Josef Černý, the Czech winger whose dominant play led him to amass double digits in Czech league, World Championship and Olympic titles in his playing career from 1956-79, today passed away at the age of 85.

After a brief career start in Plzeň, Černý joined Brno in 1958, where he would spend the next twenty seasons as part of a famed line alongside František Vaněk and Rudolf Scheuer, capturing seven straight Extraliga titles from 1960-66, and three consecutive IIHF European Cups (1966-68), twice winning the league’s scoring title (1964, 1970) and once the points title (1964).  After stints as a player-coach in Austria, Černý would make his way back to Brno as a coach in 1985, spending eleven non-consecutive years as coach before ending his hockey career in 2002. Černý was inducted into the Czech Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.

A native of Příbram, Černý joined the Czechoslovakian national team at the 1959 World Championships, the first of nine appearances, capturing Bronze. He would amass four Silver (1961, 1965, 1966, 1971) and four Bronze (1959, 1963, 1969, 1970) over his career, captaining the squad in 1970 and 1971, while his most famous appearance was in 1969, where he was part of the historic squad that defeated the Soviets twice in the tournament for the first time ever, less than a year removed from the Moscow-led Prague Spring. Černý would also play at four straight Olympics starting in 1960, winning Silver at Grenoble in 1968 and Bronze in Innsbruck 1964 and Sapporo 1972, being named to the tournament All-Star team in 1964. Černý would be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2007.

Our condolences go out to the Černý family, as well as the extended hockey community across the former Czechoslovakia on the loss of this national hockey legend.

Photo Credit: Echo 24 – IIHF – HHOF – IOC