University (VFL) Generally regarded as one of university's few great players, Brake usually played in the ruck. He tried out with Melbourne in the 1909 pre-season. He was vice captain of the university side in
1913. ::It is good news to footballers to hear that Jack Brake, the champion follower, has arranged to come to town two out of every three Saturdays, during the season. He is at [the University's]
Dookie College, and is keenly anxious to play for the old team. In order to catch the morning train, it is necessary for him to motor-cycle 26 miles over rough country. He has to cover the same distance on returning on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings.
Victoria He represented
Victoria in
1912.
Melbourne (VFL) pre-AIF service The university team withdrew from the VFL competition prior to the 1915 season; and, along with his team-mates
Claude Bryan,
Jack Doubleday,
Dick Gibbs,
Roy Park, and
Percy Rodriguez, Brake was given a clearance to transfer from University to Melbourne.
Pioneer Exhibition Game (1916) Brake was stationed with the 3rd Division in London when an Australian rules match was organised for 28 October 1916 between two teams of Australian servicemen in aid of the British and French
Red Cross. Promoted as the
"Pioneer Exhibition Game of Australian Football in London", Brake represented the Third Australian Divisional Team against Australian Training Units at
Queen's Club,
West Kensington before an estimated crowd of 3,000, including the (then)
Prince of Wales (later
King Edward VIII), and
King Manuel II of Portugal.
Melbourne (VFL) post-AIF service As with many players at the time,
World War I severely interrupted his career. In May 1919, an unidentified former Melbourne footballer, wrote to the football correspondent of
The Argus as follows: ::"In 1914 the Melbourne football team,
after its junction with the University, was a fine team, and succeeded in reaching the semi-finals.Out of this combination the following players enlisted and served at the front:—
C. Lilley (seriously wounded),
J. Hassett,
H. Tomkins (severely wounded),
J. Evans (seriously wounded),
W. Hendrie,
R. L. Park,
J. Doubleday (died),
A. Best,
C. Burge (killed),
C. (viz., A.) Williamson (killed), J. Brake,
R. Lowell,
E. Parsons (seriously wounded),
A. M. Pearce (killed),
F. Lugton (killed),
A. George,
C. Armstrong,
P. Rodriguez (killed),
J. Cannole (viz., Connole),
A. Fraser (seriously wounded),
T. Collins.These are all players of note, and in themselves would have formed a very fine side, but there is only one of them playing at the present time, viz., C. Lilley, who, as a matter of fact, takes the field under some disability owing to severe wounds which he received on service." —
The Argus, 16 May 1919. Brake continued to appear sporadically for Melbourne after World War I, finally retiring in
1921 after 17 matches with Melbourne and 98 VFL matches over all.
VFL Trubunal Brake later became a member of the VFL Tribunal. ==Military service==