If you’ve ever seen
ABC’s sports anthology
Wide World of Sports, you’ve seen Vinko Bogataj. "The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat," the announcer intones over a montage of sports clips, and there’s Vinko to illustrate the latter.
On
March 21, 1970, Bogataj, a
Yugoslavian skier, was competing in the International
Ski Flying Championship in
Oberstdorf, in then
West Germany. Right off the ramp, he took a spill and spectacularly tumbled all the way down to the finish line.
Dennis Lewin, a producer for the show, stuck the clip in the opening credits to demonstrate the agony of defeat. The choice was controversial to some: skiers, for one, were pissed and thought their sport was getting a bad name, and many felt they were exploiting Bogataj. But the clip was immensely popular and helped open the show for almost 30 years.
Bogataj is still remembered for that spill. At a ceremony celebrating the 20th anniversary of the show in
1981, Bogataj received a
standing ovation and
Muhammad Ali even asked for his autograph.