60 Interesting Facts About Wayne Gretzky

45. Of his others sons, Trevor is an outstanding baseball player and was briefly signed to the Chicago Cubs but now plays for minor league teams while Tristan is a golf player who has signed on for college golf while at Pepperdine and hopes to be on the PGA tour one day. His youngest daughter Emma is a talented tennis player.

46. Gretzky also has an interest in football and was one of the owners of the Toronto Argonauts that play in the Canadian Football League. He became a minority owner of the team in 1991 along with LA Kings owner Bruce McNall and comedian John Candy.

47. Gretzky’s name has was etched into the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup, the championship trophy, after his team won the championship in the year that he became an owner.

48. In retirement, he owns a wine business, Wayne Gretzky Estates, that creates approachable wines (like the man himself) from Niagara and Okanagan grapes. The estate also offers innovative Canadian whiskies, spirits and beers.

49. Gretzky also owns a restaurant in Toronto called, aptly enough, Wayne Gretzky. He also has endorsement deals with Coca Cola and Domino’s Pizza so retaining his common touch.

50. Although he had a stellar career as a player in the NHL his tenure as a coach was not so successful. In 2000 he became a minority owner of the NHL team the Pheonix Coyotes and became the head coach in 2005. They struggles during his tenure and he resigned as head coach in 2009.

51. He lost his ownership stake in the team in the same year as the team filed for bankruptcy: it was subsequently purchased by the NHL. He does, however, continue to have an association with an NHL team. He returned to his old team the Edmonton Oilers as a franchise partner and holds the position of Vice Chairman.

52. Gretzky had more success as the coach of Canada’s Olympic hockey team, however. In 2002, he directed Canada’s men’s Olympic team that ended up winning the final and a gold medal. He subsequently resigned after seven years of coaching the national team.

53. During his career as an active sports player, manufacturer’s produced and sold Wayne Gretzky dolls. At one point the Canadian government also issued the Gretzky dollar coin in his honour. He remains a humble and down to earth person and is the reason he remains such a beloved figure in Canadian life and not just because of his hockey prowess.

54. In 1991, Gretzky became a cartoon character, along with basketball star Michael Jordan and baseball player Bo Jackson, as superhero athletes who helped kids fight crime. Broadcast on NBC, the show was called Pro Stars and featured live appearances by the stars to introduce each episode.

55. Among all of Wayne Gretzky’s achievements, and there are many, many of those, perhaps the most impressive is that he is one of the most decent players of the game ever to get on the rink and this is in a game that is noted for its brawls and other incidents.

56. This is reflected in the fact that he won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship five times and has often spoken out against fighting in hockey. His skill and small frame proved that muscles and power can be overcome by brains and strategy.

57. He is credited with changing the face of hockey, influencing a new, more team-based strategy of play which helped the Edmonton Oilers become the highest scoring team in NHL history. Another of his innovations was setting up behind the opponent’s goal, with the area coming to be known as ‘Gretzky’s office’.

58. Gretzky has some awards named after him including the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award which was created in his honour; an annual award for the most valuable player in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. There is also the Wayne Gretzky Trophy that is awarded to the playoff champion of the OHL’s Western Conference.

59. In 2002, Gretzky was honoured with a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto. The town of Brantford, Ontario (his home town) renamed Park Road North to Wayne Gretzky Parkway and also renamed the North Park Recreation Centre to The Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. The town also inducted Gretzky into its Walk of Fame in 2004.

60. Had Wayne not had such a talent for hockey, who knows what might have been? Many people might not know that he once had a, brief, acting career starring in the daytime soap The Young and the Restless. He was a huge soap opera fan and in 1981 made a cameo appearance on the show as a mafia boss who had just one line, ‘I’m from the Edmonton operation.’ He certainly was.

Wayne Gretzky – Inspirational Quotes

1. “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

2. “Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”

3. “I couldn’t beat people with my strength; I don’t have a hard shot; I’m not the quickest skater in the league. My eyes and my mind have to do most of the work.”

4. “The only way a kid is going to practice is if it’s total fun for him… and it was for me.”

5. “Most people marry their mother. I married my father.”

6. “I just like to keep my money in the bank; I’m not a big risk-taker. I don’t know anything about the stock market… I stay away from things I don’t know anything about.”

7. “I get a feeling about where a teammate is going to be. A lot of times, I can turn and pass without even looking.”

8. “When you win, say nothing, when you lose say less.”

9. “Not doing it is certainly the best way to not getting it.”

10. “The greatest thing about playing obviously is winning, and you can’t replace that experience with anything.”

11. “No matter who you are, we’re creatures of habit. The better your habits are, the better they will be in pressure situations.”

12. “I think sports for kids is the greatest thing in the world because it teaches you how to share, about winning and losing and pressure. But I don’t think you should force your kid to become a professional athlete.”

13. “The day I stop learning is the day I stop growing.”

14. “If you surround yourself with quality people and great friends, the sky’s the limit.”

15. “It’s easier to lose than to win”

16. “There’s no perfect coach in the world. Coaches are human, too. Mistakes are made. But, fundamentally, if you’re sound, you eliminate as many mistakes as possible.”

17. “When I was 5 and playing against 11-year-olds, who were bigger, stronger, faster, I just had to figure out a way to play with them.”

Wayne Gretzky – Quick facts and statistics