Jānis Anatolijs Bebris (28 July 1917 – 2 May 1969) was a Latvian footballer and ice hockey player. He was the main goalkeeper of Latvia national football team in the closing years of the 1930s, and represented Latvia at the 1936 Winter Olympics.[1] After World War II, Bebris played in West Germany and France.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jānis Anatolijs Bebris | ||
| Date of birth | 28 July 1917 | ||
| Place of birth | Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia | ||
| Date of death | 2 May 1969 (aged 51) | ||
| Place of death | Dover, New Hampshire, USA | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1933– | Union Riga | ||
| –1940 | Riga Vilki | ||
| 1941 | RDKA Riga | ||
| 1945–1947 | TSV Schwaben Augsburg | 53 | (0) |
| 1948–1950 | RC Strasbourg | 17 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1935– | Latvia | 21 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Biography
editBebris started playing football at the age of 16. Because of his then fragile body, he was immediately assigned the post of the goalkeeper. Playing with Union Riga Bebris soon attracted the attention of the national football team management, soon he moved to a stronger Riga club – Rīgas Vilki. Bebris made his début for Latvia at the age of 18 when Latvia played Lithuania in the Baltic Cup. In the following years Bebris alongside of Harijs Lazdiņš from Olimpija Liepāja was the leading goalkeeper in Latvian football. In total, he made 21 international appearance for Latvia.[2]
Bebris played with RV until the club was disbanded in 1940. In 1941, he played with RDKA Riga. During the Second World War, Bebris was forced to join the Red Army; then after being captured by the Germans, he was forced to side with them.[3]
After the war, Bebris landed in West Germany, where he played with TSV Schwaben Augsburg for two seasons in Oberliga Süd, making 53 appearances for the club in league matches.
In 1948, Bebris was transferred to France where he joined RC Strasbourg. In the years 1948 to 1949, he played 17 league matches as Strasbourg finished in a respectable 6th position in Division 1. In the next season he played just a single match as the club finished 17th and avoided relegation only thanks to liquidation of the professional club of SR Colmar. After the unsuccessful season Bebris retired from playing.
In the mid-1950s he moved to the USA where he coached football and ice hockey. He died there in 1969.
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jānis Bebris Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ Latvia – Record International Players
- ^ [Skate] Alfons Berzins (7 – 2 – 1916 // 16 – 12 – : msg#00096 Archived 16 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com
- Profile at RC Strasbourg website
- Janis Bebris at Olympics.com
- Jānis Bebris at Olympedia
- Jānis Bebris at the Latvijas Olimpiskā komiteja (in Latvian) (English translation, archive)
