Wayne Gretzky

NAME Wayne Douglas Gretzky

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Known as “The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky is widely considered the greatest hockey player of all time. He set or tied over 60 National Hockey League (NHL) records, including career goals, assists, and points.

BIRTH Born January 26, 1961, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. 

FAMILY BACKGROUND Gretzky's parents are Walter and Phyllis Gretzky. His father, Walter, was a telephone technician and had a profound influence on Wayne's hockey career, coaching him and even building a backyard rink for him to practice on. His mother, Phyllis, was a constant source of support. Wayne is the eldest of five children; he has two brothers, Keith and Brent, and two sisters, Kim and Pam. 

Wayne’s brother Brent Gretzky briefly played in the NHL, recording 4 points in 13 games. Together, the brothers hold the NHL record for most points by two siblings: 2,861 (2,857 from Wayne, 4 from Brent).

The Gretzky family has Belarusian roots - his paternal grandfather Terenty Lavrentiyovych Gretzky emigrated from the Brest region (village of Ogdemer) in Belarus. Walter Gretzky worked for Bell Telephone Canada.

CHILDHOOD The family moved to a house on Varadi Avenue in Brantford when Wayne was seven months old, chosen partly because its yard was flat enough to make an ice rink. Wayne began skating at age two years, ten months, on his grandparents' farm. His father Walter built a backyard rink nicknamed the "Wally Coliseum" where Wayne practiced for hours, developing his skills. 

He first skated with organized hockey at age six, playing with boys four years older. In his final year of peewee hockey, he scored an extraordinary 378 goals and made 139 assists in one season for the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers. His exploits made headlines in the Toronto Telegram in 1971.

Gretzky was always smaller and less physically imposing than his peers, which forced him to rely on his mind, vision, and anticipation rather than physical strength. This led to his famous quote, "A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be."

EDUCATION Wayne Gretzky attended several schools during his youth, primarily in Ontario, Canada. He attended elementary school in Brantford, including W. Ross Macdonald School, and later moved to Toronto where he attended St. Michael’s College School to further his hockey career. He also took high school courses in Sault Ste. Marie while playing junior hockey but did not complete his high school diploma due to the demands of his professional hockey career, turning pro before graduation.

CAREER RECORD Gretzky's NHL career spanned 20 seasons (1979-1999) across four teams: Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and New York Rangers. His records include: 2,857 career points, 1,963 assists, 894 goals (regular season), 50 hat tricks, 15 seasons with 100+ points, and single-season records of 92 goals, 163 assists, and 215 points. He won nine Hart Trophies, ten Art Ross Trophies, and led four Stanley Cup championships.

APPEARANCE Wayne Gretzky stands 6 feet tall (183 cm) and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg) during his playing career. He was considered relatively small for a hockey player, lacking the typical size and physical presence of many NHL players. Despite his smaller stature, he was noted for his athletic build and graceful skating style.

Gretzky carried a boyish look through much of his playing career.

Gretzky in 2019, by Andre Forget - Andrew Scheer -

FASHION During his playing career and in his retirement, Gretzky's fashion is generally described as classic and understated. He is often seen in suits for formal events and casual wear like polo shirts and sweaters in his daily life.

Gretzky describes his personal style as conservative and practical. "I think I'm not as flashy as some other professional athletes might be. I'm more of a basic person as far as blacks and blues and browns sort of go," he said. (1)

He launched the "No. 99 Wayne Gretzky Collection" clothing line with Sears Canada in 2015, featuring casual menswear including mercerized cottons, cashmeres, and merino wool pieces.

CHARACTER Gretzky was admired for his humility, sportsmanship, and fierce competitiveness. He was outspoken against fighting in hockey, preferring skill to brawling. He was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play multiple times. Colleagues and teammates consistently describe him as hardworking, dedicated, and team-focused. His famous quote, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take," reflects his philosophy of taking opportunities.

SPEAKING VOICE Gretzky has a calm, measured speaking voice with a distinctive Canadian accent. In interviews and broadcasts, he comes across as articulate and thoughtful, often displaying his deep knowledge of hockey. His television work as a hockey analyst demonstrates his clear communication style and ability to break down complex game situations.

SENSE OF HUMOUR Despite his serious public persona, those close to Gretzky describe him as having an excellent sense of humor. He enjoys self-deprecating jokes, particularly about his golf game. He has shared humorous anecdotes, including hitting a Secret Service agent while golfing with President Ford and getting stickhandling advice from a young worker at the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

RELATIONSHIPS Wayne Gretzky married American actress and model Janet Jones on July 16, 1988, at St. Joseph's Cathedral Basilica in Edmonton in what CBC called "a wedding of royal proportions". They first met in 1981 on the TV show Dance Fever but began dating in 1987. The couple has five children: Paulina (born 1988), Ty (1990), Trevor (1992), Tristan (2000), and Emma (2003). They share common interests in sports.

Janet and Wayne Gretzky in December 2013 by Mingle MediaTV

MONEY AND FAME  During his NHL career, he earned approximately $46 million in salary and an additional $50 million from endorsements with companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, and McDonald's. His wealth also comes from business ventures including team ownership, real estate investments, Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery & Distillery, and various branded products.

He was one of the first hockey players to become a global superstar. Gretzky's fame skyrocketed after his blockbuster 1988 trade from the Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings, an event he found out about while babysitting future singer Robin Thicke. (2)

FOOD AND DRINK He maintains a comfortable lifestyle with regular family dining experiences.

Gretzky owns Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery & Distillery in Ontario, producing wine and whiskey. 

During his 1983 visit to Moscow, Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak introduced him to vodka. "We greeted him with bread and salt," Tretiak recalled. "I taught him how to drink vodka, so that it would not be difficult for someone not used to it – immediately, without breathing, wash it down with Pepsi-Cola. And that's how he liked it. We drank to hockey…" (3)

MUSIC AND ARTS Gretzky is a fan of classic rock and has been seen at numerous concerts. His wife, Janet, is an actress and a dancer, so he is also exposed to and supportive of the arts.

His daughter Paulina has pursued music and singing, studying opera at Michigan's Interlochen Center for the Arts.

LITERATURE Gretzky has co-authored several books, including his autobiography, Gretzky: An Autobiography. He co-authored the book 99: Stories of the Game which provides insights into hockey history and shows his storytelling ability and humor. The book demonstrates his deep knowledge of hockey culture and his appreciation for the sport's history and traditions. It was the best-selling Canadian book of 2016.

NATURE Raised skating on a backyard rink, Gretzky’s connection to winter landscapes is legendary. His various homes have featured extensive outdoor spaces and gardens.

HOCKEY CAREER Wayne Gretzky’s hockey career is the kind of thing that, if you didn’t have the record books in front of you, you might assume had been exaggerated in the retelling, like Paul Bunyan with a pair of skates. But no, every improbable statistic is real. Over the course of 20 NHL seasons—from 1979 to 1999—plus a brief warm-up year in the now-defunct WHA, Gretzky managed to rewrite so many parts of the sport’s history that it often feels as if he was playing a different game altogether.

Gretzky with the New York Rangers in 1997 by Hakandahlstrom (Håkan Dahlström)

Consider this: at the time he hung up his skates, he held or shared 61 league records, from the ordinary (most assists) to the slightly absurd (most hat tricks in the playoffs). And more than a quarter of a century later, 55 of those records are still his. Imagine writing your name on a chalkboard and watching generations of players fail to erase it. That’s Wayne Gretzky.

He did it while wearing the sweaters of four teams: the Edmonton Oilers (where he won four Stanley Cups and became a Canadian national treasure), the Los Angeles Kings (where he almost single-handedly convinced Californians that ice was something you could play a sport on), a brief stint with the St. Louis Blues (blink and you’ll miss it), and finally the New York Rangers, where he wound down his career without ever entirely winding down his knack for piling up assists.

And what numbers they were. In the regular season: 1,487 games, 894 goals, 1,963 assists, and 2,857 points. The assist number is particularly eye-watering—no one else is even close. He scored 50 hat tricks, which is enough to keep several haberdasheries in business, and in the playoffs he tacked on 122 goals and 260 assists, because why stop when the games really matter?

What made Gretzky remarkable wasn’t size or brute strength—he was never the most intimidating figure on the ice—but an almost spooky intelligence and anticipation. He became famous for lurking behind the opponent’s net, a place so synonymous with him that it earned the nickname “Gretzky’s office.” From there, he could see the whole rink, inventing passes and plays that other players didn’t realize were possible until the puck had already gone in. He was the only player ever to score 200 points in a season, and he did it not once, not twice, but four times. For good measure, he rattled off 15 seasons with 100 or more points, just in case anyone thought the earlier numbers were a fluke.

The trophies naturally followed. He was league MVP nine times, the top scorer ten, and a Stanley Cup champion four times with Edmonton in the 1980s. By the time he retired, the NHL threw up its hands and retired his jersey number, 99, across the entire league—the hockey equivalent of building a cathedral around your uniform.

His legacy is so towering that even the numbers don’t quite capture it. He wasn’t just the best at the sport; he changed the way it was played and where it was played. Hockey’s reach into America’s Sun Belt, into markets where snow was something you scraped off your freezer, can be traced directly to the years Gretzky spent dazzling crowds in Los Angeles.

Today, he’s remembered simply as “The Great One,” which is perhaps the most straightforward nickname in the history of sports. After all, what else can you call someone who, for two decades, turned professional hockey into his own personal art form?

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Golf is Gretzky's primary hobby outside hockey. He describes himself as passionate about golf despite admitting he's not particularly skilled at it, noting that his wife Janet is a better golfer than him. Gretzky has participated in numerous celebrity golf tournaments and owns a special Gordie Howe commemorative putter. 

SCIENCE AND MATHS Gretzky’s uncanny “hockey sense” has been compared to a kind of physics-in-action. His ability to anticipate where the puck would be required quick mental calculations and pattern recognition. His famous philosophy of skating "to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been" has entered business and motivational lingo.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Gretzky's core philosophy centers on continuous improvement, teamwork, and seizing opportunities. His belief that "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take" reflects an optimistic, action-oriented worldview. He emphasizes the importance of passion, hard work, and dedication in achieving success.

Wayne Gretzky  has strong connections to Catholicism through family members and his personal life. Gretzky's grandmother was Catholic, but there is no evidence that he or his immediate family observed or were formally raised in the Catholic faith. When  Gretzky married Janet Jones in 1988 at St. Joseph’s Basilica in Edmonton, there was public discussion because neither he nor Jones were formally Catholic.

POLITICS Gretzky generally avoids political controversy and maintains a non-partisan public stance.  He has met with various political leaders, but does not publicly affiliate himself with a specific political party. He served as executive director for Team Canada in international competitions, representing his country with pride while avoiding divisive political positions.

Gretzky with US President Ronald Reagan in 1982

SCANDAL Gretzky has largely avoided major scandals throughout his career. One notable incident wa in 2006, when his wife Janet Jones was implicated in "Operation Slap Shot," an illegal sports betting investigation involving Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet. Authorities alleged Jones placed significant bets (reports suggested up to $500,000) on various sports through the ring. While Gretzky was recorded on wiretaps discussing protecting his wife, he denied any personal involvement in gambling and was never charged.

MILITARY RECORD Gretzky pursued professional hockey from a young age and did not serve in the Canadian military.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Gretzky suffered several significant injuries during his career, including a fractured left ankle in 1992 and a serious back injury (herniated disk) that required surgery and caused him to miss 39 games in the 1992-93 season. He also sustained a concussion in 1990 after being hit into the boards. Despite these setbacks, he maintained excellent physical condition throughout his career and proved his resilience by returning to elite performance levels.

HOMES Gretzky currently lives in Jupiter, Florida, in an 8,200-square-foot home purchased from his son-in-law Dustin Johnson for $4.5 million in 2022. He previously owned a custom-built mansion in Thousand Oaks, California, designed by Richard Landry, which he sold for $17.6 million in 2022. The family has also owned properties in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and previously lived in various cities during his playing career.

TRAVEL Gretzky has traveled extensively worldwide, including a notable 1983 visit to Moscow as a guest of Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak. He visited Sydney, Australia, in 2016, touring landmarks and promoting hockey. He has traveled to China as a global ambassador for hockey development. His international travel often combines hockey promotion with tourism and cultural exchange.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Gretzky has popped up all over pop culture, from commercials to sitcoms to movies. He lent his voice to The Simpsons, made a cheeky cameo in D2: The Mighty Ducks, and even tried his hand at soap opera acting on The Young and the Restless in 1981, where he delivered the memorable line: “I’m Wayne from the Edmonton operation.” He’s since laughed at the role, poking fun at the idea of hockey’s most famous player moonlighting as a mafia boss.

Over the years, he’s turned up on Saturday Night Live Sports Extra, appeared in hockey documentaries too numerous to count, and been a regular presence on late-night and sports talk shows. Today, he continues to bring his insight to fans as an analyst for Turner Sports’ NHL coverage, keeping “The Great One” firmly in the spotlight long after his playing days ended.

ACHIEVEMENTS Four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Edmonton Oilers.

Ten-time Art Ross Trophy winner (NHL scoring champion).

Nine-time Hart Trophy winner (MVP).

Five-time Lady Byng Trophy winner (sportsmanship and skill).

His number 99 retired league-wide by the NHL.

Named Canada’s Male Athlete of the 20th Century.

Officer of the Order of Canada (1984)—though he didn’t receive it until 1997 because ceremonies conflicted with hockey seasons.

Still holds the record for most career goals, assists, and points.

Recognized worldwide as the face of hockey.

Sources (1) Si.com (2) Encyclopaedia of Trivia (3) Gateway to Russia