1980 Olympics USSR team set (the other team)

[jp1216]

I recently finished this little project. 1980 “Miracle on Ice” – the other team (USSR). After seeing the movie Miracle (again), I wanted to see if there were any cards for the Soviet players. I quickly picked up 2 or 3 cards from that time period. Then a couple more. After finding an Olympic roster online, I was able to compile a list of available cards with the help of tcdb.com. All 20 players have at least one card!

With the help of a couple collectors over in Europe, I was able to piece the team set together fairly quickly.

Every player has a card from 1979 to 1982 but I wanted to get ‘rookie’ cards for the 4 oldest players in addition to their '79 cards shown at the bottom. I love the look of the 1969-70 Swedish Williams set. The rest were a mix of 1979 Panini & 1981 and '82 Swedish Semic cards. Coach Tikhonov’s card is from 1991. These are all stickers and smaller than standard cards. Most are 1 ¾” x 2 ½”.

The Soviet Union dominated international hockey from the late 1950s until the breakup of the USSR. 9 Olympics – 7 gold medals (losing to the USA in 1960 and 1980). 20 World Championships. The 1980 team featured a combination of the domination from the late 60s to a handful of future NHL players of the 90s.

Boris Michailov (35, Russia) – Played 14 seasons – most as team captain. Later coached World Championship teams in 2005, 2006 and the 2006 Olympics. “Stan Laurel” – Herb Brooks.
Vladimir Petrov (32, Russia) died 2017. 4th all time in World Championship scoring. Retired in 1983 and later became president of the Russian Hockey Federation.
Valeri Kharlamov (32, Russia) died 1981. Third part of the famed offensive line with Michailov and Petrov. He died in a car accident at the age of 33. Scored 3 goals in the ’80 games.
Alexander Maltsev (30, Russia) Played in the ’72, 76 & ’80 Olympics. All time leading scorer in Soviet history with 213 goals.
Valeri Vasiliev (30, Russia) died 2012. A defenseman. Played for 9 World Championship Gold medal winners. Named team captain 1981-82. Scored 2 goals in the 1980 Olympics.
Yuri Lebedev (28, Russia) Had a Hat-Trick against the Netherlands in the 1980 Olympics and ended up with 3 goals and 5 assists.
Vladislav Tretiak (27, Russia) One of the greatest goalies in the history of hockey. Hockey HOF member. First Soviet player that never played in the NHL to be inducted. Current IIHF Russia President.
Helmut Balderis (27, Latvia) Oldest player ever drafted in the NHL and oldest to ever score his first NHL goal for the Minnesota North Stars in 1989. He had 5 goals in the 1980 Olympics.
Alexander Golikov (27, Russia) Leading scorer of the 1980 Olympics. Older brother of teammate Vladimir. 7 goals and 6 assists in the 1980 Olympics.
Viktor Zhluktov (26, Ukraine) Tied for leading scorer in the 1976 Canada Cup. Had 3 goals and 7 assists in the ’80 Olympics.
Vladimir Golikov (25, Russia) Forward played from 1976-85. Finished the 1980 Olympics with 2 goals and 5 assists.
Alexander Skvortsov (25, Russia) Died 2020. Won Gold in the 1984 Olympics. Scored 2 goals and 5 assists in the 1980 games.
Zinetula Bilyaletdinov (24, Russia) Scored 1 goal and had 3 assists in the ’80 Olympics. Later held NHL assistant coaching positions from 1994 to 1997.
Vladimir Myshkin (24, Russia) Goalie – replaced Tretiak after the 1st period against the USA in 1980. Won the 1984 Olympics and 1986 World Championships.
Vasili Pervukhin (24, Russia) Won the 1984 Olympics and finished the 1980 Olympic games with 9 assists. The only non-goalie to not record a goal.
Vyacheslav Fetisov (21, Russia) Scored 5 goals and had 4 assists in the ’80 games. Captain '83-89. Later won back-to-back Stanley Cups in the NHL for Detroit.
Sergei Makarov (21, Russia) Won Gold medals in the ’84 and ’88 Olympics. Scored 5 goals in the 1980 games. Won the 1989 NHL Rookie of the Year at the age of 31. Played 7 NHL seasons.
Sergei Starikov (21, Russia) Won Gold medals in the ’84 and ’88 Olympics. Scored 1 goal in the 1980 games. Played 16 NHL games in 1989. Now coaches in Russia.
Alexei Kasatonov (20, Russia) Won Gold in the ’84 and ’88 Olympics. Won 5 World Championships from 1981-89. Played 8 seasons in the NHL. 2 goals and 5 assists in the ’80 Olymics.
Vladimir Krutov (19, Russia) Died 2012. Member of the ’84 and ’88 Olympic Gold medal winners. Played only one year in the NHL and several in Europe. Scored 6 goals and 5 assists in the 1980 games.
Victor Tikhonov (Head Coach) Played from ’49-’63. Coached the Red Army from 1978 – 1994. Won Gold Medals in 1984, 1988 and 1992 as head coach.

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[Kurri17]

I'll save the space of quoting your post jp1216, but that is my favorite post I have seen lately. I'm a huge fan of the '80 USA team, and their players in their careers post Olympics. But, also have much respect for that Soviet team, and that is an amazing project you undertook. Love seeing those all together, and like those old sticker issues as well. I have all of the ones of Kurri, but seeing this gives me the itch to add a few others. Simply a great show, thanks for posting that.

[Peter_Spaeth]

The true spirit of collecting lives, great post.

[jp1216]

Thanks for the kind words. I know Net54 isn't a hockey forum but.....

A good documentary on YouTube follows the post 1980 USSR hockey team. It follows 4 of the youngest members of the '80 team (and Igor Larionov who joined in 1981) and shows the next 20 years of their lives. Well done! "CCCP Hockey". Made in 2004? 51 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdFHKXXPLhg&t=416s

And the best show has to be ESPN's 30 for 30 from 2015 - "Of Miracle and Men".

[commishbob]

What a unique and fun project! Congrats on finishing it. I 'watched' that game on the AP ticker in the newsroom at the old Houston Post where I worked at the time. Hard to believe it's been 40+ years.

[jp1216]

And one group shot. Watching our boys celebrate!

[Bored5000]

Very cool. I always love seeing offbeat cards or different collection focuses on here beyond the same old same old.

[shagrotn77]

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. Here are a couple of my Tretiak rookies:

[quinnsryche]

Dude, that is an awesome collection. Congrats on having the patience to search those all out. Something to be proud of!

[irv]

Originally Posted by quinnsryche

Dude, that is an awesome collection. Congrats on having the patience to search those all out. Something to be proud of!

X2! One heck of an effort putting that together!

[Michael B]

The sticker set, the ones with the Soviet flag in the lower left corner, had a lot of 1980 Olympians. I remember getting the one of Jaroslav Pouzar (Czechoslovakia) and sticking it on an index card and having him sign the index card while he was with the Oilers.

I believe most of these players were on one of the Soviet heroes of sports postcard sets. They were issued for many of the Olympic and World Championship teams. They are color with a large white borders on the bottom with pre-printed blue 'signatures'. I see mostly figure skaters, track athletes and some basketball on ebay, but I do recall seeing the hockey ones, possibly at a World Olympic Collector's Fair.