Wayne Gretzky, Age 17 (Continued)
Wayne Gretzky signed with his first professional team, the Indianapolis Racers, in 1978. It was part of the World Hockey Association (WHA).
In less than a month, Wayne was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers, the team with whom he would make his National Hockey League (NHL) debut. At age 19, Wayne was the youngest player to score 50 goals in a season, 1979-1980. While Wayne played with the Oilers, they won the Stanley Cup (the NHL highest honor) four times.
In 1979, the NHL ruled that all players joining the league must wear helmets.
Wayne went on to play for 20 NHL seasons. Although he wasn’t the biggest, strongest, or fastest player, his fans referred to him as “The Great One”. He developed the extraordinary ability of predicting where the puck was going and so could get there before other players.
During Wayne’s hockey career, he played in 18 NHL All-Star Games, won the Art Ross Trophy 10 times as the NHL’s top point scorer. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy nine times as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). His 2,857 career points were the most in NHL history by nearly 1,000 points. He held the record for most goals, most assists, and most points in a season. By the time Wayne retired, in 1999, his 1,963 career assists were more than any other player’s assists and goals combined.
(Indianapolis, Indiana: 1978)