Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Douglas Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Wayne Gretzky is a retired hockey player who played centre for several teams in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1978 to 1999. Nicknamed "The Great One", Gretzky is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the NHL, and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players, and coaches. Upon his retirement on April 18, 1999, he held forty regular-season records, fifteen playoff records, six All-Star records and a total of 4 Stanley Cups. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season—a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 15 WHA/NHL seasons, 14 of them consecutive. He captured nine Hart Trophies as the most valuable player, ten Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, five Lady Byng Trophies for sportsmanship and performance, five Lester B. Pearson Awards, and two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP. Gretzky's jersey number, 99, has been retired by all teams in the National Hockey League.