Jack Stephen "Spike" Pola (born Giovanni Stefano Pola; 16 November 1914 – 6 January 2012) was an

Australian rules footballer Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

who played for the

West Perth Football Club The West Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Falcons, is an Australian rules football club located in Joondalup, Western Australia. West Perth competes in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW) and is the oldest exi ...

in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL). Born in Fremantle in 1914, Pola anglicised his name in 1928 on the advice of his mother, to preempt on-field ridicule during a state schoolboys' football carnival. Originally playing for Mount Hawthorn in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association, he soon progressed to a West Perth team playing in the Western Australian National Football Association (WANFA), which acted as a sort of reserves team for the senior club. In July 1935, he was selected in a WANFA representative side which toured the

Goldfields Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United State ...

. He made his senior debut for West Perth later that year. In 1941, Pola was named captain of West Perth, having served as

vice-captain Vice-captain, alternate captain (ice hockey) or vice-skip (curling) may refer to a role in a number of sports immediately below the role of captain. The vice-captain may have a number of different roles, including substituting as captain when the r ...

the previous year, and also played in West Perth's premiership side. He also shared the 1941 Breckler Medal, awarded to the club's best and fairest player, with Ted O'Keefe. Pola joined the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) in January 1943 as a leading aircraftman, and was discharged in February 1945. He returned to West Perth in 1945, and was again named captain, although only for one season, retiring two years later, after 152 games and kicked 203 goals for the club. Pola died in January 2012 at his home in

Mount Lawley Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

, and was buried at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

. He was the last surviving member of the 1941 premiership team.Cowan, Sean (2012)
Pola last link with great West Perth team
– ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, '' The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuous ...

''. Published 10 January 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pola, Spike 1914 births 2012 deaths Royal Australian Air Force airmen Military personnel from Western Australia Australian people of Italian descent Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II West Perth Football Club players