Aleksey Uversky

Aleksey Uversky was born as an illegitimate son of a peasant girl but was adopted at the age of three by a merchant named Uversky. The midfielder played for various clubs in the first two years (1905-06) of his football career: Petrovsky, Natsionaly and Kolomyagi. In 1907 he joined Sport, one of St. Petersburg leading clubs at the time. With Sport he became champion of Saint Petersburg in 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1913 and winner of the cup in 1909 and 1910. With the St. Petersburg city team he won the championship of the Russian Empire in 1912 and placed second in the following year.

After playing one unofficial match with the Russian national team against England, Uversky had his official début at the 1912 Olympic Games, where he played against Germany in the consolation round. Later the same year, he won his second cap playing against Hungary. These were his only appearances with the national team. Uversky was also an excellent boxer and later boxing coach. In the 1930s, he coached the Leningrad voluntary sports societies “Vodnik” and “Moryak” producing national champions.

Uversky studied law in St. Petersburg parallel to his football career and headed the football department of the “Sport” newspaper in 1913. In World War I, he worked as a civilian in St. Petersburg hospitals and later for the Red Cross. For these services, he was awarded the Medal “For Zeal” and the Order of St. Stanislav. Uversky died during the siege of Leningrad in the spring of 1942.