Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction March 2011
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/29/2011
Fabulous Soviet wool is a mid-1960s UCKA Red Army game-worn sweater! The first of its kind to be offered for auction, this beauty is in magnificent condition, particularly considering its vintage. It was originally obtained, according to our consignor, from the collection of the father of Russian hockey, the late Anatoli Tarasov. Founded in 1946, the hockey team that would ultimately come to be known as the Central Sports Club of the Army was first coached by Tarasov, who was inducted into the builder's category of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974. Tarasov was asked to build a hockey program from scratch in the wake of World War II. He led the "Red Army" through the mid-1970s to the first 19 of its Soviet League-record 32 titles. Beginning in 1969, UCKA won its first six of 20 European Cup titles under Tarasov, who coached the Soviet Union's national team to 9 straight world championship titles, including three Olympic gold medals. The Red Army supplied the overwhelming majority of the national team's players. Fellow Hall of Famer Vladislav Tretiak attributes his success to Tarasov's stern training regimen, which formed the great international careers of Firsov, Ragulin, Alexandrov, Kharlamov, Mikhailov and Petrov, just a sampling of the Red Army's stars of that era. This scarcely-seen tie-neck wool sweater has its original number "15" sewn on the back, featuring a satiny red twill sewn on cream-colored white felt. Full-color UCKA crest is screened on the front as is the #15, in faded red on both the sleeves. The wool at the very bottom of the front of the lace-up collar is a little bit stretched where the stitching has let go from the red fabric panel inside the collar. Two long fly tags sewn into the inside of the seam along the top of the right shoulder include a washed-out tag and one with a sequence of unidentified numbers. (The sweater measures out to roughly a size 38 or 40.) To note are three small holes, one on the right sleeve and two on the back. They do not detract from the luster of this wondrous wool creation, which also displays a few light black stains on the back of the left sleeve and a small rust-colored stain on the front of the sleeve. Truly a rare find, this vintage UCKA Red Army game-worn sweater is sure to appeal to a wide range of collectors.
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