Born in Fremantle in 1914, Pola anglicised his name in 1928 on the advice of his mother, to preempt on-field ridicule during a state schoolboys' football carnival.

[2] Originally playing for Mount Hawthorn in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association, he soon progressed to a West Perth team playing in the Western Australian National Football Association (WANFA), which acted as a sort of reserves team for the senior club.

He also shared the 1941 Breckler Medal, awarded to the club's best and fairest player, with Ted O'Keefe.

[3] Pola joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in January 1943 as a leading aircraftman, and was discharged in February 1945.

[4] He returned to West Perth in 1945, and was again named captain, although only for one season, retiring two years later, after 152 games and kicked 203 goals for the club.