Clean English translation of
Boris Mayorov's profile at the Russian site Championat:
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The man eventually became a seminal figure in the history of Soviet hockey, but there was a time when the great Starostin believed he would become a soccer player...
Anatoli Tarasov said:
"He had a great love for the game. He never sat on the bench peacefully, but struggled constantly in the crucible of competition. And when we let him out on the ice, he did not simply skate, but took off as though on wings. He was full of pride and ambition - conceded nothing, to no one. This includes the referees - though Boris was seldom sent off, in my opinion, he never once agreed with the decision when he was."
Anatoli Tarasov spoke thusly of our hero, and it is difficult to disagree with the legendary trainer.
The future two-time Olympic and many-time World Champion was born on February 11, 1938. He did not come into the world alone; his twin brother Evgeny also became a well-known hockey player and won a pile of gold medals, but Boris's career was more conspicuously great. This ingenious man was called Spartak's greatest player; fans of the red-and-white idolized him, and he repaid them with magnificent play. He fit with the team like a favourite stick fits a strong hand, and he never gave reason to doubt his devotion. Boris Aleksandrovich always set lofty goals for himself, and he always achieved them. He won his first medal long before he joined Spartak – at school. At that time, it was silver, but eventually he developed a taste of gold.
Mayorov treated every match against rivals CSKA and Dynamo like the last game of his life, and the legendary red-and-white line was irreplaceable.
The "extraterrestrial" 1961 World Championships in Switzerland were the first serious test for the Mayorov brothers and Vyacheslav Starshinov. Boris and Evgeny were 23 years old at the time, and Vyacheslav only 20, but they were already recognized as leaders of the national team – Tarasov held them in awe, teammates recognized their skill, and opponents were demoralized. This line scored three goals in a victory over Sweden (6:2) and three more in a loss to Czechoslovakia (4:6). The hero of our story became the leading scorer of tournament, with seven goals and ten assists, but that year, they wore only bronze.
Anatoli Tarasov said:
"During the game, he liked to receive the puck from the defense and quickly move it through the neutral zone with his linemates, attacking the opponent like a whirlwind. Boris did all of this not only with great passion, but also with a surprising beauty which could not help but leave an impression on the viewer."
This is how Tarasov described him. They say that because of Mayorov, fans at soccer stadiums began to shout "Puck...Puck"...Spartak fans thus supporting the famous hockey player even at soccer matches.
Boris Aleksandrovich was the real driving force of the line. Around the world, defensemen knew that when the puck got to this fast, agile forward, the goal was immediately in danger. After the defeat in 1961, for three World Championships in a row (including the 1964 Olympic Games), Mayorov and his linemates remained at the top of the hockey world. But then Evgeny Mayorov was dropped from the national team, and his place on the legendary line was taken by a succession of different players. None of them gelled completely with Mayorov and Starshinov, but the masters, though they may have grumbled, were true professionals, and did not allow it to affect their style or quality of play. As before, the famous Spartak linemates scattered their opponents and bulged the twine behind opposing goaltenders. After Mayorov's retirement from top-level hockey, no trace of the line's signature style remained. Starshinov's skill allowed him to become a world champion three more times, but Vyacheslav Ivanovich, alone, was not enough to preserve the line's great tradition.
The Spartak captain compiled very impressive statistics. In 400 games in the Soviet League, he scored 255 goals, and in 50 matches between the World Championships and Olympics, he scored 30 goals. Boris Mayorov was a real fighter, one who could not be driven into a corner because he attacked without interruption or rest. Some foreign commentators considered him to be a rude fellow, but Boris Aleksandrovich was simply very emotional. Unfortunately, he could be enraged by the provocation of opponents, but he compensated for going to the penalty box by scoring goals, so much so that provocateurs were left dumbfounded.
His soccer career was also of interest. Twice, Boris Aleksandrovich took the field for the Spartak senior team. This happened in 1961, at the beginning of his career, when the red-and-white played against Pakhtakor and Kayrat. The leaders of the country's sporting association, however, having learned of this decision by the Spartak coaching staff, gave Nikolay Starostin and Nikita Simonyan a real dressing down for letting Mayorov play. "If he is injured and cannot play hockey, we will be sunk at the World Championships", officials said. Starostin was forced to obey, though in personal conversations with Boris Aleksandrovich, he stated more than once: "I am embarrassed to look at you; you are a lost man. What a soccer player you could have become!"
However, soccer remained among Mayorov's favourite sports for a long time: he played for the Spartak senior team in the Moscow championship, and for the second team in the Soviet championships.
Everyone who knew Mayorov well understood his extraordinary dedication.
He was always willing to sacrifice himself for the common cause, putting team and teammates before himself. He entered any skirmish, any collision without fear, but with the smile and passion of a man who has lived his whole life on a raging sea, and fears not to jump into the rapids of a small river. Once Boris Aleksandrovich understood the burden of leadership – and that the great "Red Machine" could stall - he became a true leader, fired up his teammates, encouraged them. In the tensest situations, he always kept his focus, inspiring his teammates to smile, and joyfully go out and get one back or score still more goals.
This great forward could lay an absolutely unpredictable pass at the perfect time, could help his team on defense, block a shot, enter a scrum, work in on goal. And what clever passing! Sharp, quick movements allowed Mayorov to escape defenses and create scoring chances literally from nothing. And if he managed to get in on the goalkeeper, the latter was usually doomed – an easy feint, a twitch, an imperceptible movement of the stick - and the puck went into the net as if returning home. Often, he shot without windup, and the goalkeeper simply could not react to the puck flying past him.
(Picture complements of joe pelletier's website
