Tarasov Dead At 76

Anatoly Tarasov, one of the founders of the Soviet Union’s medal-winning hockey machine, died today of a long illness. He was 76.

Tarasov, the head coach of the Soviet national hockey team for 24 years and the head coach of the Soviet hockey club CSKA for 29 years, died after a long illness, the ITAR-Tass news agency said.

Under his leadership, the Soviet national team won every world championship from 1962-71. His teams also won the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics, and 11 European Championships.