Known as “Ivanych” to his teammates and “Killer” to his esteemed opponents, Alexander Dolgushin was one of the most feared defensive players during the 1960s and 1970s. Coaches praised his ability to oppose the most powerful opponents leading to his crowd-attention rivalry with Hungary’s giant scorer, Istvan Szivos, Jr., at the 1972 Olympic Games, resulting in the gold medal for his team.
His dominance helped his teams to also win the 1975 World Championships and two European Championships. He competed on the National Team for over a decade.