Longshot Dreams and Slapshot Fiends in the Ultimate ’90s Pro Sports League

In the age when Rollerblades were king, a crew of wide-eyed rookies and grizzled NHL vets brought hockey-on-wheels to the cusp of the big time.

Collage by J McIsaac/Getty Images | Story edited by Farah Mohammed

Joe Tamburino was a longshot. Describing his path to becoming a professional hockey player any other way would be an understatement.

He fell in love with the sport while watching the New York Islanders dynasty of the early 1980s. But for a blue-collar kid like Joe, ice hockey was never really an option — back then, rinks were scarce, and ice time was expensive. To emulate his favorite players — Pat LaFontaine, Bobby Nystrom and Mike Bossy — Joe took to the streets of Long Island on his quad skates, and later, inline blades.

As a teenager, Joe realized he was a pretty gifted player. Guys from the neighborhood would often ask him to fill in on their teams, picking him up and dropping him off, as he hadn’t yet gotten a driver’s license. When Joe was 16, he started playing in a full-contact roller league in Queens, widely recognized as the best in New York City. A few years later, when the brand-new Roller Hockey International professional league was formed, Joe’s standout play against some of New York’s top players gave him the confidence to go out for the league’s open tryouts.

Despite his talent, Joe was a 19-year-old with barely any ice experience — just a short stint in junior hockey plus his high school team. Here he was, competing head-to-head against guys who played professional or collegiate ice hockey. Even his parents, though they were extremely supportive, expected him home sooner rather than later.

Newspaper clip announcing Joe Tamburino’s draft selection by the Miami Hammerheads. (Image courtesy Joe Tamburino)

Joe spent the months leading up to the tryout training outside of his Long Island home while his 12-year-old brother, Jimmy, skated alongside him. The brothers were inseparable, despite their seven-year age difference, and Joe quickly recognized his brother had an equal (if not greater) passion for the game. The boys would spend hours out in front of their house — Joe in an Islanders jersey and Jimmy in a Rangers sweater — pretending they were battling for the Stanley Cup.

Despite the long odds, after tryouts Joe somehow found himself with an invitation to training camp with the Florida Hammerheads, one of 12 teams participating in the newly founded league. When they broke for the season, Joe had a professional contract.

“I couldn’t wait to get out on the rink, just for warm-ups, just to be in that jersey and for my family and friends just to see that,” Joe said of his professional debut in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1993, the passion radiating through his Long Island accent. His thick, dark brown hair has thinned and grayed a bit in the years since, but Joe, now 46, still possesses a warm, youthful grin and an athletic build — he hasn’t completely ruled out returning to competitive play one day.

But before young Joe laced up his skates, there was something he had to do.

He showed up to his family’s hotel room carrying a hockey bag stuffed with equipment — skates, wheels, tape, stick blades and a head-to-toe set of team gear. It wasn’t for him. It was a surprise for Jimmy.

“I was always thinking of him,” Joe said. “And I’m like, ‘I gotta take care of my little brother while I’m having this experience.’”

And as Joe played the role of Santa Claus on Christmas morning, he had one more surprise to dish out after the bag was emptied. He was taking Jimmy to the Hammerheads’ morning skate.

“Well, pack it up,” Joe told his brother. “We’re going to the stadium.”

Jimmy, reflecting on the moment recently, nearly three decades later, described the experience in one word: “incredible.”