Marjorie Clair Louise Theresa Brasuhn Monte (January 27, 1923 – 9 August 1971), known as Midge "Toughie" Brasuhn, was a roller derby skater.
Born in St Louis, Missouri, to a German-American family, Brasuhn acquired the nickname "Midge" as a child by virtue of her height - only 4'11".Herb Michelson, A Very Simple Game She joined the roller derby in 1941, in Minneapolis,"Roller Derby Star Dies", Daily Herald, August 25, 1971, section 2, page 1 and soon married Ken Monte, a fellow skater.
Brasuhn rose to fame in the late 1940s with a billboard campaign showing her with green dye on her face asking the question "Who Is Toughie?". She regularly competed against Gerry Murray, sometimes on a one-to-one basis;"'Toughie' and Gerry in Half-Mile Match Contest", Miami News, February 16, 1950 in 1949, the rollerskater took a leading role in the film Roller Derby Girl."Roller Derby Girl (1949)", IMDb In 1950, she was voted one of the ten leading sportswomen by the Sportswriters of America, and she became the captain of the Brooklyn Red Devils. She was known for her aggressive play, and would sometimes knee her opponents in the jaw.Jeff Nilsson and Rusti Keen, "Women of the Roller Derby: Morals, Manners, and Muscle", Saturday Evening Post
Brasuhn retired from competition in 1962, and was subsequently inducted into the Roller Derby Hall of Fame.Keith Coppage, Roller Derby to RollerJam, p.122 In the mid-1960s, she briefly skated with the rival Roller Games, before moving with her son to Honolulu, where she died unexpectedly in 1971.
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