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Birth of Wayne Gretzky
On January 26th, 1961,Wayne Gretzky was born in Brantford (Canada). His parents were Walter and Phyllis Gretzky. He grew up in his home, 60 miles from Toronto. He also spent a lot of time growing up on his grandparents farm. -
Like Father, Like Son
Wayne Gretzky's father (Walter Gretzky) was the first person to put Wayne on skates. Walter taught and encouraged Wayne about hockey. Also, Walter comforted Wayne whenever he was sad. Walter had a very positive in influence on Wayne. -
Grandmother Love
Wayne Gretzky's grandmother (Mary Gretzky) would help Wayne practice as a boy. She would sit in a chair and try to block a black rubber ball that Wayne would try to shoot past her. Also she was the first person who watched hockey with him. Wayne admired and loved her very much. -
Year of Adversity
Wayne played his first year of hockey at the age of 6. The other children in the leauge were 10 years old. Wayne struggled that season, scoring only 1 goal. This was very hard on him, but he practiced during the off season and the next year, used it to his advantage. -
One Giant Leap
In the Summer of 1969, the United States landed the first humans on the moon. As Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, he said,"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." This mission was not the first trip to outer space, but it was the first mission to land on the moon. Neil Armstrong would go down in history as the first man to step on the moon. -
Do You Believe in Miracles?
In the Winter Olympics of 1980, the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team pulled off a miracle. They beat the U.S.S.R., who was at that time, the best team in the world. The team was made up of college kids who had never played with eachother before that. The U.S. later went on to win the gold medal. -
Champion!
After coming off an injury at the beginning of the 1987-88 season, Wayne Gretzky lead the Edmonton Oilers to their 4th Stanley Cup in 5 seasons. They defeated the Bosto Bruins in 4 games. Wayne said that this was the most rewarding Stanley Cup out of all of them. Wayne also won the MVP award. -
Hail To The Chief
In January of 1988, s new president was sworn into office of the United States of America. The man's name was George Herbert Walker Bush. Bush had previously served as vice president. His son, (George Walker Bush) would later be the president as well. -
First True Love
Wayne Gretzky married actress, Janet Jones, on July 16th, 1988. They had children together. Also, Janet supported Wayne by coming to games and helping out around the hosue. Janet had one of the biggest influences on Wayne. -
Gretzky Faces Injury
At the beginning of the 1992-93 season, Wayne Gretzky was having pain in his ribs. He later found out that he had a herinated, thoraic disc in his spinal cord. This injury made him miss the first part of the season. For a little while in that time period, Wayne considered retirement. -
The Great One
Wayne Gretzky broke the record for most goals in a career on March 23, 1994. Breking that record gave him his 63rd NHL record broken. After breaking the record, Commissioner, Gary Bettman, said that breaking this record made him the greatest hockey player ever to play the game. -
9/11
On September 11th, 2001, 2 planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City. Terrorists took over the controls of 4 planes and sent them different places. 2 planes crasned into the Twin Towers, 1 plane crashed into the pentagon, and the other plane was headed towards the White House before the controls were taken back by the passengers and crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Many people died that day and several others were injured. -
Barack Obama
Following the 2008 presidental election, the United States had a new president. Barack Obama was sworn into office. Obama was our nation's first African American president. He was also the 44th president of the United States. -
Life after
Wayne Gretzky currently lives in Poenix, Arizona. He is the owner of the Phoenix Coyotes. Wayne is married to his wife, actress Janet Jones. They have 5 children.
