Obituary: Farewell to Peter, a true all-round sportsman

Former inter-county footballer Peter “Fraz” Fraser, one of Shetland’s most talented all-round sportsmen, died earlier this month aged 68.

He was born in Lerwick, his parents having earlier moved to the isles from the Banffshire fishing village of Whitehills, and became involved in various kinds of sport at an early age.

He was a table tennis champion and a competent badminton player, while as a golfer he won many trophies including the Shetland Open.

Peter was the winner of the first Shetland snooker championship, held in the Lerwick Legion in 1985, and as a darts player he won the Shetland doubles twice, the mixed doubles with his wife Jenny twice, lost twice in the final of the Shetland singles and played in several inter-county matches against Orkney.

Friend and team-mate Graham Wiseman recalled that in one cricket darts final in the Thule Bar Peter was up against a player from Bressay, only needing to score 20 to win while his opponent required three bulls. Then someone stuck their head round the door and said the ferry would be leaving in five minutes. The Bressay man took aim and, incredibly, found the middle with all three darts. Peter had a wry look, shook the winner’s hand and uttered the words “that was a classic”, one of his favourite sayings.

Peter himself was a class act, Graham said, and he would be sorely missed.

Football was perhaps Peter’s greatest passion, however, and he was one of Charlie Moar’s “Celtic” boys before signing for Lerwick Spurs in 1963. There he was a prominent team member, both on and off the field, for the next six or seven years.

He had represented Shetland at junior inter-county level as a Celtic player in 1958 and with his new club he went on to gain four senior inter-county caps in 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1968.

Former Spurs team-mate Jim Peterson said: “Despite not being large in stature, Fraz was well able to compete in every way with his larger opponents. Not only was he quick and strong as a full back but he had an incredible ability to leap for the ball either on the run or from a standing start.

“He was also of course a popular member of the ‘motley crew’ who represented Spurs in Tvøvøyri and Suderøy in Faroe during the two-week ‘sunshine’ trip of 1968, and regularly took his guitar to Dublin in the Green.

“There was real camaraderie in the Spurs 1960s squad, both on and off the field, and that has remained ever since. Fraz will not be forgotten by his mates and the Spurs club members, both past and present, pass on their sympathy and best wishes to his family at this sad time.”

Peter is survived by his wife Jenny, daughters Lynette, Janice and Shona and their families.