About Nicky Winmar
Neil Elvis "Nicky" Winmar (born 25 September 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his career for St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL), as well as South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). A Noongar man from the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, he was the first Aboriginal footballer to play 200 games in the AFL, and was named on the half-forward flank in the Indigenous Team of the Century in 2005. Winmar began his career with South Fremantle, playing 58 games at the club before being recruited prior to the 1987 season by St Kilda. In a twelve-season career with St Kilda, Winmar won the club's best and fairest award, the Trevor Barker Award in 1989 and 1995, and was also twice named in the All-Australian team. Like many other Aboriginal footballers, Winmar was subjected to racial abuse during his career. Following a 1993 match, Winmar famously responded to racist heckling from opposition fans by lifting his guernsey and pointing to his skin―a moment captured in a photograph that quickly became a symbol of Aboriginal pride and is widely regarded as a catalyst for the AFL's efforts to address racism within the game. Described as one of the most memorable images in Australian sporting history, it has had a lasting impact on Australian sporting culture. Winmar left St Kilda at the end of the 1998 season and was drafted by the Western Bulldogs, playing one further season in the AFL before retiring at the end of the 1999 season. Having represented Western Australia in eight interstate matches, Winmar was named in St Kilda's Team of the Century in 2003 and was inducted into the West Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Winmar was also part of the Australian Football Hall of Fame from 2022 to 2026, before being removed after being convicted of assaulting a woman in 2026. His status in the St Kilda Hall of Fame is currently suspended. After an outstanding season in 1989, Winmar won St Kilda's best and fairest award and was also named in the VFL's Team of the Year on a half-forward flank. Aged 15, he won a senior best and fairest in an A-grade local competition.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.