Keith Stackpole senior was a talented sportsman who played both cricket and football at an elite level, and wherever he played he always called Collingwood home. After the Second World War he played 20 cricket matches for Victoria making 1025 runs at an average of 34.16. As captain of the Collingwood District Club he was always ready to nurture young talented players.  His son, also Keith, went on to play Test cricket for Australia but always maintained his father was the better player.  They played together for the Collingwood club just once. It was the father's last match, the son's first. Stackpole senior was a magnificent player of spin bowling. Former Australian spin bowler, Lindsay Kline, always said the best players of spin he bowled to were the legendary Neil Harvey and Keith senior.

In winter, Stackpole exchanged his whites for football shorts and distinguished himself as a nuggety (165cm; 84kg) rover playing 128 games for Collingwood and Fitzroy. At Collingwood he was 19th man in Collingwood’s premiership teams of 1935 and 1936. In 1939 he left Collingwood for Fitzroy and his last game was their 1944 premiership in which he kicked two goals. After leaving Fitzroy he joined the Victorian Football Association club, Prahran, as captain and coach, kicking 85 goals in his first season. He also coached Fitzroy Second XVIII with the great Norm Smith coaching the Firsts.

For most of his life he lived in Collingwood in Sackville and Budd Streets, within walking distance of the Victoria Park ground, and worked as a bootmaker. In the 1930s he married Hannah Dunn, and they had one son, Keith.

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack; Holmesby, The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers.
Australianfootball.com/Keith Stackpole