Background

Ethnicity: Wayne's father's ancestry is typically described as either Belarusian, Ukrainian, or Polish. Gretzky's mother had English and Irish roots.

Wayne Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada; the second child and eldest son of Phyllis Leone (Hockin) and Walter Gretzky. Walter worked for Bell Canada (formerly the Bell Telephone Company of Canada, Ltd.).

Education

Wayne displayed an early interest in skating and received his first pair of skates when he was three years old. He learned to skate on the Ninth River near his grandfather's farm in Canning, Ontario, and at public rinks on weekends. But it was the rink built for him by his father behind the little house on Varadi Avenue in Brantford that received the acclaim of being the birthplace of his skating skills.

Gretzky was only six years old when he saw his first year in organized hockey. He scored one goal, the lowest yearly total of his career. Already Gretzky had mastered a unique skating stride. His dad's advice to "skate to where the puck's going to be" helped him score 196 goals in seventy-six games at the age of nine. Gretzky's father pushed his son to succeed and told him that the years of hard work would pay off when he became a successful hockey player.

As a sixteen-year-old in the Junior "A" league, Gretzky continued his high scoring and packed the arenas with fans eager to witness his skills. He wore number 99, because number 9 was still being worn by his idol, Gordie Howe. His slight build led one junior coach to suggest he pick an offensive position, where he could avoid body contact. This was the beginning of Gretzky's trademark spot: behind the opponent's net.

In 1975, Gretzky moved to Toronto to play for the Young Nats, where he won the league's rookie of the year award. Two years later, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds drafted him, and he again won rookie of the year honors. Gretzky had gone to school in Brantford and continued high school classes at Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational School but left before graduating to enter directly into professional hockey.

Career

By the age of 6, Gretzky was playing as an all-star in novice hockey with boys 10 and 11 years old. He progressed through organized age-group hockey, and in 1977 at the Junior World Cup competition, he was the youngest player and the leading scorer. Gretzky turned professional for the 1978-79 season, playing for the Indianapolis Racers in the World Hockey Association (WHA). His contract soon was sold to the Edmonton Oilers, who joined the NHL at the beginning of the 1979-80 season. As centre and team captain, Gretzky led the Oilers to four Stanley Cup victories (in the 1983-84, 1984-85, 1986-87, and 1987-88 seasons). Following the 1987-88 season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings.

Gretzky's finesse and speed revolutionized the sport, which had been known for its physical play. In his first season with the Oilers, he scored 51 goals and 86 assists (137 total points). In the 1980-81 season, he became the first player in NHL history to average more than two points a game. In the 1981-82 season, he set NHL regular-season scoring records for goals (92), assists (120), and total points (212). (He broke the latter two records in the 1985-86 season with 163 assists and 215 total points.) Gretzky won the Art Ross Memorial Trophy (leading NHL scorer) for seven consecutive years, from the 1980-81 to the 1986-87 season, and won it again in 1989-90, 1990-91, and 1993-94. He was the first player to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the most valuable player each season, for eight consecutive years (from the 1979-80 through the 1986-87 season), and he received it again in 1988-89.

Early in the 1989-90 season, Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's NHL all-time scoring record of 1,850 points (the total number of goals and assists), and late in the 1993-94 season, he broke Howe's record for career goals (801). In 1996, Gretzky was traded by the Kings to the St. Louis Blues. Later that year, he signed with the New York Rangers. With his 1,851st assist, scored in a 1997 game against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Gretzky broke yet another record, scoring more assists than any player had scored points in an NHL career.

Gretzky retired from professional play after the 1998-99 season. His career totals include 2,857 points and 894 goals. The NHL retired his jersey number (99) after his final game. Gretzky became a minority owner of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes in 2000, and he was named the Coyotes' head coach in 2005. The Coyotes struggled during Gretzky's tenure, and he resigned as head coach in 2009, which was the same year in which he lost his ownership stake when the team filed for bankruptcy and was subsequently purchased by the NHL. In 2016, he returned to the Oilers franchise as a partner and vice-chairman.

Achievements

• 

  Wayne Gretzky is a renowned former professional ice hockey player, who played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League. Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers, the Los Angeles Kings, the St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers during his long career. Nicknamed "The Great One," he has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players, and the league itself.
  
  At the time of his retirement at the end of the 1998-99 NHL season, Gretzky was the NHL's all-time scoring leader in goals, assists and points in both the regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs. He led the NHL in scoring a record 10 times, was captain of 4 Stanley Cup Championship teams, and was named the league's MVP a record 9 times. He is the only NHL player ever to score 200 points in a season, and did so 4 times in the span of 5 years. A great ambassador of pro sports, he was also named the NHL's Most Gentlemanly Player 4 times and was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada (their highest civilian honor) in 2009.
  
  Wayne's most notable awards include the Hart Memorial Trophy (most wins - 9), the Art Ross Trophy (most wins - 10), the Conn Smythe Trophy, the Lester B. Pearson Award (now Ted Lindsay Award), the Lady Byng Trophy and others.
  
  Upon his retirement in 1999, his trademark jersey No. 99 was retired by the NHL. The same year, Gretzky was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, making him the most recent player to have the waiting period waived.
  
  It's also worth mentioning, that a number of awards and trophies have been created under his name. These include the Wayne Gretzky International Award, the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award and the Wayne Gretzky Trophy. The Edmonton Minor Hockey Association also has an award named for Gretzky.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Gretzky: An Autobiography

    (Hockey's best-known superstar traces his professional and...)

    1990
  • 99: Stories of the Game

    (In this sports memoir, Wayne Gretzky weaves memories of h...)

    2016

Religion

Wayne Gretzky is known to be a family man, growing up around religion and passing these beliefs onto new generations.

Politics

In 2006, while not criticizing Canada for declining to participate in the invasion of Iraq, Gretzky praised then President of the United States George W. Bush and his handling of the conflict, saying: "the President of the United States is a great leader, I happen to think he's a wonderful man and if he believes what he's doing is right, I back him 100 percent."

It was during the 2015 Canadian federal election campaign, that Wayne supported the Conservative Party and then Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper. The former athlete also appeared in a campaign rally, praising Harper by calling him "wonderful to the country." The same year, Wayne supported Patrick Brown during his successful campaign for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

Views

Quotations: "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been."

"The day I stop giving is the day I stop receiving. The day I stop learning is the day I stop growing. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

"Only one thing is ever guaranteed, that is that you will definitely not achieve the goal if you don't take the shot."

"When you win, say nothing, when you lose say less."

"The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it."

"Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy."

"Most people marry their mother. I married my father."

Personality

Gretzky often speaks of himself in the third person.

Wayne loves to wear white suits and sport jackets. However, he doesn't like it, when they get dirty because of Sharpie pen marks, applied accidentally by fans, while signing autographs.

Physical Characteristics: When Gretzky entered the league in 1979, critics opined that he was "too small, too wiry, and too slow to be a force in the NHL. His weight was 160 pounds (73 kg), compared to the NHL average of 189 pounds (86 kg) at that time. However, he had remarkable physical stamina. Gretzky possessed an exceptional capacity to renew his energy resources quickly. He also had strong general athletic skills.

Interests

• soap opera

• Athletes

  Gordie Howe

Connections

While serving as a judge on Dance Fever, an American musical variety series, Gretzky met actress Janet Jones. They were married on July 16, 1988, in a lavish ceremony the Canadian press dubbed "The Royal Wedding." The couple gave birth to five children - Paulina, Ty, Trevor, Tristan, and Emma.

Father:

Walter Gretzky

(born October 8, 1938)

Walter Gretzky used to be an avid hockey player and a keen analyst of the game in his youth. He played a key role in Wayne's phenomenal success as a player.

Mother:

Phyllis Leone (Hockin) Gretzky

(born October 14, 1941 - died December 19, 2005)

Wife:

Janet Jones

Janet Jones (born January 10, 1961) is an American actress.

Son:

Trevor Gretzky

Trevor Gretzky (born September 14, 1992) is a former minor league baseball player.

Daughter:

Paulina Gretzky

Paulina Gretzky (born December 19, 1988) is an American model. Since 2013, she has been engaged to Dustin Johnson, an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. The couple gave birth to two sons.

Daughter:

Emma Gretzky

(born March 28, 2003)

Son:

Tristan Gretzky

(born August 2, 2000)

Son:

Ty Gretzky

(born July 9, 1990)

Ty Gretzky played hockey at Shattuck-Saint Mary's, but quit the sport, and attended Arizona State University.

coach:

Murray MacPherson

(born February 19, 1938 - died April 15, 1997)

Murray MacPherson was a professional ice hockey goaltender and coach.

Friend:

Brett Hull

Brett Hull (born August 9, 1964) is a Canadian-born American former ice hockey player and general manager. Currently, he is an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL).

References

• Wayne Gretzky A book by Matt Doeden.
  2007
• Wayne Gretzky: The Authorized Pictoral Biography An authorized, profusely illustrated biography of the hockey player, complemented by dozens of interviews with friends and family, along with an appendix of statistics, follows "The Great One" from his boyhood to his mastery of the game and world-wide renown.
  1994
• Wayne Gretzky: Greatness on Ice The work surveys the life and career of the hockey player, describing his ability to read the game and consistently make the right moves, which earned him records for scoring year after year.
  2010
• 99: Gretzky: His Game, His Story Published with Wayne Gretzky's cooperation, this is the definitive biography of the greatest player that hockey has ever seen.
  2013
• Wayne Gretzky's Ghost: And Other Tales from a Lifetime in Hockey A book by Roy MacGregor.
  2011
• Facing Wayne Gretzky: Players Recall the Greatest Hockey Player Who Ever Lived A book, edited by Brian Kennedy.
  2014
• Wayne Gretzky This mini-biography of the hockey star discusses Gretzky's childhood, his early professional career, his move from Canada to Los Angeles, his marriage, and his performances on the ice.
  1992
• Who Is Wayne Gretzky? Known for his love for family and as a truly decent human being, Wayne Gretzky is revealed as more than a sports legend in this easy-to-read biography.
  2015
• Unbreakable: 50 Goals in 39 Games: Wayne Gretzky and the Story of Hockey's Greatest Record Unbreakable: 50 Goals in 39 Games, Wayne Gretzky and the Story of Hockey's Greatest Record sets out to chronicle that unforgettable streak of 39 games in the fall of 1981, when a 20-year-old wunderkind from the town of Brantford, Ontario, captured the imagination of not just the hockey world but the world at large and emerged as both the game's biggest star and it's most recognizable face.
  2016
• Wayne Gretzky's Facebook
• Wayne Gretzky's Twitter
• Official Website of Wayne Gretzky