Childhood
Wayne Gretzky’s childhood was the beginning of his amazing career as a hockey player. Wayne Douglas Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario. Every winter his father would build a skating rink in their yard and he would skate on it for hours at a time. Wayne could skate at age two and he was nationally known at age six. He was signing autographs after he scored 378 goals on his U10 hockey team. He still holds and age group record. Wayne was known as the “White Tornado” for his white gloves and his speed and skill on the ice. His parents' names were Walter Gretzky and Phillis Hockin. Wayne has four siblings: Brent, Keith Kim and Glen.
High School and College Career
Wayne Gretzky did not attend high school or college. Instead, at age 14, he went to play Junior hockey for the Toronto Nationals. Junior hockey is the level between high school and college. There he scored 27 goals in only 28 games in his rookie season. He played center for the Toronto Nationals.
Professional Career
Wayne Gretzky is greatly known for his amazing professional career. He began his National Hockey League career at age seventeen. He played a total of 1487 games in his twenty-two seasons played in the NHL. He wore number 99 in all of those seasons. He played for the Edmonton Oilers, the Los Angeles Kings, the St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers. He made a total of $40,521,616 in his NHL career. Gretzky was ten-time NHL leading scorer. He won the second Most Valuable Player award in the NHL. He was named top center in the World Junior Championship in Quebec City in January 1978. Gretzky won nine Heart trophies. He won the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1981-’82. He was the youngest player to score fifty goals in the NHL. Gretzky was crowned MVP of the 1983 All-Star game. But on top of it all, he won two consecutive Stanley Cups in 1983 and 1985.
Personal Life
Wayne Gretzky is married to Janet Jones. They have five children: Paulina, Ty, Trevor, Tristan, and Emma. Wayne retired after the 1998-1999 season. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 22, 1999. After retiring, Wayne coached the Phoenix Coyotes for 4 seasons finishing with a 143-161-24 record, and the team missed the playoffs in all four seasons. He currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona but stays busy running his restaurant, Wayne Gretzky’s.