If, like me, you loved the original United States Football League, you’ll want to read this story, watch this video, and (hopefully) help support the effort to preserve the league’s rich video history.
First, the story:
On June 26, 1983, ABC was preparing to televise the USFL game between the Washington Federals and Los Angeles Express at RFK Stadium. But when results the day before made the game meaningless in the playoff race, the network opted not to broadcast it – not even to its original, limited West Coast audience.
But the production crew – and announcers Bill Flemming, Lee Corso and Bob Davis – had already shown up in DC, ready to work.
The result was something extraordinary.
ABC’s cameras continued capturing the game action, but without a normal television audience. The surviving footage contains occasional live reports intended for viewers of ABC’s primary USFL game, surrounded by long stretches of open microphones, production chatter and conversations that were never really intended for broadcast.
And somehow, more than four decades later, it still exists.
That’s where the story gets bigger.
The recording is among approximately 2,200 original USFL videotapes that spent decades stored in the basement of former USFL video producer Gary Cohen. The collection includes games and other footage from the league’s three-season run, much of which is now being professionally restored and digitized.
In the latest episode of Sports Rewind, I talk with author and historian Paul Reeths, one of the driving forces behind the preservation effort.
Paul explains how the collection survived, why 40-year-old videotape presents some very real preservation problems, the remarkable footage they’ve already recovered, and some of the games he never thought he’d see again.
There are also some wonderful human stories emerging from the project, including former USFL players helping preserve pieces of their own careers and one family using recovered games to reconnect an ailing former league executive with his past.
And the work isn’t finished. Support for the project has been impressive, but more is needed to complete the collection. Click here to get in contact with Paul, or visit the Facebook page or group to see what’s been done so far and how you can get involved.
If you remember the original USFL, love old football footage or simply believe sports history is worth saving, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
Watch the full episode of Sports Rewind below, give it a like, subscribe to the channel and share it with another sports history fan.
