Thirty years after creating one of the most memorable moments in sporting history, Indigenous AFL legend Nicky Winmar tells his story in a moving and compelling memoir.
Sport is made up of moments that thrill us at the time and quickly disappear. Very few endure for decades. Even fewer transcend sport and speak to an entire nation.
April 17, 2023, marked the 30th anniversary of St Kilda legend Nicky Winmar's proud and defining stand against racism – one of those moments that hasn't diminished over time and regrettably is still just as relevant today.
It is a stand that has become iconic, and so has Winmar, not just for his courage as he declared to a hostile, jeering crowd 'I'm black and I'm proud to be black' – but also because he is one of the game's great and most celebrated players.
Born a Noongar man from the WA wheatbelt 200 kilometres from Perth, Neil Elvis 'Nicky' Winmar quickly displayed an ability to overcome adversity. He would need to. He had a hard upbringing but loved to play footy every day with his younger brother among the livestock on the sheep farm where their father worked as a shearer.
The skinny teenager soon began playing football amongst hardened men for the local team and was signed to a senior team as a promising fifteen-year-old. Winmar would go on to become one of the most decorated players in AFL history. Recently inducted into the illustrious AFL Hall Of Fame, a member of the Indigenous Team of the Century, the St Kilda Team of the Century, a winner of Best and Fairest and Mark of the Year awards, Winmar became the first Indigenous footballer to play 200 games.
This long-awaited autobiography tells the story of Winmar's brilliant career in colourful detail, as well as giving moving insight into his life. Amidst the pain, the turbulence and the triumph, his heart and abiding sense of humour shine through.
'One of the truly great players . . . an amazing talent . . . If actions speak louder than words then Nicky Winmar's actions were better than anyone's.' Tony 'Plugger' Lockett