Est.1947

On December 27, 1947 Director of Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant Isaak Zaltsman signed an order that established the first hockey school in Chelyabinsk and South Ural region, as well as the first hockey team. Before 1953, it bore the name of Dzerzhinets, between 1953 and 1958 it was called Avangard Chelyabinsk. Since 1958, it has been named Traktor.

The first ever team captain was Viktor Vasilyev. Before serving in the army, he worked as a fitness instructor in Verkhny Ufaley. He then moved to Chelyabinsk and became head coach of the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant’s football and hockey teams.

Traktor (or Dzerzhinets, to be precise) played its first game on January 1, 1948, beating Torpedo Gorky 11:2. Pyotr Chernenko scored six goals, Viktor Shuvalov – four, and one goal was scored by Sergei Zakhvatov. In a repeat game two days after, Dzerzhinets claimed another victory, this time with the score of 7:4. Viktor Shuvalov scored four goals once again, Sergei Zakhvatov tallied two goals, Pyotr Chernenko – one.

Happy birthday, Traktor!