Book #133: Gretzky by Wayne Gretzky

 

Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky

 Released: January 1st, 1990

My 63rd book for 2025 was Wayne Gretzky’s "Gretzky".  

The "Great One" was a huge hockey player back in the day.  By the time I as old enough to watch sports, he was a member of the New York Rangers which is how I always remembered him.  I had no idea that he was such an iconic figure back into the 1970's.

I was never a big fan of Gretzky as a child.  Growing up in Pennsylvania, my friends were Pittsburgh Penguins fans.  Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr were the heroes of the day.  I had heard of Gretzky, and knew that he was a good hockey player, but I only ever saw him on SportsCenter every morning.  

Sportscenter aside, my first true experience of Wayne Gretzky was the 19th episode of Saturday Night Live's 14th Season from May 13th, 1989.  Gretzky hosted that night with Fine Young Cannibals as the special guest.  The episode has long been downplayed as an example where a sports star didn't transition well into the field of comedy.  However, it remains one of my favorite episodes because of the Wayne's World sketch feature Gretzky and Wayne Campbell facing off in a fun-natured hockey goal-scoring contest for the affections of Gretzky's wife, and some of the other skits as well.  I still remember some summer as a child in the early 2000's, where I recorded the shortened episode off Comedy Central with a VCR, and then used it to make a VHS and later DVD out of it.  I would print off pictures and tape it along with a sketch listing to the cassette box to look like a "real" VHS tape.

The book showcases Gretzky's rise as he learned to skate by the age of two, joined various junior hockey leagues growing up, getting into the World Hockey Association by age 17, and then the NHL at age 18 when his team was admitted into the league.  The majority of the book discusses his time with the Edmonton Oilers, where he won 4 Stanley Cups in the 1980's.  Later on, he would do the same with Los Angeles and New York, but the book was written in the height of his fame and would not be able to cover the later successes of the Great One.  The book also talks about his person life, marrying Janet, having his daughter Paulina, and his relationship with his family members.

Admittedly, I'm not the biggest fan of hockey.  I love going to games and seeing it in person but watching it on TV is difficult for me.  My mind wanders a lot.  I do get envious sometimes seeing friends and other fans go big into it.  It seems like an exciting experience.  I know Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, and Adam Sandler showcased their love of the sport in their various films (Wayne's World, Happy Gilmore).  I always thought it would be super exciting to go back in time and truly experience the Oilers in their championship glory, or see the L.A. Kings in Los Angeles in the early-90's.  Perhaps had I lived through then, it would have been different for me.

That last part hyper-fixates me.  I have a strange obsession with the late-80's and early-90's, so reading about Gretzky hopping all over Los Angeles in 1988-1990 was pretty exciting.  I remember in Wayne's World 2, Garth gets a Stanley Cup video tape from Sports Illustrated and both he and Wayne play street hockey in their warehouse dwelling.  While I gravitated more towards the NFL, I always wanted to be them growing up.

The worst part of the book (and I don't mean quality-wise) is where he discusses what happened with the trade from Edmonton to Los Angeles.  He achieved great success there, and the owners not only wasted him, but they would actively spread malicious rumors about him to other owners and the media.  It's no wonder why good people are hard to find in the world today, when you have people doing everything they can, to harm your character.  Wayne is by all accounts a gentleman and a great man, and for others to suggest otherwise seems demeaning.

I really enjoyed reading it, but moreover it was fascinating to learn so much about a guy I had heard so much of throughout the years.  

Here is what I learned:

—————

• In memory of John Mowat who inspired many a young athlete in Ontario. - W.G.
• For Betty Jane, the Gretzky of mothers. - R.R.
• Travel is the worst part of a pro athlete’s life.
• Gretzky’s first training camp with the Los Angeles Kings was in September 1988.
• Bruce McNall owned the Los Angeles Kings.
• Peter Pocklington owned the Edmonton Oilers.
• Luc Robitaille was the NHL’s 1987 Rookie of the Year.
• Wayne Gretzky learn to skate at 2 years old.
• Walter Gretzky was Wayne’s father, coach, best friend, and mentor.
• Phyllis Gretzky is his wife.
• One time while fixing a teletype machine, a secretary asked where his dad was from.  Walter responded Branford, and the lady asked if she knew Wayne Gretzky.  When he affirmed, she went off about how overpaid and terrible he was. A later phone call brought out her embarrassment for insulting his son in front of him.
• Walter Gretzky worked for Bell Canada.
• Wayne retired his dad when he started making big money.
• Walter drove the same old model blue Chevrolet stations wagon for years.
• Gretzky’s heritage is Russian-Polish.
• His grandfather Tony started the day with a shot of wine at 7am.
• His grandmother Mary loved professional wrestling.
• Tony died in 1973, and affected Wayne hard.
• Mary died at 85 after a 13-years battle with leukemia.
• His aunt Ellen has Down syndrome.
• His sister Kim lived in his grandparents house that was supposed haunted by them.
• His grandmother was the first person he ever scored a goal on.
• He and his family always watched “Hockey Night In Canada”.
• Wayne once broke his grandfather’s window with a puck immediately after he replaced the previous one.
• His father built him his own ice rink in the background yard.  He would cut the grass super short, pack out the backyard with a layer of snow. Then leave the sprinkler on all night.
• His father once sent his mother to get a lawn sprinkler only for her to return angry because people found her crazy for “buying a lawn sprinkler in February [In Canada]. 
• He grew up on Varadi Avenue.
• “The only way a kid is going to practice is if it is total fun for him.”
• He made the Brantford Atom League at age 6 (normal starting age was 10).
• One day Wayne came home upset over not having won a trophy, and his dad comforted him.
• "Wayne, keep practicing and one day you're gonna have so many trophies, we're not gonna have room for them all."
• At age 10, he scored 378 goals in 69 games.
• The record has never been broken or approached.
• Wayne was first known as “The Great Gretzky”.
• His friends call him “Gretz”.
• Other towns would advertise him as an attraction.
• He would switch jerseys with his goalie Greg Stefan, to avoid fame.
• Greg would misspell his name “Gretsey”.
• Parents would consider him a “puck hog”.
• He left home at age 14 to play hockey in Toronto.
• He was drafted by Salt Ste. Marie in 1977.
• Gretzky never got his high school degree.  He is one credit short.
• He was thrown in jail as a prank.
• The NHL didn’t allow underage juniors to go pro, so Gretzky tried for the World Hockey Association.
• The WHA used florescent orange pucks.
• Canadian entrepreneur Nelson Skalbania owned two rough running Rolls Royce’s.
• Gretzky signed his first professional hockey contract at 17 with a $250,000 sign-on bonus.
• The contract was a personal contract, so the owner retained his rights, and not the team.
• His first pro team was the Indiana Racers.
• He was traded to Edmonton when his first opportunity fizzled out.
• He got along well with his roommate Ace Bailey in Edmonton.
• He was taught to get an extra set of car keys, so he could lock his car with the engine running during cold Canadian winters.
• One time, he and Ace woke up 10 minutes before a game.  Gretzky arrived one minute before he was to hit the ice.  Ace arrived late and showered with his gear on to give the impression of sweat.  Management and the coaches never noticed.
• Coach Slats would instigate the opposing crowd and players.
• He was ultra competitive and would change hotels if they lost an away game.
• The NHL brought Edmonton into the league the year Wayne turned 18.
• Gretzky was a rookie 5 straight years due to league changes.
• Toronto Sun reporter Paul Rimstead once fell victim to a hazing event known as “The Shave”.  This involves a person being tricked into being tied up and their genitalia shaved.
• The next night, Rimstead showed up to a game angry over the incident, and used a chainsaw to cut sixty of the teams hockey sticks in half in what became known as “The Edmonton Chain Saw Massacre”.
• Skalbania used the money from selling Gretzky’s contract to buy the rights to Center Mark Messier from Cincinnati.  After lasting a year in Indianapolis, Skalbania sent him to the Edmonton Oilers.  
• Gretzky believes every year, Edmonton fans should send gifts to the city of Indianapolis for their contributions to Oilers hockey.
• Kevin Lowe and Messier because Wayne’s two best friends.  The three played together and lived together.
• Messier was once the stick boy for the Portland Buckaroos when his dad played for them.
• The difference between hockey players and baseball players is that hockey players want to win championships.  Baseball players dream of the Hall of Fame.
• Eddie Mio was the best man at Gretzky’s wedding.
• Their first NHL game was in Chicago.
• Gretzky had tonsillitis his entire first year.
• At age 19, he was the youngest NHL player to score 50 goals.
• He nearly won the scoring title but flipped a puck too high over the goal.
• By 1990, Gretzky won the Art Ross Trophy (highest goal scorer in the NHL) 9 times.
• Gretzky was ineligible for the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) due to his season in the WHA, even though those totals do not count toward his career.
• He won the Lady Byng trophy for being the most “gentlemanly” player.
• He won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP.
• Gretzky was not shocked by the “Miracle on Ice”.
• He believes Americans play heroically, and the Soviet’s grave error was pulling the best goaltender in history, Vladislav Tretiak, in the first period.
• Tretiak loved NFL football.
• In Russia, heroes have their privileges.
• The Montreal Forum is the cathedral of hockey.
• Coach Slats had the power to change the team schedule each year.
• The Oilers swept the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs.
• In his book, Boss, Mike Bossy named himself on his all-time NHL team, which Gretzky saw as a monument to self-importance.
• Canada Cup ‘81 was the worst experience Gretzky ever had during hockey.
• There were too many chiefs and it enough Indians.
• Gretzky believes Grant Fuhr was the best goaltender to ever live.
• Fuhr was the first black goaltender in the NHL.
• Gretzky scored 50 goals in 39 games, including 5 in his 39th game.
• The night he broke the record, President Reagan called to congratulate him.
• Gretzky was Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Year” for 1982.
• He only had 3-4 fights his entire career.
• He was first named captain in the 1983-1984 season.
• He scored 63 goals in a streak of 51 games.
• The Oilers won the Stanley Cup that season.
• The Stanley Cup has the 1963 Maple Leafs misspelled as “Leaes”.
• Peter Pocklington put his father’s name on the Stanley Cup, which the NHL didn’t allow, so they x’ed it out.
• Wayne originally wanted to play baseball for the Detroit Tigers growing up.
• Gretzky once his .492 with a semipro team,
• And the Toronto Blue Jays offered him a tryout.
• Gretzky has a fear of flying.
• Back in the 80’s, Canadian airlines let Gretzky sit in the cockpit.
• Bobby Clarke invented the behind the net shot.
• Gretzky has a specific routine he has followed for every game.
• Gretzky’s strategy is “Find the open ice”.
• Gretzky wears a size 10 shoe but a size 8.5 skate.
• Gretzky has done partnerships with Coke, Nike, Zurich, Peak, General Mills, and American Express.
• He once paid $15,000 to cancel a studio rental a salaries for commercial because he had too much going on and needed a mental health break.  He went fishing instead.
• With more money comes more problems.
• He would get scam phone calls trying to get money from him.
• He is very active in charities for the blind because of a kid he met in an airport once.
• He has never done a drug ever.  Not even marijuana.
• He likes to wear Gianni Versace.
• He only wears dark suits due to getting brighter ones dirty.
• He has 6 false teeth due to an incident with another kid growing up.
• Stan Fischler wrote things to rile people up.
• There was once an anti-Gretzky fan club.
• Once when he got hit in Pittsburgh, he went to the hospital, and chose to spend the night in intensive care with a terminally ill kid he met once.
• If Jari Kurri doesn’t make the Hall of Fame they should just board the thing up.
• Kurri was an expert on the TV show “Happy Days”.
• When he first arrived from Finland, he learned English from the show.
• Inside Jari’s head are 24-hour reruns of Richie Cunningham down at Arnold’s.
• Glenn Anderson was one of the guys who had a college degree.
• Anderson graduated from the University of Denver.
• Joey Moss was the kid who handed out towels and Gatorade.
• He was the song of Vicki Moss.
• Gretzky dated Vicki for 7 years.
• Joey has Down Syndrome.
• Salts was a self-made millionaire strictly from investments.
• Billy Martin one drank beer with Gretzky and then wanted to go beat up Billy Smith for slashing Gretzky.
• Gretzky’s 1984 Canada Cup team featured 6 Islanders and 8 Oilers.  This is akin to getting rival street gangs together for a prom.
• The Soviet hockey system did not have Overtime.
• The Oilers won the 1984-1985 Stanley Cup as well over the Philadelphia Flyers.
• Steve Smith cost them a third Stanley Cup by scoring on their own goal.  On his own birthday as well.
• Gretzky called Philly the “City of Brotherly Bruises”.
• The Oilers won their third Stanley Cup in 1986-1987.
• Gretzky met Janet Jones at a Celtics-Lakers game in the mid-1980’s.
• He made his television how debut on “The Young And The Restless”.
• He and Janet kept bumping into one another in random places.
• He enjoys the restaurant La Serra in Studio City.
• Gretzky had a lifelong dreaming of attending Wimbledon, and he gave up tickets to spend time with Janet.
• Janet took his aunt Ellen out for a manicure and a pedicure.
• “I realized I was marrying someone I could spend this lifetime with and about nine others past that.”
• Janet was 4.5 months pregnant at their wedding.
• Eddie Mio had a joke that when he arrived in Edmonton, Gretzky had 30 keys made up for all the women he would meet there.  Now that he was married, he was asking for all 30 keys back.  One by one, various individuals returned their key to the basket.  Some were player’s moms, and another was a very pregnant lady.  When they got to key 30, the last person to turn theirs in, was Gordie Howe to the delight and laughter of the reception.
• The 1987 Canada Cup team was so strong, they had to cut Steve Yzerman.
• In the late 1980’s the Pittsburgh Penguins were one of the worst teams in the league.
• Gretzky’s average ice time in a game is 24 minutes.
• The 1987 Canada Cup put so much strain on his body, he once lost bodily control during a game and urinated himself.
• “We get paid millions of dollars to do our best for the NHL, but we play the Canada Cup for our country and for our players' association and for the love of the game. And when you do it for those reasons, and you play the hardest and best hockey of your life, the payoff seems pure and lasting and unforgettable.”
• The Edmonton ownership would lie and tell the press they were paying Gretzky $1 million a year for hockey.  His salary was much lower.  He would only get $1 million overall when he won MVP.
• He and Janet made the choice to get pregnant before the wedding.
• He found out after Game 1 of the Calgary series in the playoffs.
• They won the 1987-1988 Stanley Cup over Boston.
• The rink in Boston Garden is too small, and it is very hot inside.
• Game 4 was moved from Boston to Edmonton when a 4,000-colt switch overloaded causing lights to go out and a fog to emerge over the ice.
• Gretzky got a picture on the ice after the series, of the last Oilers team he played for to win the Stanley Cup.
• Wayne found out from his father that the Oilers wanted to trade him.
• The ownership had trashed talked him to LA ownership.
• The trade caused a lot of stress on Gretzky.  He had been loyal to them for years and was now being cast aside.
• The owners needed money, and Gretzky was one of their highest expenses.
• August 9th, 1988 was the day Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings.
• Bruce McNall was the owner of the Kings.
• Gretzky signed for $2 million a year to play for the Kings.  
• McNall wanted to pay him $3 million, and agreed to redistribute the extra million to the team’s bonuses.
• Bruce stipulated that nobody would ever make more than Gretzky.  If someone was paid $4 million, Gretzky would then earn $4,000,001.
• Bruce owns Lyndon B. Johnson’s old plane.
• “Peter Pocklington is the reason Wayne Gretzky is no longer an Edmonton Oiler.”
• Gretzky had to avoid being the biggest flop in L.A. since “Heaven’s Gate”.
• Bruce treated Gretzky as a human, which meant a great deal to him.
• Alan Thicke is one of Gretzky’s best friends.
• Gretzky made hockey a success in L.A.
• Gretzky was benched in Detroit for breaking his stick over a goal after having the puck stolen from him.
• The Kings defeated the Oilers in a playoff Game 7 on Bruce’s 39th birthday.
• Hockey is the only team sport in the world that actually encourages fighting.




Gretzky’s 10 point plan to revamp the NHL.




1. End the fighting.
2. Expand.
3. Rename the conferences.
4. Realign the conferences
5. Bring on free agency.
6. Institute a week-off plan.
7. Let the players help make the rules.
8. Pay the refs more.
9. Bring back ESPN.
10. Let us play in the Olympics.




• The Wayne Gretzky statue was unveiled in Edmonton in August 1988.
• Wayne broke Gordie Howe’s all-time scoring record in Edmonton.
• John Candy sent him a telegram congratulating him on the record.  Candy joked that he once shot 1,851 on 18 holes!
• The largest fight in hockey (by penalties) at the time occurred between the Oilers and the Kings.
• Mario Lemieux smoked cigarettes.
• Paulina Gretzky was born December 19th, 1988 in Los Angeles.
• The Gretzky’s did not initially release a photo, leading some newspaper to report that Wayne was not the father or the baby was born black.
• The best way to deal with people with disabilities is to just be yourself.

—————

Overall, not a bad book.  It's well written, but you also have to take into account that Gretzky played almost an entire decade following its publication.  I would love to see an updated version with his thoughts on the later years, but there are other books that have shed light on that subject.  This one gives more insight to the early years because it came out closer in relation to the timeline.

Recommended.  Must-Read for Gretzky fans, and good for NHL fans in general.

On to Book #134: Dave's Way by Dave Thomas.

-----

Need to catch up?  See previous blog post: Deadly Pursuit.