Gretzky, Wayne D.
Hockey
b. Jan. 26, 1961, Brantford, ONT
He is, simply, the "Great One," a player of unsurpassed skills who dominated hockey as no other single player has ever dominated a team sport.
Gretzky began playing professionally when he was only sixteen. After two minor-league seasons, he joined the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association in 1978 but was traded to the Edmonton Oilers after only 8 games. He scored 46 goals and had 64 assists and was named the league's rookie of the year.
The WHA folded and Edmonton moved in the NHL the following season, when Gretzky began putting up really big numbers: 137 points in 1979-80, 164 in 1980-81, 212 in 1981-82, 196 in 1982-83, 205 in 1983-84, 208 in 1984-85, 215 in 1985-86, 183 in 1986-87, leading the league each time.
A knee injury cut into his playing time in 1987-88 and he scored "only" 149 points, falling short of a ninth consecutive scoring title. Gretzky then announced that he no longer wanted to play for Edmonton and was sent to the Los Angeles Kings in a mammoth trade involving four other players, three first-round draft choices, and cash.
Gretzky led the NHL in scoring again with 142 points in 1989-90 and 163 in 1990-91. After slipping to 121 points in 1991-92, he underwent an operation for a herniated disc and missed the first 39 games of the 1992-93 season, when he scored 65 points in just 45 games.
Late in the 1995-96 season, Los Angeles traded him to the St. Louis Blues, who were fighting for a playoff spot. They made it, but were eliminated in the conference semifinals.
Gretzy then went to the New York Rangers as a free agent. He spent three seasons with the Rangers before retiring. The league also retired his famous No. 99; no other NHL player will ever wear it.
Gretzky holds or shares 61 NHL records. Among the highlights: Most points, 2,328, and most assists, 1,563, in a career; most goals in a season, 92 in 1981-82; most assists in a season, 163, in 1985-86; most points in a season, 215 in 1985-86; most goals, 110, most assists, 236, and most points, 346, in a playoff career; most games with 3 or more goals, 48; most seasons with 100 or more points, 13; highest average assists per game, 1.497, and points per game, 2.230.
The Associated Press male athlete of the year in 1982, Gretzky won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player a record 9 times, from 1980 through 1987 and in 1989, and the Ross Memorial Trophy as the top scorer a record 9 times, from 1981 through 1987, in 1990, and in 1991.
Gretzky was also great in international play, beginning in 1978, when the 16-year-old became the youngest player ever to participate in the World Junior Championships. Playing with and against players in the 18-20 age range, he was the tournament's with 8 goals and 9 assists in 6 games. During his career, Gretzky competed in seven other international tournaments and was the leading scorer in five of them. He's the all-time scoring leader in Canada Cup competition with 57 points on 17 goals and 40 assists in 31 games.
