The Agony of Defeat

March 21, 1970 - Today was the day that Yugoslavian ski jumper, Vinko Bogataj, wiped out in spectacular fashion during a competition in Oberstdorf, West Germany.

The clip of his body flying off the ramp and crashing through a fence would be immortalized in the opening montage for ABC's Wide World of Sports.

Jim McKay's dramatic narration underscored the point, and forever Vinko Bogataj became synonymous with "the agony of defeat."

Despite many urban legends that say otherwise, Bogataj did not die or wind up a vegetable after the crash. He suffered a mild concussion and returned to ski jumping the following year.