Ninety-Nine: a Biography of Wayne Gretzky

best known hockey player in history. Since hockey has evolved from when Wayne Gretzky was

Henry Louis Gehrig mainly known as Lou Gehrig is one of the best baseball players to ever step on the diamond. He played all 17 of his seasons for the New York Yankees, and wore the number 4. As a child Gehrig suffered very repeating occurrences of epileptic seizures. His childhood illness would eventually come back later in his life to play a huge factor of his early retirement.

History has framed the Miracle On Ice as one of those rare sporting achievements that transcend sport. The two hockey games that comprise the “miracle” – the 4-3 win over the mighty Soviets and the 4-2 gold medal clincher against Finland – are credited with lifting Americans from a decade of gloom and despair, reviving patriotism and foreshadowing a national renewal.

On May 9th 1965 a leader was born, and that leader was Steve Yzerman. Yzerman was born in Cranbrook, British Columbia. He began skating when he was a mere 3 years old, but was still a little too young to play organized hockey with his older brother Mike, who was two years older. At age 5 Yzerman started playing organized ice hockey, but really couldn’t skate all that well. In fact, his first gino (goal) was scored because he had slipped up in front of the adversaries net and an opposing defenseman bounced the puck off a teammate. Since Yzerman was the closest to the puck, he was given credit for the goal. This was certainly not a foundation suitable for a legendary career.

Maurice Richard historical significance in Canada had to do considerable deal with Hockey. Hockey is “closer to a religion than a simple sporting pastime” in Canada. It is “a unifying force” in a nation where one state wanted to separate from the rest of Canada. Nevertheless hockey has a major impact on the social, economic, cultural and political realms of Canada. In the 2014 Olympics, an alcohol law in bars was ignored when Canada was in the finals for the gold medal. In addition to People drinking at 5 o’clock in the morning, which would have been frowned upon in many social circles in any other circumstances. Maurice is “credited with raising the National Hockey League to major sport status”, he simply “sold the game” to French Canadians post great depression. You could say he stopped the National Hockey league from fading as teams were dropping every year out of the League due to being unable to be successful financially.

Both Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky have been very influential to the NHL and to the world. But which is more influential than the other. Gordie Howe grew up in a hard working family with little money. Growing up had had to battle through adversity on numerous occasions, including being cut from the first travel hockey team he tried out for. He went from not being good enough to make a kids team to arguably being the best player ever. Wayne Gretzky throughout his whole life was a talented hockey player. During his youth he would play with kids that were 4 years older than him because his own age was not enough competition. From when he was 4 to when he was 38, Wayne Gretzky was always the best hockey player on the ice. Although both are a large influence in the world, Gordie Howe was more influential than Wayne Gretzky.

The Edmonton Oilers were one of the 4 new teams that entered the NHL during the 1979/1980 expansion team. Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky were on the team at this time. Although none of the players that came from the 4 expansion teams could claim the calder trophy because they played in the WHA for the first 3 games. The oilers made the playoffs that year but got eliminated very early

“Sidney Crosby has the 4th Best points per game in NHL history. He has also won every possible individual and team award that can be won before the age of 25. Crosby makes the players around him better (kunitz and dupuis). Crosby is always improving and is good at many little things such as faceoffs, shootouts, and he always is a good all around player being defensively responsible and his plus minus demonstrates this.” Says a user from debate.org. Is Sidney Crosby still the best? It’s a yes or no question and there is many debates.

The most memorable moment in hockey history came thirty-four years ago with the 1980 Miracle on Ice. The Americans defeating the dominant Soviet team at the Olympics was not only an important triumph for USA Hockey, but for the entire nation. Contrary to popular belief, the underdog win was not only the result of a miracle; it was also the result of a hard-working team led by Coach Herb Brooks. With increasingly negative views on the position of the United States in the Cold War, the Miracle on Ice and the gold medal win lifted the spirits of the nation and brought hockey into the American spotlight.

Every sport in the world has had its greats or its greatest player. In the game of ice hockey the greatest player who has ever played the game is Wayne Gretzky. There has been other greats in the game but none have compared to Wayne Gretzky. Wayne Gretzky should be remembered as the greatest hockey player of all time.

Another hockey great, who was purely Canadian, and proved his worth in the game of hockey, is the amazing Rocket Richard. He was known for his excellence, but was also just as well known for his great spirit and love for the game. He, as well as Gretzky, was given the honour of being among the best in the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1955, Richard was, without thought, suspended from the league, Canada, especially Montrealers, went into complete uproar, inducing numerous death threats upon the president Clarence Campbell, as well as what has been called the worst riot in Canadian sports history. This example really shows how dedicated Canadians are when backing up their own players, the ones they know are the best.

Wayne Gretzky wasn’t just one of the best hockey players of all time, he was also a hero to many around the world. He inspired many people by giving them the opportunity to play and learn about hockey and by being one of the best hockey players in the world, as well as a good role model. Gretzky even said the commonly known phrase “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” (Gretzky). Also, thousands of children around the world look up to him as their hero. He wasn’t as fast as some players but his skills are what made him better than others. As Wayne developed these skills, he became widely known as the greatest hockey player in the world. As he played in the NHL he played for 3 different teams.

Born in Floral, Saskatchewan, Gordon “Gordie” Howe is seemingly born to play hockey. At 15, Howe was offered a tryout for the New York Rangers. He attended their training camp in Winnipeg until he got homesick and returned home. The next year, he was offered a spot on the Detroit Red Wings by Coach and Manager Jack Adams. He impressed Adams at a workout, with his sharp shot from the left wing.

Hockey All-Star Wayne Gretzky is one of the most amazing hockey players that lived, he set many records in the sport. Nobody thought he would become this amazing player that he is, he was always a scrawny kid with no muscle. Gretzky has a positive influence on hockey because he is turning hockey around, influencing kids and setting National Hockey League records. In Wayne Gretzky’s lifetime, he has been working to turn hockey around.

When Team USA beat the Soviet in 1980 it was important for the US hockey world because that team was seeded seventh entering the game against the Soviet Union. During the 1980 Olympic run the average was 22 and all the players were that year were both amateur and college players and the Soviet’s team was mainly professional and experienced players. This win gave coach Herb Brooks a place in history because he did something no other USA coach has done for the last twenty years and that is beat Russia, and he was named sportsman of the year in 1990.