Seeking Info: Documentary 'The Forgotten Athletes' from the 80s : Lost Media

Seeking Info: Documentary 'The Forgotten Athletes' from the 80s

I'm in dire need of help from the community. 'The Forgotten Athletes' is a documentary about unsung sports heroes from the 1980s, produced by a small studio, and it seems to have completely vanished off the face of the earth. I'm working on a project to preserve underrated sports documentaries and this is a key piece. It never made it to DVD and VHS copies must be rarer than unicorns. Assistance finding it would be greatly appreciated!

Submitted 5 months, 3 weeks ago by vault_of_vhs

lol maybe it's forgotten for a reason. Just play some 80s synth music and watch Rocky montages, basically the same thing, right? 😂

5 months, 3 weeks ago by SnarkyCommenter

As someone who's passionate about media preservation, I feel your pain. It's incredibly important to keep pieces like 'The Forgotten Athletes'. I don’t have any leads, but you might want to post in /r/VHS and /r/DataHoarder too. Sometimes these communities can have surprising connections. Be sure to use the correct flair to gain more visibility.

5 months, 3 weeks ago by MediaPreservationist

Sounds like a ghost chase. Are you sure it wasn't a tv special or something? I recall lots of stuff like this just getting aired once and then poof, gone. If it was a small studio, chances are slim. Good luck though, you're gonna need it.

5 months, 3 weeks ago by uSawItOnce

I trade VHS tapes and I've seen a lot come through, but never 'The Forgotten Athletes'. It's a unicorn, as you said. Keep an eye on eBay auctions, set up alerts. You never know when it'll show up.

5 months, 3 weeks ago by TapeTrader1999

Y'know what irks me? This happens all the time with these small production documentaries. Solid pieces of cultural history, just gone. No digital footprint, no nothing, it's like they never existed. Kinda makes you wonder how much stuff we're losing on the regular, huh?

5 months, 3 weeks ago by RetroRanter

The Forgotten Athletes is classic lost media, super hard to track. Have you tried any private sports collectors? There's a community for everything. I saw a guy on a forum years ago claiming he collects anything sports related from the 80s, but the site's down now. Wonder if someone on here might remember something.

5 months, 3 weeks ago by 80sDocJunkie

I've dealt with finding rare documentaries before. Here's a strategy: Check with university libraries, sometimes they have copies of obscure films for study purposes, particularly in their sports history or film departments. Also, reach out to local TV stations from the era - they might have archived footage tucked away.

5 months, 3 weeks ago by VintageVideoHunter

ohh man, 'The Forgotten Athletes'!!! totally remember watching a clip at a friend’s house back in the day!! the quality was so raw, really captured the 80s vibe. i wish I could help but no clue where to find it 😔 maybe track down the producers or try to find sports archives from the era?