Wayne Gretzky
Professional hockey player, "The Great One" · 1961
Who is Wayne Gretzky?
Wayne Douglas Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961, in Brantford, Ontario, and is widely regarded as the greatest hockey player of all time. Nicknamed 'The Great One,' he began his National Hockey League career with the Edmonton Oilers in 1979, leading the team to four Stanley Cup championships in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988. In 1988 he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in a deal that shocked Canada and helped popularize hockey in the United States; he later played for the St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers before retiring in 1999. Over his 20-season career he won nine Hart Trophies as the NHL's most valuable player and set numerous scoring records, finishing as the league's all-time leading scorer with 2,857 points, a mark that includes more career assists alone than any other player has total points. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999, with the mandatory three-year waiting period waived in his honour, and the NHL retired his uniform number 99 league-wide. He was made an Officer, and later a Companion, of the Order of Canada.
Sources: Wayne Gretzky with Rick Reilly, "Gretzky: An Autobiography" (1990) · Hockey Hall of Fame, official induction record, 1999 · NHL.com official career statistics and records