ST KILDA Football Club legend Nicky Winmar has had a heart attack. The Saints were told yesterday that the 251-game midfielder, who also played at Western Bulldogs before retiring in 1999, had been ill.

Royal Perth Hospital told AAP he was in a stable condition.

Nicky Winmar at Victoria Park when St Kilda defeated Collingwood in 1993. Credit:Stuart Hannagan

Winmar, 46, is a two-time winner of the St Kilda best-and-fairest award and was twice All-Australian. He was the first Aboriginal person to play 200 games in the AFL, and was named in the Indigenous Team of the Century in 2005.



St Kilda FC Chief Executive Officer Michael Nettlefold said: "Nicky Winmar has a special place in the history of the St Kilda Football Club. From everyone associated with the club, we wish him a very speedy recovery."

Involved in several incidents of racial vilification during his career, a photograph of Winmar taken in 1993 has been described as one of the most influential images in Australian football history.

In a match for St Kilda against Collingwood in round four of the 1993 season, Winmar was racially abused by members of the Collingwood cheer squad, who called on him to ''go and sniff some petrol'' and ''go walkabout where you came from''.

In his last season for St Kilda in 1998, Winmar played 23 games and kicked 16 goals but was criticised during the match against Carlton in round 20 after spending much of the game fighting opponents, finishing with only eight disposals.