Viktor Vlasov

Viktor Vlasov played football and volleyball and did track & field athletics in his youth and took up basketball with Dynamo Moskva shortly before World War II. His basketball career was interrupted by the war, when he served in the Soviet Army and he resumed playing basketball with Trudovye Rezervy Moskva in 1945. In 1946, Vlasov switched to Dynamo Moskva and played there until his retirement in 1959. With Dynamo, Vlasov won a Soviet title in 1948, silver at the Soviet Championships in 1956 and bronzes in 1957 and 1958. He was also runner-up at the 1950 Soviet Cup. A shooting guard, Vlasov was on the Soviet national team from 1949-55. He won Olympic silver in 1952, was the European champion in 1951 and 1953, and won bronze at the 1955 European Championships. After finishing his sporting career, Vlasov worked for nearly 40 years as a basketball coach with Dynamo Moskva, including as head coach from 1959-69.