1936 Soviet Top League
The 1936 season was the first season of the Soviet Top League. The season was split into two championships with a cup competition between them that took place in August 1936. The first part (considered spring) started in late May and finished by mid of July with a single match played by each participant against each other. The same format was resumed in the fall that started in September finishing before November. The main contenders for the title appeared to be the Moscow's Spartak and Dynamo.
Spring
| Season | 1936 spring |
|---|---|
| Champions | FC Dynamo Moscow |
| Relegated | none |
| Matches played | 21 |
| Goals scored | 85 (4.05 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | (6) Mikhail Semichastny (Dynamo M.) |
| Biggest home win | Spartak 6–1 Dynamo L. (June 10) |
| Biggest away win | Krasnaya Zarya 2–7 Dynamo K. (May 31) CDKA 1–6 Dynamo K. (June 11) |
| Highest scoring | Krasnaya Zarya 2–7 Dynamo K. (May 31) |
Overview
The first championship started on May 22, 1936, with the game FC Dynamo Leningrad - FC Lokomotiv Moscow 3:1 on the Dynamo Stadium in Leningrad.[1] The spring half finished on July 17, 1936, with two games in Moscow and Leningrad. During the season each team played another team once. The points were awarded in the following manner: three for a win, two for a draw, one for a loss, and none for no appearance. No teams were relegated to the B Group, instead it was extended to eight teams in the autumn championship.
League standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Republic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dynamo Moscow | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 | +17 | 18 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 2 | Dynamo Kiev | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 14 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 3 | Spartak Moscow | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 13 | |
| 4 | CDKA Moscow | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 18 | −5 | 11 | |
| 5 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 10 | |
| 6 | Dynamo Leningrad | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 9 | |
| 7 | Krasnaya Zarya Leningrad | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 21 | −13 | 9 | |
Rules for classification: Classification is done by points and then goal difference. Please, also note that FC Krasnaya Zaria won a match against their city-mates FC Dynamo 1:0 at Dynamo Stadium (Leningrad) on June 5, 1936. The decisive game that guaranteed the title for Dynamo Moscow took place on July 11, 1936, when they beat Spartak 1:0 at Dynamo Stadium (Moscow). The host team for that game was considered to be Spartak.[2]
Round by round
The following table is a historic representation of the team's position in the standings after the completion of each round.
Top scorers
- 6 goals
- Mikhail Semichastny (Dynamo Moscow)
- 5 goals
- Vasily Pavlov (Dynamo Moscow)
- Vasily Smirnov (Dynamo Moscow)
- 4 goals
- Georgi Glazkov (Spartak Moscow)
- Makar Honcharenko (Dynamo Kiev)
- Sergei Ilyin (Dynamo Moscow)
- Pavlo Komarov (Dynamo Kiev)
- Konstantin Shchegotsky (Dynamo Kiev)
- 3 goals
- Viktor Lavrov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
- Mykola Makhinya (Dynamo Kiev)
- Pyotr Nikiforov (Spartak Moscow)
- Yevgeni Shelagin (CDKA Moscow)
Medal squads
(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)
| 1. FC Dynamo Moscow |
|
Goalkeepers: Aleksandr Kvasnikov (5 / -2), Yevgeny Fokin (2 / -3). One own goal scored by Ivan Andreyev (FC Lokomotiv Moscow) Manager: Konstantin Kvashnin. Transferred in during the season: Nikolay Postavnin (from FC Krylya Sovetov Moscow). |
| 2. FC Dynamo Kyiv |
|
Goalkeepers: Mykola Trusevych (5 / -6), Anton Idzkovsky (2 / -5). Manager: Moisey Tovarovsky. Transferred out during the season: . |
| 3. FC Spartak Moscow |
|
Goalkeepers: Anatoly Akimov (4 / -5), Ivan Ryzhov (3 / -2). Manager: Mikhail Kozlov. Transferred out during the season: . |
| Group A 1936 Winners |
|---|
| FC Dynamo Moscow First title |
Stadiums
- Dynamo Stadium Krestovsky Island, Leningrad (Dynamo)
- Stadium of CDKA Sokolniki, Moscow (CDKA)
- Balitsky Dynamo Stadium Kiev (Dynamo)
- Dynamo Stadium Moscow (Dynamo, Spartak)
- Red Triangle Stadium Leningrad (Krasnaya Zaria)
- Lokomotiv Stadium Moscow (Lokomotiv) (called Stalinets at first)
- Lenin Stadium Leningrad (Krasnaya Zaria)
Note: Balitsky was Narkom of NKVD, later was executed during the Great Purge.
Autumn
| Season | 1936 fall |
|---|---|
| Champions | FC Spartak Moscow |
| Relegated | CDKA Moscow |
| Matches played | 28 |
| Goals scored | 117 (4.18 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | (7) Georgi Glazkov (Spartak) |
| Biggest home win | Lokomotiv 4–0 Dynamo L. (September 11) Dynamo Tb. 4–0 CDKA (October 8) |
| Biggest away win | CDKA 0–6 Dynamo M. (October 17) |
| Highest scoring | Dynamo M. 6–4 Dynamo K. (September 14) |
1937 → | |
Overview
This tournament was exact replica of the spring championship by the format of the competition, including the nomination of points. The Georgian FC Dynamo Tbilisi was admitted to the League expanding it to eight teams. The defending champion was FC Dynamo Moscow.
It opened with two games in Leningrad and Moscow on September 5, 1936, soon after the Soviet Cup final that took place just week prior to that on August 28. The season concluded on October 30, 1936, with three games in Moscow, Leningrad, and Tbilisi. It was then when Spartak Moscow by beating CDKA at their home turf (CSKA Stadium)[3] passed Dinamo Moscow in rankings to obtain the first place and with it the first national title.
League standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Republic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spartak Moscow (C) | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 10 | +9 | 17 | |
| 2 | Dynamo Moscow | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 16 | |
| 3 | Dynamo Tbilisi | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 16 | .svg.png){kind=spacer} |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Moscow[lower-alpha 1] | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 15 | |
| 5 | Krasnaya Zarya Leningrad | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 18 | −5 | 13 | |
| 6 | Dynamo Kiev | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 19 | −3 | 12 | |
| 7 | Dynamo Leningrad | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 12 | |
| 8 | CDKA Moscow (R) | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 20 | −11 | 11 | |
Rules for classification: Classification is done by points and then goal difference.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
- Lokomoyiv Moscow beat Dinamo Tbilisi in the Cup final 2:0. The first Soviet Cup edition took place exactly between the spring and the fall parts of 1936 seasons.
Round by round
The following table is a historic representation of the team's position in the standings after the completion of each round.
Top scorers
- 7 goals
- Georgi Glazkov (Spartak Moscow)
- 6 goals
- Mikhail Berdzenishvili (Dinamo Tbilisi)
- Sergei Ilyin (Dynamo Moscow)
- Viktor Lavrov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
- Boris Paichadze (Dinamo Tbilisi)
- Vladimir Stepanov (Spartak Moscow)
- 5 goals
- Mikhail Kireyev (Lokomotiv Moscow)
- Vasili Smirnov (Dynamo Moscow)
- Pyotr Terenkov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
- 4 goals
- Nikolai Makhinya (Dynamo Kiev)
- Viktor Shylovsky (Dynamo Kiev)
- Mikhail Yakushin (Dynamo Moscow)
Medal squads
(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)
| 1. FC Spartak Moscow |
|
Goalkeepers: Anatoly Akimov (6 / -6), Ivan Ryzhov (2 / -4). Manager: Mikhail Kozlov. Transferred out during the season: . |
| 2. FC Dynamo Moscow |
|
Goalkeepers: Aleksandr Kvasnikov (6 / -11), Nikolay Sokolov (1 / -1), Yevgeny Fokin. Manager: Konstantin Kvashnin. Transferred out during the season: . |
| 3. FC Dynamo Tbilisi |
|
Goalkeepers: Aleksandr Dorokhov (7 / -9). Manager: Gyula Limbek (until October), Grigoriy Pachuliya (since October). Transferred out during the season: . |
| Group A 1936 Winners |
|---|
| FC Spartak Moscow First title |
Stadiums
- Lenin Stadium Leningrad (Dynamo, Krasnaya Zaria)
- Stadium of CDKA Sokolniki, Moscow (CDKA)
- Balitsky Dinamo Stadium Kiev (Dynamo)
- Dynamo Stadium Aeroport, Moscow (Dynamo, Spartak)
- Lokomotiv Stadium Preobrazhenskoye, Moscow (Lokomotiv, CDKA) (Preobrazhenskoye is next to Sokolniki)
- Dynamo Stadium Tbilisi (Dynamo)
See also
- Soviet First League 1936
- Soviet Second League 1936
- Soviet Third League 1936
- Soviet Cup 1936
References
- Report of the first Soviet League game Archived 2018-05-28 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
- 1936 spring Calendar
- Report on CDKA-Spartak Oct. 30, 1936 Archived 2018-01-01 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)