Ēriks Pētersons

Ēriks Pētersons (1909 to 1987) was a Latvian footballer who also played ice hockey for his country. Born in Riga on 7 October 1909, he came to notice in 1928 when he moved from a third league side straight to Rīgas FK, the strongest club in Latvia, and he spent his whole career there. He began as a centre forward, then dropped back to central midfield without losing his eye for goal. Between 1929 and 1939 he won 63 caps for Latvia, scoring 21 goals, which made him the most capped Latvian international before the Second World War and the country's leading scorer of the twentieth century until Māris Verpakovskis passed his total in 2007. He also appeared in eight matches for the Latvian national ice hockey team. After the war he settled in the United States, played for the Chicago Viking club, and died in Michigan on 29 June 1987. In 2006 he was named among the eleven greatest Latvian footballers of the twentieth century.