Gretzky, Wayne

Wayne Gretzky

1961-

Canadian hockey player

The dominant figure in the National Hockey League (NHL) during his twenty-year career in the majors, Wayne Gretzky more than lived up to his nickname, "The Great One." After making his debut in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers in 1979, Gretzky earned the league's Most Valuable Player honors nine times over the next ten seasons. The top scorer in the NHL every season between 1981 and 1987, Gretzky also won top scoring honors three more times between 1990 and 1994. From 1984 to 1988 the Oilers dominated the NHL, winning four Stanley Cup championships; on the way to two of those victories, Gretzky picked up the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' Most Valuable Player. In addition to these achievements, Gretzky also helped to expand the popularity of hockey into America's growing Sunbelt cities after he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. Although the Kings never reached the heights that the Oilers had attained, Gretzky remained, by consensus opinion, the top player in the NHL as well as one of its most popular personalities in the 1990s. In his retirement as a professional athlete, Gretzky has retained the respect

of his peers and the public by directing Canada's men's hockey team to its first Gold Medal in fifty years in the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games in 2002. His other challenges included managing the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, a team that he partly owned, and raising a family with wife Janet Jones, whom he married in 1988.

Early Success in Hockey

Born on January 26, 1961, Wayne Donald Gretzky was the second child and eldest son of Walter and Phyllis (Hockin) Gretzky. The Gretzkys raised their five children—one daughter and three other sons in addition to Wayne—in a small, three-bedroom home on Varadi Avenue in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The elder Gretzky had played junior-league hockey in his youth and started to give his sons informal lessons in the sport as soon as they started skating. The Gretzkys even transformed their backyard into a hockey rink every winter and opened it up to the neighborhood's kids. The Gretzkys enjoyed having their sons play hockey where they could keep an eye on them, even if it meant having the kitchen floor marred by the constant exposure to skate blades.

Gretzky also played hockey on the frozen surface of the River Nith, which ran through his grandparents' farm in nearby Canning, Ontario. He even practiced some of his shots with his grandmother with a rubber ball and toy hockey stick. From his parents and grandparents, who were hard-working immigrants of Belarusian and Polish heritage, Gretzky also learned self-discipline, perseverance, and humility. As Walter Gretzky explained in his 1984 memoir Gretzky: From the Back Yard Rink to the Stanley Cup, "We've made it clear that once you started something, you finished it. School project, sport, hobby, it made no difference. You finished what you started, like it or not, because if you do it early in life you'll do it later, too. We wanted them to learn early: in everything you do, you follow through." This ingrained attitude would eventually prove crucial to Gretzky's long-term success in the NHL.

Joining his first hockey team at age six—a full four years before the minimum age requirement for the league—Gretzky scored just one goal in the first season. His improvement in subsequent years was astounding, particularly because he remained one of the youngest and smallest players in the league. In his fifth year of league play Gretzky racked up 378 goals in a sixty-nine-game season, a feat that made him a local, and increasingly national, celebrity. With the success also came criticism from some of the parents of other players, who accused Gretzky's father of pushing his son's career at the expense of their sons. Walter Gretzky, who worked at Bell Canada, was indeed active in guiding his son through the junior ranks, but the charges seemed motivated by simple jealously. As he later wrote in his memoir, "There was just this small minority of parents trying to chop Wayne down to their size. They razzed him, they insulted him, they complained to coaches that he was getting too much ice time. Some of them would sit there at games with pencil and paper, marking the times Wayne came on and off the ice and when their own kids did, and taking the lists over to the coaches as soon as the game ended." It also seemed incomprehensible that a player of such small stature—even in his NHL days Gretzky, at six feet tall, weighed in at just 185 pounds—could outplay opponents much larger than himself.

Chronology

1961	Born January 26 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada to Walter and Phyllis Gretzky
1967	Begins playing hockey with local team
1975	Moves to Toronto to play for Young Nationals
1977	Plays for Sault-Sainte Marie Greyhounds in Ontario Hockey Association
1978	Plays for Indianapolis Racers and Edmonton Oilers in World Hockey Association
1979	Becomes NHL player when Edmonton Oilers are absorbed into the league
1984	First Stanley Cup victory (with Edmonton Oilers)
1988	Marries Janet Jones on July 16
1988	Begins playing for Los Angeles Kings
1996	Begins playing for New York Rangers
1999	Retires as professional athlete
2002	Serves as executive director of Canadian men's hockey team at Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games

Rapid Ascent Through the Ranks

Dismayed by the negative reaction of some of the parents of other Brantford players, the Gretzkys arranged to have their son move to Toronto, about sixty miles away, to play in the junior league's Toronto Young Nationals team when he was fourteen. The move proved controversial when the Ontario Minor Hockey Association attempted to block the transfer, citing Gretzky's plan to live with the family of the team's manager and not his own family. Eventually he got clearance to play for the Nationals in the junior division against players who were as much as six years older. Even though the challenge was a greater one than he had anticipated when he left Brantford, Gretzky stayed in Toronto for two years and continued to make headlines for his outstanding accomplishments.

Gretzky's next move was also controversial. Although his parents had a gentleman's agreement with the teams in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) that Gretzky would not be drafted by any team further than 100 miles away from Brantford, the Sault Sainte Marie Greyhounds drafted the sixteen-year-old anyway. The Gretzkys were outraged, but the team's managers arranged for their son to live with a family that they had previously known in Brantford, which allayed some of their fears. With seventy goals and 112 assists in sixty-four games, Gretzky earned Rookie-of-the-Year honors in the OHA. He also took on the number that would remain on his jersey for the rest of his career: ninety-nine. Although Gretzky wanted to adopt the number nine in honor of his hero, the Detroit Red Wings' Gordie Howe , the number was already taken, so his coach suggested that he take on two number nines.

Makes NHL Debut in 1979

Gretzky spent just one year with the Greyhounds; as a seventeen-year-old, he jumped to the World Hockey Association's (WHA) Indianapolis Racers in 1978. The WHA had been stared in 1972 as a competitor to the NHL and, unlike the older league, did not exempt players younger than eighteen years of age from playing. Like the other teams in the WHA, the Racers were on the brink of bankruptcy and were forced to trade Gretzky to the WHA's Edmonton Oilers after just eight games. He finished the 1978-79 season with a total of 104 scoring points to again take the Rookie-of-the-Year title, this time for the WHA. The following year Gretzky became an NHL player when the WHA disbanded and the Oilers were one of the few teams to be absorbed into its rival.

Because he had played in the WHA, Gretzky was ineligible for the NHL's Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in his first season. If he had been eligible, he almost certainly would have won the honor. Instead, with fifty-one goals and eighty-six assists, Gretzky had to be satisfied with the Hart Trophy as NHL's Most Valuable Player and the Lady Byng Trophy as Most Gentlemanly Player. He would go on to win the Hart Trophy every year through 1987. In 1981 he started a five-year string of Lester B. Pearson Awards as Player of the Year, given by the National Hockey League Players Association, and a seven-year run as the as NHL's top scorer, symbolized by the Art Ross Trophy. In terms of his string of successes in the 1980s, Gretzky had no rival in the NHL.

First Stanley Cup Victory in 1984

Along with center Mark Messier , Gretzky transformed the Oilers into one of the best-ever teams in the history of hockey. Although the team was disappointed in a four-game sweep by the New York Islanders in the 1983 Stanley Cup finals, the Oilers returned the favor in a five-game series the following year. The Oilers emerged as champions again in 1985, 1987, and 1988, with Gretzky gaining honors as the playoffs' Most Valuable Player in 1985 and 1988.

Awards and Accomplishments

1980-87, 1989	Hart Trophy as NHL's Most Valuable Player
1980, 1992, 1994, 1999	Lady Byng Trophy as Most Gentlemanly Player in NHL
1981-85, 1987	Lester B. Pearson Award as Player of the Year, National Hockey League Players Association
1981-87, 1990-91, 1994	Art Ross Trophy as NHL's top scorer
1984-85, 1987-88	Stanley Cup as NHL champion (Edmonton Oilers)
1985, 1988	Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player in Playoffs
1999	Induction into Hockey Hall of Fame

The Great One

A role model on and off the ice, Gretzky transcended the sport. He was a magician who conjured virtually anything he pleased—and Canadians love him for it.

Hollywood will no doubt make a movie about Wayne Gretzky some day, and it will have to include the scene where he plays his last game in Canada, in Ottawa against the Senators. It happened like this last week: Gretzky and his New York Rangers, who had already been eliminated from playoff contention, were playing the home team to a draw, thus denying the Senators a chance to boost their own playoff position. Yet with 4:45 left in the third period, during one of Gretzky's shifts, the crowd began to chant 'One more year! One more year!' Then, minutes later during a stoppage in play, the big-screen scoreboard above centre ice replayed highlights from Gretzky's career, and the PA system played Carly Simon's 'Nobody Does It Better.' The crowd rose in tribute, and players on both benches stood, too, banging their sticks against the boards and on the ice in the quintessential hockey salute.

Source: James Deacon, Maclean's, April 26, 1999.

The Stanley Cup victories, along with Gretzky's seemingly endless series of individual awards, made him into the best-known player in hockey by the mid-1980s. In a country that favored hockey as its national sport, Gretzky became a uniquely Canadian hero: despite his awesome accomplishments, he remained resolutely down-to-earth, without a hint of scandal to tarnish his wholesome image. This humility and approachability made him into a favorite of fans and players alike. From 1981 to 1985 and again in 1987, Gretzky won the Lester B. Pearson Award as Player of the Year, given by the NHL Players Association.

Marries and Moves to Los Angeles in 1988

On July 16, 1988, Gretzky married actress Janet Jones in Edmonton, an event that the media dubbed "Canada's Royal Wedding." The media soon heaped scorn on Jones in the months after the wedding when the Oilers announced that they had traded Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings. Oilers owner Peter Pockington insinuated that Jones had pushed for the trade because she wanted to be closer to her acting jobs; the couple countered with the fact that the Oilers were in financial trouble and that Pockington had come up with the possibility of trading Gretzky on his own, pocketing $15 million and other considerations for the deal. As the controversy died down, Gretzky prepared to join the Kings and revive a team that rarely enjoyed sold-out games. With his star power as the draw, sports fans in southern California indeed began following the team's fortunes.

It was with the Kings that Gretzky attained one of his most significant records on October 15, 1989: the alltime points record of 1,850 held by Gordie Howe. Gretzky eventually racked up 2,857 points in the course of his career, yet he never claimed another Stanley Cup. The closest he came was in 1993, when the Kings lost in the finals to the Montreal Canadiens in a five-game series. His level of play remained superior throughout the 1990s, however, and he claimed his tenth Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer in 1994.

Retires in 1999

Gretzky was traded late in the 1995-96 season to the St. Louis Blues and jumped to the New York Rangers the following year. He stayed with the Rangers for the final three seasons of his twenty-year NHL career and surprised many fans by announcing his retirement in 1999. When he concluded his career, Gretzky was the holder or co-holder of sixty NHL records. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999.

Although his achievements as an athlete were legendary, Gretzky made a smooth transition into a career as a business owner in the years after his retirement as a player. As part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, he took an active role in rebuilding the team and popularizing hockey in another Sunbelt city. He also remained a national hero in Canada by helping the men's Olympic hockey team win a Gold Medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

Career Statistic

Yr	Team	GP	G	AST	PTS	+/−	PIM	SOG	SPCT	PPG	SHG
Blues: St. Louis Blues (NHL); Kings: Los Angeles Kings (NHL); Oilers: Edmonton Oilers (NHL); Rangers: New York Rangers (NHL).
1979-80	Oilers	79	51	86	137	+15	21	284	18.0	13	1
1980-81	Oilers	80	55	109	164	+41	28	261	21.1	15	4
1981-82	Oilers	80	92	120	212	+81	26	369	24.9	18	6
1982-83	Oilers	80	71	125	196	+60	59	348	20.4	18	6
1983-84	Oilers	74	87	118	295	+76	39	324	26.9	20	12
1984-85	Oilers	80	73	135	208	+98	52	358	20.4	8	11
1985-86	Oilers	80	52	163	215	+71	46	350	14.9	11	3
1986-87	Oilers	79	62	121	183	+70	28	288	21.5	13	7
1987-88	Oilers	64	40	109	149	+39	24	211	19.0	9	5
1988-89	Kings	78	54	114	168	+15	26	303	17.8	11	5
1989-90	Kings	73	40	102	142	+8	42	236	16.9	10	4
1990-91	Kings	78	41	122	163	+30	16	212	19.3	8	0
1991-92	Kings	74	31	90	121	+12	34	215	14.4	12	2
1992-93	Kings	45	16	49	65	+6	6	141	11.3	0	2
1993-94	Kings	81	38	92	130	+25	20	233	16.3	14	4
1994-95	Kings	48	11	37	48	+20	6	142	7.7	3	0
1995-96	Kings	62	15	66	81	+7	32	144	10.4	5	0
	Blues	18	8	13	21	+6	2	51	15.7	1	1
1996-97	Rangers	82	25	72	97	+12	28	286	8.7	6	0
1997-98	Rangers	82	23	67	90	+11	28	201	11.4	6	0
1998-99	Rangers	70	9	53	62	—	14	—	—	—	—
TOTAL		1487	894	1963	2857	—	577	—	—	—	—

A dynamic competitor on the ice, Gretzky's self-effacing attitude in public made him into one of the most respected and even beloved figures in the sport's history. Without peers in terms of his achievements, he nevertheless retained an almost personal connection with hockey fans. The dominant player of his generation, Gretzky also helped to expand the NHL's popularity into markets that had not previously supported winter sports. It was this accomplishment that Gretzky focused on in his retirement, as he told Ashley Jude Collie of Hockey Digest in January

2002. "From my point of view, hockey's on the upsurge. It's heading in the right direction and I expect big things. It's always going to be extremely strong in the traditional U.S. cities and Canada. But our popularity is also extremely strong in Europe…. Over the next ten years, I think you'll find more and more kids in the U.S. will become hockey players. It's a wonderful sport and I just see more kids wanting to participate in the NHL."

Where Is He Now?

In early 2001 Gretzky became an owner of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes franchise. With his management team he worked to stem the Coyotes' massive financial losses in the previous season and began trading players to come up with a younger, more aggressive lineup. He emphatically denied any rumors that he himself might return to active play. As he told Ashley Jude Collie of Hockey Digest in January 2002, "I miss [hockey] tremendously. But I don't even have a pair of skates at home, and that's OK. When it's time to retire, it's time to move on. I may skate a little bit with the guys during the season. But my playing days are behind me. Believe me, I'm done."

In 2001 Gretzky agreed to serve as the executive director of the Canadian men's hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. The challenge put him squarely back in the public eye in Canada, which had not won a Gold Medal in the event in fifty years. In a country that considered hockey its national sport, the pressure was intense on the team to sweep the event. After an early round loss, the Canadians rebounded to make it to the final medal round against the United States and came away with the victory. Gretzky was given much of the credit for keeping the team focused throughout the competition.

Gretzky has been married since 1988 to actress Janet Jones, who continues to make film and television appearances. After being knocked out by a pane of plexiglass during a New York Rangers game in 1997, Jones offered the memorable and widely reported quote: "I kind of stopped the impact with my face." The Gretzkys are the parents of three children, Paulina, Ty, and Trevor.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Diamond, Dan, ed. Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1998.

Gretzky, Walter and Jim Taylor. Gretzky: From the Back Yard Rink to the Stanley Cup. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1984.

Sadowski, Rick. Los Angeles Kings: Hockeywood. Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing, 1993.

Taylor, Jim. Wayne Gretzky: The Authorized Pictorial Biography. Buffalo: Firefly Books, 1994.

Periodicals

Collie, Ashley Jude. "He's Not Like Mike—Or Mario." Hockey Digest (January 2002): 18.

Deacon, James. "The Great One." Maclean's (April 26, 1999): 16.

Deacon, James. "How Sweet It Is!" Maclean's (March 11, 2002).

Deacon, James and Susan McClelland. "Wayne's New World" Maclean's (November 22, 1999): 62.

Farber, Michael. "The Great Ones." Sports Illustrated (March 4, 2002): 42.

Jones, Terry. "Telling It Like It Is." Edmonton Sun (August 12, 1988).

Other

"Biography for Janet Jones." Internet Movie Database Web site. http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Jones,+Janet (November 7, 2002).

"October-November 1997." BBS Hockey Quotes Web site. http://www.bbshockey.com/quotes/quote17.htm (November 9, 2002).

"Wayne Gretzky." Internet Hockey Database Web site. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=2035 (November 9, 2002).

Sketch by Timothy Borden