Name Jack Pollard | Role Journalist | |
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Died May 25, 2002, Sydney, Australia Books Australian Cricket: The Game and the Players | ||
Jack pollard your gonna miss my lovin
Jack Ernest Pollard (31 July 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an Australian sports journalist, writer and cricket historian.
Contents
- Jack pollard your gonna miss my lovin
- Early life
- Journalism career
- Publishing career
- Books on cricket
- Retirement
- Honours
- References
Early life
Born in Sydney, New South Wales on 31 July 1926, Pollard began his journalism career in 1943 as a copy boy at Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper. At the age of 18, he was called up to the Australian Army, but a foot injury sustained during an army rugby game saw him sit out nine months at Holsworthy Barracks. The injury may have saved Pollard's life as his assigned platoon was killed in action in New Guinea during World War II.
Journalism career
From 1945 to 1947, Pollard lived in post-war Japan working as a sports editor for the armed forces newspaper there. He returned to Sydney briefly, then moved to England, where he worked as a horse racing writer for a newspaper in Sheffield.
In 1948, he started work as a correspondent for the Australian Associated Press in London which included a regular column, sometimes serious, other times humorous.
He covered many major sporting events. He also covered events such as the 1948 Summer Olympics, ten Wimbledon Championships and the 1948 tour of England by Don Bradman's Australian cricket team.
Publishing career
Pollard returned to Sydney in 1956, where he worked as a sports reporter until starting his own publishing company (Jack Pollard Publishing), which specialised in books on sport and leisure topics. Pollard was a prolific writer and editor, who produced a large number of sporting reference books, including a definitive five-volume history of Australian cricket, encyclopaedias on rugby union, golf, horse racing and a series of popular fishing guides. He also wrote biographies for several sports stars including tennis players Lew Hoad and Rod Laver, cricketer Keith Miller and umpire Lou Rowan, golfer Bruce Devlin, rugby league players Ken Thornett and Johnny Raper, and VFL player Peter McKenna.
Books on cricket
Although Pollard's works included all Australian sports, it is his cricket writing that is considered an important part of his legacy. Books include such topics as:
Retirement
Pollard retired from publishing in 1981 to concentrate on writing.
He died on 25 May 2002, after suffering a stroke upon his return to Sydney from a research trip in Melbourne.
Honours
The Jack Pollard Literary Award is awarded annually by the Australian Cricket Society for the leading Australian cricket book published over the previous 12 months.