Western Eagles
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| Full name | Western Eagles Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Polonia, Eagles |
| Founded | 13 August 1950 as Polonia S.C. |
| Ground | Polish Club, 19 Carrington Drive Albion, Victoria |
| Capacity | 2,000 |
| Chairman | Adam Jaskulowski |
| League | Victorian State League Division 4 West |
| 2016 | 10th |
| Website | Club home page |
Western Eagles FC is an Australian soccer club based in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria.
The club's foundation meeting was held on 13 August 1950, at 93 Brighton Road, St.Kilda. The meeting decided that the Club would be known as "Polonia Soccer Club".
KS Polonia was one of the powerhouses of Victorian and Australian soccer in the 1950s and 1960s, before making a brief revival in the 1980s. The club has since fallen to the lower reaches of the Victorian system, and currently participates in the Victorian State League Division 4 West.
With the conclusion of the Second World War, many Poles were unable to, or did not want to return to their homeland for various reasons and as such made the decision to emigrate to Australia and begin a new life for themselves and their families. They were ex-servicemen and women, displaced persons, etc.
As Poles have done for countless generations, they began to form various organizations to uphold their old traditions and their identities, to elevate their homesickness, finding solace with their own kind in a strange and at times inhospitable new land. Sport has always been a major enjoyment to Poles and as such a Polish Soccer Club was inevitable.
The foundation meeting was held on 13 August 1950 at 93 Brighton Road St Kilda. The Meeting was an initiative of Jacek Wyszogrodzki, Honorable Secretary of Polish Association in Victoria. The first committee was elected on 27 August 1950 and consisted of Wladyslaw Kowalik – President, Wiktor Kwiatkowski – Hon. Secretary, Franek Skowronski – Treasurer, Kazimierz Zielinski – Team Manager, Boleslaw Mlewski – Coach, Mieczyslaw Terlikowski – Team Manager. The meeting decided that the Club would be named Polonia Soccer Club.
“Polonia” being Latin for Poland and the colours of white and red adopted. Polonia played its first game in late 1950, against JUST(holders of the World Cup) and defeated them 4:3. The club's first official game took place at Williamstown Racecourse, defeating Geelong United 3:1, on April 7, 1951. It was the beginning of a meteoric climb and the beginning of the golden fifties and sixties for the Club. Polonia became 4th Division Champions in their first season of existence 1951, 3rd Division Champions 1952 winning the league without dropping a single point ! In 1953 Polonia finished Division 2 Runners-up winning promotion to Division 1, and becoming World Cup Champions . Destroying all opposition. Players, who starred in these early days and will be remembered by many were Stefan Czauderna and Robert Zablocki, pivot for the Victorian team that played the touring England team in 1952. Stasek Galecki was the best left wing in the State at the time and Augus Dziura, a fine goal scoring center forward. By 1954 Polonia had climbed into the First Division, losing just one league game in 3 years. It had taken only four years to get from the bottom to the top of the Victorian soccer pyramid structure.
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