Newcastle Olympic pay tribute to driving force Jim Papas

Papas served on the Olympic committee for more than 30 years, spending two decades as president, and was granted the club's first life membership.

He was also groundsman at the club's home, Darling Street Oval, for more than a decade, before illness forced him to step aside.

Long-time Olympic secretary Con Gounis said Papas, a former player with the now defunct local club Pan-Hellenic in the 1960s and 70s, joined the new Greek club's committee in the mid-1980s when they were in fourth division.

He became president in the early 1990s, around the time of the club's rapid rise to the top division. They won the fourth, third and second-tier titles in consecutive seasons to earn their spot in first division for 1992.

Gounis said Papas was instrumental in helping the club build the required grandstand and lighting at Darling Street Oval for their elevation to the top league.

"We needed the grandstand and better lights and basically Jim was the project manager, the driving force, the boilermaker, along with a half-a-dozen guys," Gounis said.

"Then he was the groundsman there for 10-15 years, mowing it and marking it, and only stopped four or five years ago.

"He lived literally 100 metres from the ground and you would often drive past and he would be looking at the grandstand planning about what we needed to do.

"He spent a lot of time there and you could say it was his extended family.

"He was certainly a major driver in getting the club where it is.

"He loved the game."

Gounis said Papas was a fierce protector of his club and the ground he helped build and maintain.

"He didn't mince his words with coaches and players, on the committee and with referees," he said.

"He had his opinions and he wasn't scared to say them."

Papas' grandson, Reece Papas, has played first-grade with the club in recent years.