‘Football is my life’
Local footballing legend honoured for contribution to 'The Beautiful Game'.
BRIAN Peterson started his footballing career as a midfielder at U11 level for Park View Primary School, bright eyed and eager. That twinkle of passion and love for ‘The Beautiful Game’ still remains today, some 44 years after his retirement from the game, both as a player and coach.
He was honoured last week by ExPro, an organisation of ex professionals, for his long standing commitment to the game.
Peterson is recognised as one of the legends of the game in Durban having played for Durban United, Durban City, Berea Park (amateur), English league one team, Blackpool and most notably the South African national team. He ended his footballing career as a coach for Virginia United.
He spent six years at Blackpool in the 1950s and 1960s, making over 100 Football League appearances for the club. “Playing in the top echelon of the league was difficult. You trained five days a week and played on the sixth day, and it was cold,” he recalled. “There were no subs back then, so every game was a full 90 minutes plus.”
The 77-year-old said he didn’t realise how idolised Sir Stan Matthews was until he played alongside the Blackpool legend. “We were in a long queue outside a Cardiff cinema complex and one of the managers decided to speak to the man in charge. No sooner had he mentioned Stan’s name, we were pushed to the front of the line.
“In our game against Lecister, we were driving down on Boxing Day and some supporters asked us if Stan was playing and he had decided not to travel with the team for that match. So we said ‘no he wasn’t playing’, the supporters just turned around and left.
“That just speaks volumes about his legendary status among the supporters in England,” he said.
After leaving Blackpool, Peterson returned to South Africa to play for Durban United and Durban City.
“The most important thing for any footballer is having the love and support of your family and I’ve always had that with my wife, June, and son, Kevin,” he said.
Career stats
Berea Park (amateur)
1956 – 1962 Blackpool (Played 103 games scoring 16 goals)
1962-1968 Durban United (Played 172 games scoring 71 goals)
1969 Durban City (Played 21 games scoring two goals)
