their own scoreboard and timing device. Can be located in strip stores, shopping centers and free standing buildings. Minimum cash investment $25,000.
You can see the whole flyer after the jump.
Skate-ball flyer
The Florida based company who made these contraptions was called International Sports & Recreation Corporation (ISR). I would have guessed California for sure. They don’t seem to be around today. I can’t imagine why they aren’t still in business with such rock solid ideas as Skate Ball. We know of at least two, possibly three Skate Ball setups that were sold. I did find a mention of them on a web site belonging 70’s legend Russ Howell. He sells CD’s filled with scans of old Skateboarder mags. Yes, it’s true. ISR had an ad for prefab fiberglass skateparks in the February 1978 (Vol.4, No.7) issue of Skateboarder. Conahan, start sifting through your collection.
September 18th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
The MSN group VintageFlordaSkateboard had some additional info;
VintageFlordaSkateboard
September 18th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Hmmm, this is all starting to look eerily familiar. I have no memory of the Skate-ball ad, but in the late 70’s, there was a blue fiberglass skatepark in Newington, NH with a bowl and mogul strip that looked just like the one in the ad. Also had a full pipe, what is now known as a mini, and a larger half-pipe. Very ride-able stuff (if a bit slippery) in an era of some really, really bad parks. Must have been the same company, and the Newington owners(wisely?) opted out of the Skate-ball package. I remember a guy named Joe Spier (sp?) absolutely killing the place. Why he didn’t go on to 70’s mega-skate stardom is beyond me. Never saw anyone smoother or more creative while doing really hard stuff. Anyone else ever see him skate?
September 18th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
BINGO! Thanks Livmo I just joined the group. I’m going to try and get some larger scans.
Mac Yeah I’ve seen pics of blue fiberglass ramps before, and there can’t have been that many manufacturers.
September 18th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Thrasher Land park in AZ. Hard to find pics on the web. The official site is down. This is from sk8parklist.com
Link
September 18th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Ahhh,Thrasherland, only 2 miles from all surrounding landfills in west phoenix,AZ. I remember ditching-I mean going on field trips there in high school,bunch of teeanage drunkards, happy as hell to pick up trash there for 20 min to earn a day of schralping on their crappy ass fiberglass ramps,ie snake run,spined mini into 6ft.Hoffa’s final resting place,no shit.
September 18th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Ah, yes. Those ramps are from the same company as Newington’s. Man, between Mike Weed, Chris Yandall, and blue fiberglass, today’s been a series of pretty good flashbacks. That Vintage Florida site has some cool, old stuff as well. Cherry Hill, NJ, yeah, that place ruled.
Hey, Jakeferranti, speaking of New Jersey, I thought Hoffa was buried under The Meadowlands. Arizona, at a skatepark? Haven’t heard that one. Fascinating.
September 19th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Yeah, the Hoffa reference aluded that Thrasherland’s obscurity was always due in part to the fact it’s located in the middle of all the landfills in phx,az. In fact, when I was in high school, a kid from my previous middle school got murded and thrown in the trash. Subsequently his body was lost at 1 of those landfills. After the kid who did it confessed,police spent about 3 weeks combing the landfills for the evidence of his remains. Never found him. So Hoffa always comes to mind when thinking of Thrasherland. From my understanding that was really one of the 1st parks in az, now it probably looks like another landfill compared to the nearest park in Goodyear,AZ.
September 19th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
[...] comment in yesterday’s post about the Skate-Ball ramps got me thinking about an eBay auction I saw a few years back. The parts [...]