Leif Petterson

Leif Petterson had a solid eight year career in the CFL from 1974 to 1981 as a wide receiver, splitting his time bet ween the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.  In his four years with the Riders, Petterson was used mainly as a backup receiver, hitting a high of 15 catches in his rookie season.  It was not lack of talent that kept Petterson from seing playing time as much as that fact that teams generally had room for one non-import starter at wide receiver - and the Riders had a good Canadian receiver in Steve Mazurak.  Petterson moved on to Hamilton and immediately saw his numbers go up with more playing time, recording 41 catches.  In 1979, Petterson had his best season with 56 catches and 836 yards in a sixteen game season.  Both those numbers were tops in the East in 1979, and Petterson was also named to the East All-Star team.  Petterson did not have as much success in his final t wo years in Hamilton, but he was still a dangerous receiver.  In his final season in 1981, Petterson had only 27 catches, but 7 of those went for touchdowns.  After hanging up the football cleats, Petterson launched a successful business career and as a colour commentator for CFL games on TV.  Leif Petterson passed away on July 30, 2008 at the young age of 57.

Games Played and Receiving
Team Year GP Rec Yds Avg Long TD
SASK 1974 16 15 237 15.8 31 3
SASK 1975 16 13 204 15.7 33 1
SASK 1976 16 10 161 16.1 37 3
SASK 1977 4 12 134 11.2 17 0
HAM 1978 16 41 557 13.6 38 0
HAM 1979 16 56 838 15 52 4
HAM 1980 14 34 486 14.3 42 6
HAM 1981 16 27 415 15.4 48 7
Kickoff Returns
Year Team KOR Yds Avg TD Long
1974 SASK 1 0 0 0 0
1975 SASK 0 0 0 0 0
1976 SASK 0 0 0 0 0
1977 SASK 0 0 0 0 0
1978 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1979 HAM 1 13 13 0 13
1980 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1981 HAM 1 0 0 0 0
Punt Returns
Year Team PR Yds Avg TD Long
1974 SASK 51 269 5.3 0 21
1975 SASK 4 42 10.5 0 15
1976 SASK 2 -5 -2.5 0 4
1977 SASK 0 0 0 0 0
1978 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1979 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1980 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1981 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
Fumbles
Year Team F FL OFR
1974 SASK 4 3 0
1975 SASK 0 0 0
1976 SASK 0 0 0
1977 SASK 1 1 1
1978 HAM 0 0 1
1979 HAM 0 0 1
1980 HAM 0 0 0
1981 HAM 0 0 0

 

 

 

 

1981 Jogo