DOB: 15 December 1910
Died: 14 August 1999
Debut: Round 1, 1934 against Richmond at Punt Road
Last Game: Round 20, 1945 against Fitzroy at Brunswick Street
From: St Joseph's CBC North Melbourne/Old Paradians/University Blacks
Number: 17 (1934-1945)
Honours:
Premiership Player - 1939, 1940, 1941
Best First Year Player - 1934
Best and Fairest winner - 1935, 1936, 1941, 1942
Victorian state player - 1934, 1936
Captain - 1936 - 1940
Team of the Century member
Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee - 1996
MFC Hall of Fame - 2001
Life Member - 1945
150 Heroes selection
Games: 171
Goals: 77
Career Statistics
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Winning % | |
| 109 | 1 | 61 | 63.74 | |
Statistical categories led:
Most goals in jumper 17
La Fontaine was a dominant full-forward with Old Paradians (143 goals in 1929) before joining University Blacks. There he booted 247 goals in 24 matches for the school, including a personal best of 21 in an inter-collegiate game before being recruited by Melbourne. He was already a five season veteran of the district cricket scene, playing with North Melbourne and University.
Footscray argued that La Fontaine was residentially tied to them, but the VFL decided that by living on-campus at Melbourne University he could freely sign for the Reds. He argued that he had not lived for 13 straight weeks at Footscray anytime in the last four years and successfully won the right to play with Melbourne. Before the 1934 season he had announced that he wasn't going to play VFL football until he finished his university degree, but he changed his mind and debuted in the first game of the season.
After an inauspicious debut, La Fontaine kicked nine goals in just his second game but spent much of his career in the centre. He had often played there at Old Paradians, aided by good balance and agility, and played one more game in the forward line after his nine goal haul before going back to the centre.
He played every game in 1934 and excelled with his excellent delivery to the dangerous forward line. A late starter to the VFL at 24-years-old he was picked to play for Victoria in his first year.
Promoted to vice-captain in his second year, La Fontaine spent much of the year skippering the side after Colin Niven was injured. That year he won his first Best and Fairest. His amazing ability to swerve and weave out of trouble had turned him into one of the superstars of the competition. He finished fourth in the Brownlow Medal in 1935, and was considered one of the favourites in 1936 before coming equal fourth.
Splitting his time between football and a job in the oil industry, he was promoted to captain in 1936 - just his third year - and played in a representative game against the VFA. That year he'd had an unusual pre-season, sailing to and from the United States on a tanker along with teammate Audley Gillespie-Jones.
He lifted the B&F again in 1937, and that year he played for the VFL against the VFA again. During a trip to Sydney in August he was injured in a car crash, thrown against a jagged window and cutting an artery in his arm.
LaFontaine captained the club to the 1939 and 1940 Grand Final triumphs before handing over the reigns to Percy Beames who guided the side to the 1941 flag. There had been speculation before the 1940 season that he was going to retire and take up journalism.
Originally enlisting for the Army in 1942 and serving in the Armoured Division, La Fontaine later joined the RAAF and rose to the rank as captain. He was transferred interstate, not returning to league football until 1945. During his time in the services he played for Puckapunyal in 1942, and a combined services team against the VFL the same year. He captained the RAAF team in 1945.
He was later named as centreman in Melbourne's Team of the Century.
| Year | Games | Goals | Brownlow | |
| 1934 | 18 | 32 | 10 | |
| 1935 | 18 | 1 | 15 | |
| 1936 | 19 | 11 | 19 | |
| 1937 | 17 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1938 | 16 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1939 | 18 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1940 | 19 | 6 | 3 | |
| 1941 | 20 | 5 | 11 | |
| 1942 | 12 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1945 | 14 | 5 | 0 | |
As Coach
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | % |
| 56 | 25 | 0 | 31 | 44.64 |
First match as coach: Round 1, 1949 against Geelong at Kardinia Park
Last match as coach: Round 18, 1951 against Richmond at Punt Road
In 1946 St Kilda approached La Fontaine about a coaching job, but he declined.
Upon the retirement of Checker Hughes after the 1948 Grand Final victory, La Fontaine and Norm Smith were the only two applicants for the Melbourne job. La Fontaine had taken training several times throughout the year when the coach had been absent. With the committee split, and Smith supporter Francis Vine not present, La Fontaine prevailed on the casting vote of chairman Bill Flintoft.
The side were in contention the next year and made finals, but after that they rapidly fell to the bottom of the ladder and finished last in 1951. Midway through the year secretary Jim Cardwell had to deny there was dissention between players and the coach.
At the end of the season La Fontaine resigned but put himself up for reappointment. He was again thrown into a one-on-one vote with Smith for the job, and this time he come up one vote short. The season had been a disappointment but the 19 players who made their debut that year would go on to play a huge part in the side's next golden era.
Lists
Coaches
Overseas Born Players
Players who served during war
Notes
Some sources say he was born in France, this is incorrect. Contemporary newspapers suggest he resigned as coach in September 1951 rather than being voted out.
Also shown as from St Kevin's East Melbourne
His name is often spelt "Alan" in contemporary reports.
May have been born 05/12/1910
Media
Argus - 05/04/1934
Age - 06/04/1934
Sporting Globe - 16/06/1934
Argus - 27/04/1934
Argus - 28/04/1934
West Australian - 28/04/1934
Courier Mail - 04/01/1936
Sporting Globe - 17/06/1936
Age - 04/09/1936
Courier Mail - 05/08/1937
Sporting Globe - 27/04/1940
Sporting Globe - 10/06/1942
Age - 17/09/1942
Sporting Globe - 17/04/1943
The Australasian - 24/06/1944
Argus - 14/09/1945
Army News - 04/12/1945
Age - 22/10/1948
Argus - 27/06/1951
Age - 24/09/1951
Teamworks - December 1992
Links
Boyles Football Photos
Demonwiki image gallery
Melbourne University players
Wikipedia profile