František Tikal

František Tikal’s career spanned 17 seasons, and played for the same club all those years. Originally named Spartak Sokolovo, it was renamed Sparta Praha in 1956. The team won two national titles in the period that Tikal played for them. The defenseman was selected to play for Czechoslovakia 59 times, and won many medals with the team, although never a title. He played in seven World Championships (1957-1959, 1963-1967) and two Olympics (1960, 1964), winning two silvers in the World Championships and one in the Olympics. These tournaments also counted as European Championships, and he won nine medals in those, five silver and four bronze. In 1964 (Olympics) and 1965 (World Championships), he was chose as the best defender of the tournament. The 1960 Olympics were special for Tikal, as it was the first time in 12 years that he met his brother Zdeněk. Zdeněk had fled to Australia with their father after the communist rose to power in Czechoslovakia. Zdeněk, now calling himself “Steve”, was on the Australian team that was trounced by František’s team, 18-1. František Tikal was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2004.