SIHR Blog Bobrov's Second Birthday

[Theokritos]

Future Soviet sports star Vsevolod Bobrov was born on December 1, 1922. He grew up in the town of Sestroretsk at the Gulf of Finland and spent his spare time playing soccer and bandy – a hockey-like game on ice with a ball instead of a puck and with 10 skaters per team. The talented youngster drew some attention, despite being a bit overshadowed by his older brother Vladimir. Having graduated from school (1937), Vsevolod learned to become a toolmaker. In his spare time he kept playing and he worked his way up to the top teams of the Leningrad area championships.

Then came the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. With Leningrad under direct threat, the Soviet government decided to relocate an important armament plant from the endangered city to the safety of far-away Siberia. One of the workers at the plant was Vsevolod's father. The Bobrov family moved 1,600 miles to Omsk. In order to lift the spirits of the population during the war, sports kept being played and Vsevolod Bobrov soon became the talk of town in Omsk. His ability to walk through an entire defence on his own made him a star on the local bandy rinks.

Vsevolod Bobrov​

Vsevolod Bobrov's second birthday came in August 1942. He was drafted into the Soviet Army and lined up together with other recruits – about to be sent to the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest engagements of WWII with more than 1 million casualities on the Soviet side. But Vsevolod was lucky. The Army captain who inspected the recruits was Dmitri Boginov from Leningrad. Four years older than Bobrov, he happened to have played soccer and bandy with him back home. When his eyes were wandering over the list, they stumbled upon the familiar name Vsevolod Mikhailovich Bobrov. Boginov paused. He made up his mind and decided to spare the talented youngster that he knew in person. Boginov assigned him to the Military Academy. Instead of seeing combat, Bobrov spent the next two years receiving training as a junior officer and playing soccer and bandy for the Academy team in Omsk. His brother Vladimir Bobrov was not as lucky: fighting on the Western front, he was wounded several times and had to give up his own athletic ambitions.

Dmitri Boginov​

In 1944, Vsevolod Bobrov moved to Moscow and joined the Central Sports Club of the Army (back then named CDKA, later CSKA Moscow). He became one of the leading players right away and stood out on both the soccer pitch and the bandy rink. And when Canadian hockey was introduced after the war, Bobrov became the Soviet Union's brightest star in this new game – so bright that the USSR delayed its entry to the World Ice Hockey Championship for a year when Bobrov was out with a knee injury in 1953.

Having finally retired from active playing in 1957, Bobrov later returned to hockey as a coach with Spartak Moscow (1964-1967) and the Soviet national team (1972-1974). He remains one of the most celebrated athletes in Russian history. His career and maybe life, however, could have ended in August 1942 if not for Dmitri Boginov. The latter, on his part, turned to Canadian hockey too and became a respected coach with Torpedo Gorky (Nizhni Novgorod) and Dinamo Kiev in the 1950s and 1960s.

Posted on Behind the Boards (SIHR Blog).

Click to read more...

 

[sr edler]

I always thought Bobrov looks a bit like Chris Pronger, especially in the photo below, and now when you said he grew up around the Gulf of Finland I was like "okay, that's close enough to Pori" where Pronger's maternal line emigrated from. They must be related, right? (slightly kidding)

But how was Bobrov's playing style in hockey?

 

[Khomutov]

I don't know about his playing style, but when a player goes around a net and scores, people in Russia calling it "scoring like Bobrov". Like here:



He scored many goals this way.

 

[Kshahdoo]

I actually thought, his 2nd birthday was that day, when he overslept and was late for that airplane to Sverdlovsk (nowadays Yekaterinburg), which crashed and killed the whole VVS team.

The flight was actually to Chelyabinsk, but had to fly to Sverdlovsk because of weather conditions. But the weather in Sverdlovsk was as bad, if not worse...

 

[DeysArena]

It turns out that I share a birthday with Vsevolod Bobrov.

 

[Theokritos]

It turns out that I share a birthday with Vsevolod Bobrov.

Given that the exact date of his "second birthday" isn't known or mention, I bet I know which birthday it is!

I actually thought, his 2nd birthday was that day, when he overslept and was late for that airplane to Sverdlovsk (nowadays Yekaterinburg), which crashed and killed the whole VVS team.

The flight was actually to Chelyabinsk, but had to fly to Sverdlovsk because of weather conditions. But the weather in Sverdlovsk was as bad, if not worse...

That's a good choice too. Chronologically it would be his "third birthday" as it was in 1950 (January 5).

 

[Kshahdoo]

Given that the exact date of his "second birthday" isn't known or mention, I bet I know which birthday it is!

That's a good choice too. Chronologically it would be his "third birthday" as it was in 1950 (January 5).

Yeah, but if war would have certainly destroyed his sport career, but he could have survived it, that day he overslept the flight was literally his 2nd birthday.

 

[Theokritos]

Yeah, but if war would have certainly destroyed his sport career, but he could have survived it, that day he overslept the fligh was literally his 2nd birthday.

That's fair. All 19 people on board of that plane were killed.

Bobrov sure had his share of good luck in life.

 

[Overrated]

The last World Championship he played was when he was 34 and scored 13 goals in 5 matches.

 

[Theokritos]

I always thought Bobrov looks a bit like Chris Pronger, especially in the photo below, and now when you said he grew up around the Gulf of Finland I was like "okay, that's close enough to Pori" where Pronger's maternal line emigrated from. They must be related, right? (slightly kidding)

Bobrov's father was from a place near Tver, but his mother was from a village near St. Petersburg and there was a Finnish population in the area since the 17th century, so who knows. (Not about direct family links, but some ethnically Finnish ancestry isn't necessarily of question for Bobrov's mother.)

But how was Bobrov's playing style in hockey?

1) He wasn't fond of passing the puck.
2) He was great at moving around defencemen with the puck and beating goaltenders.

When Bobrov became coach of Spartak Moscow in February 1964, six and a half years into his retirement, he schooled the Spartak players (including Starshinov and the Mayorov brothers) in a shootout challenge: he scored seven times on ten attempts. The next best player was Starshinov with four goals on ten attempts. A few years later (1967, I guess) Boris Mikhailov got to play in an exhibition/friendly match against a team of CSKA veterans including Bobrov (now ten years into his retirement). Mikhailov's verdict: "I was struck by the skill of Bobrov who scored six or seven goals. It was then that I grasped why he had no equal – brilliant skating, despite the injuries and age; great technique and unsurpassed handling of the stick which he alone on the planet was able to move from hand to hand."

Here are a few of Bobrov's trademark breakaways:

Against West Germany (overhead shot!):



Against Sweden:



Against Canada:

 

[sr edler]

1) He wasn't fond of passing the puck.
2) He was great at moving around defencemen with the puck and beating goaltenders.

When Bobrov became coach of Spartak Moscow in February 1964, six and a half years into his retirement, he schooled the Spartak players (including Starshinov and the Mayorov brothers) in a shootout challenge: he scored seven times on ten attempts. The next best player was Starshinov with four goals on ten attempts. A few years later (1967, I guess) Boris Mikhailov got to play in an exhibition/friendly match against a team of CSKA veterans including Bobrov (now ten years into his retirement). Mikhailov's verdict: "I was struck by the skill of Bobrov who scored six or seven goals. It was then that I grasped why he had no equal – brilliant skating, despite the injuries and age; great technique and unsurpassed handling of the stick which he alone on the planet was able to move from hand to hand."

Sounds a bit like Bure, outside of the wrap arounds and the ambidexterity.

 

[Theokritos]

Sounds a bit like Bure, outside of the wrap arounds and the ambidexterity.

And minus Bure's breathtaking hyperspeed. Also, I think Bure's selfishness with the puck is something that developed over time, right? He wasn't exactly like that when he first stepped on NHL ice. Bobrov, on the other hand, was accused of ignoring his teammates almost as soon as he started playing Canadian hockey.

Regardless: Yes, there are certainly parallels between Bobrov and Pavel Bure.

 

[Sanf]

Bobrov's father was from a place near Tver, but his mother was from a village near St. Petersburg and there was a Finnish population in the area since the 17th century, so who knows. (Not about direct family links, but some ethnically Finnish ancestry isn't necessarily of question for Bobrov's mother.)

Yeah Sestroretsk was even part of Grand Duchy of Finland from 1812 to 1864 and it´s older Finnish name was Rajajoki (Border River). But as Bobrov grew being Ingrian wasn´t really a easy thing in Soviet so I would say there might be roots, but probably quite far.

Would guess that Bandy had strong roots in that area considering St. Petersburg and Eastern Finland being old Bandy hotbeds.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Bobrov played vs some top English football clubs in famous Dinamo Moscow tour in 1945. Scored one goal to Chelsea and 2 goals to Arsenal...

 

[Batis]

Bobrov played vs some top English football clubs in famous Dinamo Moscow tour in 1945. Scored one goal to Chelsea and 2 goals to Arsenal...

Bobrov also scored 5 goals in 3 games and finished 4th in goalscoring at the 1952 Olympics despite the Soviets getting eliminated early on by the eventual silver medalists Yugoslavia. In that tournament Bobrov scored 62.5 percent of the Soviets goals and had a clearly higher goals per game average than players like Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis who both ranked on the IFFHS world player of the century list (Puskas 6th, Kocsis 39th). Considering how well Bobrov did on the international stage in his few opportunities (the 1945 tour and the 1952 Olympics) it really would have been interesting to see what he could have achieved with more opportunities to prove himself like he would have had if his prime had been a decade or so later on. Is it possible that Bobrov had the talent to be one of the 5 or 10 best football players in the world during his prime? Since his international sample size of games is so small we will never know that but Bobrovs strong performances in his few international opportunities and his two domestic goalscoring titles (1945 and 1947) does suggest that he was a very talented player at least.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Bobrov also scored 5 goals in 3 games and finished 4th in goalscoring at the 1952 Olympics despite the Soviets getting eliminated early on by the eventual silver medalists Yugoslavia. In that tournament Bobrov scored 62.5 percent of the Soviets goals and had a clearly higher goals per game average than players like Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis who both ranked on the IFFHS world player of the century list (Puskas 6th, Kocsis 39th). Considering how well Bobrov did on the international stage in his few opportunities (the 1945 tour and the 1952 Olympics) it really would have been interesting to see what he could have achieved with more opportunities to prove himself like he would have had if his prime had been a decade or so later on. Is it possible that Bobrov had the talent to be one of the 5 or 10 best football players in the world during his prime? Since his international sample size of games is so small we will never know that but Bobrovs strong performances in his few international opportunities and his two domestic goalscoring titles (1945 and 1947) does suggest that he was a very talented player at least.

Yeah, I think, he still was better football player, than hockey player. Because in football he was on par with top players of the world, while in hockey he wasn't probably as good as NHLers.

BTW is it Garrincha on your avatar?

 

[Batis]

Yeah, I think, he still was better football player, than hockey player. Because in football he was on par with top players of the world, while in hockey he wasn't probably as good as NHLers.

Yes I agree that Bobrov probably compared more favourably to the best football players in the world than he did to the best hockey players in the world.

BTW is it Garrincha on your avatar?

That is correct. The photo is from one of Garrinchas many dribbling exhibitions in the 1962 World Cup Final between Brazil and Czechoslovakia. My guess is that it is from this sequence when Garrincha plays keepaway with the ball in the last minutes of the game.

 

[Theokritos]

Bobrov played vs some top English football clubs in famous Dinamo Moscow tour in 1945. Scored one goal to Chelsea and 2 goals to Arsenal...

Right. And interestingly, it was during this England tour that Bobrov and other Russian players first watched Canadian hockey. Perhaps at the rink in Purley south of London where Canadian soldiers were stationed.

And I've written about Soviet hockey's football connection in general: SIHR Blog - The Blueprint of Soviet Hockey

 

[Theokritos]

For this rather short and not very research-heavy article I didn't use footnotes, so here is an addition. The Stalingrad/Boginov episode is sourced from the Bobrov biography by Anatoli Salutsky (first edition 1984, second edition 1987) which offers some fascinating details and plenty of information that was new to me.

It's one of five six Bobrov biographies I am aware of. The others are:

Bobrov's autobiography (1963), ghostwritten by Leonid Goryanov and titled Samyy interesnyy match ("The Most Interesting Match"). Obviously it's great to have a book by the man himself, but due to the early release year it doesn't cover his days as coach of Spartak Moscow and the Soviet national team. It's a pity he didn't publish another autobiography before he passed away in 1979.

A biography that veteran sport writer Vladimir Pakhomov (2002) published two years before his death.

A newer biography by Mikhail Shcheglov (2018). I don't have this one yet.

Additionally, there is an old and rather short biography by Viktor Viktorov (1957) that, surprisingly, was published in English! It's an excerpt from Viktorov's book Tri pyaterki: the chapters that cover Bobrov were translated and published as a seperate book – but apparently not in Russian!

EDIT: I forgot another biography: the one by Anatoli Muradov (2000).

 

[Theokritos]

But how was Bobrov's playing style in hockey?

Here's a photo report from a December 1948 supplement to the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets. It shows Bobrov playing against LTC Prague in February of the same year:

"Here he is, surrounded by a large group of Czech players (photo 1), trying to break away from them. Three players are in close proximity to him, the fourth is going to move in his way. Player number 11 even makes an illicit move: fearing not to keep up with Bobrov, he hook his leg with the stick."

"But this does not stop Bobrov either (photo 2). He steps forward and drags the opponent along with him. Another player of the LTC team tries to detain him by using the the same forbidden technique – he hooks Bobrov's right leg with the stick."

"A dash forward. This frees Bobrov from one of the sticks. The player rushing to him is too late, Bobrov is almost gone. Now the leader of the Soviet team is only connected with the opponents by the stick that hooks his left leg (photo 3)."

"In order to free himself from this link connecting him with the opponent, Bobrov raises his leg. The stick remains on the ice, and he (photo 4) rushes forward."

"Now Bobrov is alone with the goaltender (photo 5) and whether he will bring new success to his team depends on his ability to make an accurate shot."

The writer (named K. A. Minin) continues:

"The ability to move at high speeds, to use feints, to get around the whole troupe of opponents make Vsevolod Bobrov's game one of high class. These qualities put V. Bobrov in the ranks of the best Soviet hockey players. But Bobrov's biggest drawback is his extreme passion for individual play. Hockey is a collective game, a team game."

His closing remarks:

"To be able to move with lightning speed, to perfectly master the feint (deceitful movement), to pass the puck to your party in a timely and accurate manner, to be resourceful – every hockey player should strive for this. In order to acquire these qualities, you need to be courageous and physically well prepared. Only under these conditions perfect mastery can be achieved in a game as complex and interesting as hockey."

 

[PrimumHockeyist]

Future Soviet sports star Vsevolod Bobrov was born on December 1, 1922. He grew up in the town of Sestroretsk at the Gulf of Finland and spent his spare time playing soccer and bandy – a hockey-like game on ice with a ball instead of a puck and with 10 skaters per team. The talented youngster drew some attention, despite being a bit overshadowed by his older brother Vladimir. Having graduated from school (1937), Vsevolod learned to become a toolmaker. In his spare time he kept playing and he worked his way up to the top teams of the Leningrad area championships.

Then came the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. With Leningrad under direct threat, the Soviet government decided to relocate an important armament plant from the endangered city to the safety of far-away Siberia. One of the workers at the plant was Vsevolod's father. The Bobrov family moved 1,600 miles to Omsk. In order to lift the spirits of the population during the war, sports kept being played and Vsevolod Bobrov soon became the talk of town in Omsk. His ability to walk through an entire defence on his own made him a star on the local bandy rinks.

Vsevolod Bobrov​

Vsevolod Bobrov's second birthday came in August 1942. He was drafted into the Soviet Army and lined up together with other recruits – about to be sent to the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest engagements of WWII with more than 1 million casualities on the Soviet side. But Vsevolod was lucky. The Army captain who inspected the recruits was Dmitri Boginov from Leningrad. Four years older than Bobrov, he happened to have played soccer and bandy with him back home. When his eyes were wandering over the list, they stumbled upon the familiar name Vsevolod Mikhailovich Bobrov. Boginov paused. He made up his mind and decided to spare the talented youngster that he knew in person. Boginov assigned him to the Military Academy. Instead of seeing combat, Bobrov spent the next two years receiving training as a junior officer and playing soccer and bandy for the Academy team in Omsk. His brother Vladimir Bobrov was not as lucky: fighting on the Western front, he was wounded several times and had to give up his own athletic ambitions.

Dmitri Boginov​

In 1944, Vsevolod Bobrov moved to Moscow and joined the Central Sports Club of the Army (back then named CDKA, later CSKA Moscow). He became one of the leading players right away and stood out on both the soccer pitch and the bandy rink. And when Canadian hockey was introduced after the war, Bobrov became the Soviet Union's brightest star in this new game – so bright that the USSR delayed its entry to the World Ice Hockey Championship for a year when Bobrov was out with a knee injury in 1953.

Having finally retired from active playing in 1957, Bobrov later returned to hockey as a coach with Spartak Moscow (1964-1967) and the Soviet national team (1972-1974). He remains one of the most celebrated athletes in Russian history. His career and maybe life, however, could have ended in August 1942 if not for Dmitri Boginov. The latter, on his part, turned to Canadian hockey too and became a respected coach with Torpedo Gorky (Nizhni Novgorod) and Dinamo Kiev in the 1950s and 1960s.

Posted on Behind the Boards (SIHR Blog).

Thanks for sharing this, Theokritas.

Standing behind the bench for the Soviets, to me Bobrov was just another nameless face in a narrative that Tretiak, Kharlamov and Boris tended to dominate. Years later I learn that Bobrov was the MVP of the tournament and match that lit this rivalry in 54. All things considered, Bobrov sort of personified the rivalry that way, 18 years in the making by 72. It would have been very interesting to know that story.

Sinden, of course, had his own interesting backstory going into 72. A bit Herb Brooks like imo.

Maybe it were a different time the Canadian media would have had richer back stories on the Soviet players and staff. Huge earth-shakers on both sides. Too bad Tarasov couldn't have been in the mix.

 

[Pominville Knows]

I always thought Bobrov looks a bit like Chris Pronger, especially in the photo below, and now when you said he grew up around the Gulf of Finland I was like "okay, that's close enough to Pori" where Pronger's maternal line emigrated from. They must be related, right? (slightly kidding)

But how was Bobrov's playing style in hockey?

I can see that; but in the photo below he also looks like Kirill Kaprizov.
So maybe he was older in your photo to match old-man Pronger more.

Vsevolod Bobrov​

 

[Albatros]

Regarding 1953, only Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland played through the tournament while the North Americans and several European teams declined participation altogether. Czechoslovakia withdrew during the games after the death of Communist Party general secretary Gottwald. Given that also Stalin had died shortly before the tournament, Soviet participation would have been a thing of impossibility either way.