Gonzaga Athletic Hall of Fame
Hikin’ Ike Petersen was a 165-pound will-o’-the-wisp whom would-be tacklers often got to watch go by a couple of times on a run for Gonzaga football teams of the early 1930s. Probably his most storied run was an 85-yard punt return that broke open a scoreless game against Washington State, but Peterson, who starred at Spokane’s Lewis and Clark High School, was a versatile, two-way player: In one 1934 win, backing up the line, he intercepted two passes that led to touchdowns; in another he completed four of four pass attempts, three for touchdowns. His 1934 team compiled an 8-2-1 record, Gonzaga’s best-ever season against collegiate competition, and outscored opponents 162-71. Peterson, who ran for 79 of those points and passed for many of the rest, was named Little All-American by the Associated Press. He played in the National Football League with the Chicago Cardinals in 1935 and the Detroit Lions in 1936.
