Wayne Gretzky Biography

Fast Facts

• Holds or shares 61 records in the NHL, including most career points with 2,857 and most career goals with 894
• Won the Hart Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the most valuable player, in 1980, which was the first time the trophy had ever been given to a first-year player
• Was the first player to score more than 200 points in a single season in 1982, aided by a record 92 goals
• Was inducted in to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999, only months after retiring from the sport
• Spent much of his youth skating on the rink that his father built in their backyard when he was 6 years old
• Would often play in leagues for boys older than himself, still scoring 378 goals in his final year of peewee hockey despite the added difficulty
• Quote: "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take․"
• Best known as a former hockey player nicknamed "The Great One" for his many achievements on the ice
• During his career he played for the Edmonton Oilers, the St․ Louis Blues, the Los Angeles Kings, and the New York Rangers
• The Canadian government issued a dollar coin in his honor in 1983