Harijs Mellups
Encyclopedia
Harijs Mellups was a Latvia
n football and ice hockey
player. Mellups died in a plane crash at age of 23.
in Riga
where he played football in the streets and in the winter - ice hockey on a frozen river. His first football club was Aldaris for which Mellups played as a left side forward. In addition to football Mellups played basketball
, was an ice hockey goalkeeper and also competed in boxing
. In boxing aged 18 Mellups was nominated for the Latvia national team. In 1945 he was the champion of Riga
in his weight division.
However by 1945 Mellups had decided to pursue his career in two sports - ice hockey and football.
In 1945 with FK Dinamo Rīga Mellups won the Latvian championship in football. Mellups had a very good goal sense and was highly skilled in playing one-on-one. In 1946 with Dinamo Rīga
he also won the Latvian championship in ice hockey, as a goalkeeper with Dinamo he allowed just 3 goals in the entire season.
In 1949 he transferred to Moscow
where he also played both football and hockey on the highest level. Every year from 1947 Mellups was selected in the symbolic selection of best players of the Soviet ice hockey league. Mellups died in a tragic airplane crash together with Roberts Šūlmanis and several other ice hockey players.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n football and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player. Mellups died in a plane crash at age of 23.
Biography
Mellups came from SarkandaugavaSarkandaugava
Sarkandaugava is a neighbourhood of Riga, Latvia.- Origins of the name :The name of the neighbourhood derives from that of the Sarkandaugava , a minor arm of the Daugava that formerly separated Pētersala from the mainland. As Riga developed and expanded, more and more of the Sarkandaugava was...
in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
where he played football in the streets and in the winter - ice hockey on a frozen river. His first football club was Aldaris for which Mellups played as a left side forward. In addition to football Mellups played basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, was an ice hockey goalkeeper and also competed in boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. In boxing aged 18 Mellups was nominated for the Latvia national team. In 1945 he was the champion of Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
in his weight division.
However by 1945 Mellups had decided to pursue his career in two sports - ice hockey and football.
In 1945 with FK Dinamo Rīga Mellups won the Latvian championship in football. Mellups had a very good goal sense and was highly skilled in playing one-on-one. In 1946 with Dinamo Rīga
Dinamo Riga
Dinamo Riga was an ice hockey club, based in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in 1946 and disestablished in 1995 as Pārdaugava Rīga.-History of Dinamo Riga:...
he also won the Latvian championship in ice hockey, as a goalkeeper with Dinamo he allowed just 3 goals in the entire season.
In 1949 he transferred to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
where he also played both football and hockey on the highest level. Every year from 1947 Mellups was selected in the symbolic selection of best players of the Soviet ice hockey league. Mellups died in a tragic airplane crash together with Roberts Šūlmanis and several other ice hockey players.