#99

Wayne Douglas Gretzky was born January 26, 1961, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. He was the oldest of five children born to Walter and Phyllis Gretzky. At an early age, Walter knew his son had a special talent. Being a former amateur hockey player himself, Walter had Wayne skating in a makeshift backyard rink at the age of three. At age six, Wayne was already playing on the local Brantford Novice All-Star team.

Wayne continued his prodigal development and was the only Canadian playing in the 1977 Junior World Cup tournament in Montreal. In addition to being the youngest player in the tourney, Wayne was also the leading scorer. The following year, Gretzky began playing pro-hockey for the Indianapolis Racers in the World Hockey Association. Late that season, Wayne was sold to another WHA team -- the Edmonton Oilers. This was the beginning of a long love affair with the city of Edmonton.

the "great one" is born

When the failing World Hockey Association merged with the National Hockey League in 1979, Wayne continued to take his talents to the next level. He became the youngest MVP in league history. He also became the youngest to notch 50 goals and 100 points in a season. Wayne's stock grew even higher, as the next season he represented Canada internationally at the Canada Cup.

In his first eight years in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky accomplished something no one had ever accomplished before; he led the league in points in each of those years. During the '80s, Gretzky captained the Oilers to four Stanley Cups, earning playoff MVP in 1985 and 1988.

the next phase

In the summer of 1988, Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for several players, Bernie Nicholls being the most notable. He went on to become the most prolific scorer of all-time. On October 15, 1989, in only his 780th career game, Wayne Gretzky surpassed Gordie Howe for first place with his 1851st career point in a game against Edmonton.

But, it wasn't all smiles for Wayne in Los Angeles. The Kings were not as good as his former team, the Oilers. He did not win four consecutive Stanley Cups with the Kings. In fact, Gretzky did not win the Stanley Cup for the remainder of his career. The closest he came to a championship with the Kings was in 1993. After his only injury-plagued season of his career in which he played only 45 games, Gretzky became healthy enough to amass an astonishing 40 points in 24 playoff games.

The Kings faced the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup finals. After winning the first game of the series, the Kings had a late lead in Game 2 and appeared to be taking a stranglehold on the series. But, a shrewd request to check the curvature of Kings defenseman Marty McSorley's stick by the Canadiens resulted in a penalty. On the subsequent power play, Montreal tied up the game and went on to take the series.

#99 forever

In 1994, Wayne Gretzky broke the last meaningful record of his career, scoring career goal number 802 in a March 23rd game against the Vancouver Canucks. That same year, he went on to win his tenth scoring title and his fourth of five Most Sportsmanlike awards. In 1996, Wayne was traded to the St. Louis Blues and the following year he played for the New York Rangers. In April of 1999, Gretzky announced his retirement after 21 seasons in the NHL. He finished his career with countless NHL records and trophies.

Currently, Wayne is part owner of the Phoenix Coyotes. He is also preparing Team Canada for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Whatever his next move may be, you can bet it will be carried out with class, dignity, grace, and intelligence.

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