Roy Cazaly’s extraordinary story is one of the great tales in the history of Australian Football. 

A veteran of 99 Swans games from 1921-24 and 1926-27, he also coached the club for 52 games 1922 and 1937-38.

Born in the depths of a depression, Cazaly overcame humble beginnings and personal setbacks to become one of the game’s most celebrated players. His sublime skills and thrilling aerial feats made him a legend, with his name carried into the modern era via Mike Brady’s hymn to football, ‘Up There Cazaly’.

In 1996, Cazaly became one of 12 inaugural Legends of the Australian Football Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was among the inaugural inductees into the Sydney Swans Hall of Fame.

A relentless self-improver, Cazaly shaped the game’s development, applied his own theories to fitness, training and teamwork, and coached teams to premiership success.

Away from the field, he enriched the lives of many more as a physiotherapist, horse trainer, philosopher and family man.

The story of the man behind the catchcry has been told in Robert Allen’s Cazaly: The Legend.

Through meticulous research gathered over 10 years, Allen draws on contemporary accounts, extensive interviews and rare family images to pay tribute to a man whose life coincided with the evolution of Australian Rules during the first half of the twentieth century.

“I wanted to write not only about a sporting icon, but to put his life into the context of what was happening around him – locally, nationally and even internationally,” said Allen.

Cazaly: The Legend is available now via the Swanshop. Visit: https://shop.sydneyswans.com.au/cazaly-the-legend-hardback