Anatoli Firsov

Anatoli Firsov
Anatoli Firsov on a 2013 Russian stamp from the series "Sports Legends"
Born	(1941-02-01)1 February 1941 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	24 July 2000(2000-07-24) (aged 59) Moscow, Russia
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	154 lb (70 kg; 11 st 0 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Spartak Moscow CSKA Moscow
National team	Soviet Union
Playing career	1959–1974
Medal record Men's ice hockey Representing  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1964 Innsbruck Team 1968 Grenoble Team 1972 Sapporo Team World Championships 1964 Innsbruck Team 1965 Tampere Team 1966 Ljubljana Team 1967 Vienna Team 1968 Grenoble Team 1969 Stockholm Team 1970 Stockholm Team 1971 Bern Team

Anatoli Vasilievich Firsov (Russian: Анатолий Васильевич Фирсов; 1 February 1941 – 24 July 2000) was a Russian ice hockey left wing and center, who competed internationally for the USSR. In the IIHF World Championships, he won the scoring title four times and was named the best forward three times. He was also named the most valuable player in the Soviet hockey league three times. Between 1964 and 1972, Firsov played 166 games for the national team. He scored 134 goals, and won three Olympic and eight world titles.

No one was as selflessly dedicated to hockey as Firsov or as hard on himself and fanatical in workouts. He even augmented the tough drills designated by Anatoli Tarasov. Coming down the ice with the puck, he would perform a variety of hops, skips and jumps at the same time.

Firsov first came to the Central Red Army and coach Tarasov as a scrawny kid – his bones protruded from under the thin layer of muscle. But at training sessions, he strengthened his body by choosing the roughest, toughest defense men as his opponents, Alexander Ragulin and Viktor Kozkin. He eventually would become one of the best forwards in Soviet hockey. Despite this he would not participate in the 1972 Summit Series against Canada. Many believe this was a result of Tarasov's exclusion from the coaching staff.

In 1972, while still playing for CSKA Moscow, Firsov began working as an assistant coach for the club. Between 1976 and 77 he was the head coach of the Soviet junior team, which won a bronze medal at the 1977 World Championships. From 1977 and until his death he worked as a children’s hockey coach. In 1989, Firsov was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies, running on a policy of improving health conditions and sporting facilities. In 1998, he was inducted to the IIHF Hall of Fame. Firsov died in 2000 at the age of 59.