DOB: 11 November 1890
Died: 16 May 1970
MFC Debut: Round 2, 1915 against Fitzroy at Brunswick Street
Last Game: Round 4, 1921 against South Melbourne at MCG
From: Hawthorn College/Melbourne University/University
Number: 10 (1915, 1920-1921)
Games: 17 (98 total)
Goals: 2 (23 total)
Career Statistics
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Winning % |
| 9 | 1 | 7 | 52.94 |
Originally from Horsham, Brake was a talented schoolboy athlete who starred in athletics, football and rifle-shooting. At one point he held the Australasian pole vault record, and as a ruckman became one of the top University players during their brief stay in the VFL. He had previously trialled at Melbourne in the 1909 pre-season.
Brake represented Victoria in 1912 and other than a brief retirement in the middle of 1913 to open a business in Hamilton, he played with University until they folded at the end of 1914. Brake transferred to Melbourne in 1915, and even though his performances disappointed in comparison to his time at University, he helped the club return to the finals. Then the First World War interrupted, and when Melbourne went into recess his career was put on hold.
In November 1915, Brake enlisted in the Australian Infantry Force and served on the Western Front as part of the 8th Field Artillery Brigade from April 1916 to January 1917. In 1916 he played in Army games in London, initially representing the Training Units, before later playing in one game held in front of the Prince of Wales, King Manuel of Portugal and 3,000 other onlookers. That year he rose to the rank of Lieutenant, and served in the 29th Battery regiment.
After the First World War ended Brake returned to Melbourne and played six games across 1920 and 1921 before retiring. In his final years he spent most of his time working on his farm at Yering and wasn't able to train, appearing to play matches only. Brake served again in World War II despite being nearly 50 when the conflict began. At the time of rejoining the military Brake was a member of the Independant Tribunal which oversaw hearings against reported players. He remained on the tribunal through at least 1957.
As part of his day job he was a well known agriculturalist and president of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science.
Brake's brother William played in the 1915 pre-season games.
| Year | Games | Goals | Brownlow |
| 1915 | 11 | 1 | |
| 1920 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1921 | 3 | 1 | |
Lists
Players who served during war
University
Media
Maffra Spectator - 19/04/1909
Punch - 19/06/1913
Herald - 23/04/1915
Winner - 18/10/1916, 07/03/1917
Referee - 01/11/1916
Football Record - R8 1920, R8 1940, R1 1957
Age - 24/04/1939
Sporting Globe - 12/07/1941
Australasian - 26/02/1944
Links
Australian Dictionary of Biography
Demonwiki image gallery
Melbourne University players
Wikipedia profile