Ninety-Nine: a Biography of Wayne Gretzky Essay Example
Ninety-Nine
The National Hockey League has hosted the finest athletes in which the game of hockey has ever offered. Throughout over a century of history one person has had more of an impact on this league and this game. This man is Wayne Gretzky. Nicknamed "the great one", no player has done more positive for the game of hockey than him. Gretzky holds more records in the NHL than any other player in history, which shows his skill. He also holds records for attendance and fan support, which shows his other contributions to hockey. A life dedicated to hockey continues to the present and will in the future. This life began January 26th, 1962. The native Canadian was born in Brantford, Ontario. However he spent his childhood at his grandfather's homestead. His hockey career first started when he would skate on the frozen river in the back yard. This river is where he learned to skate, shoot, and love what would become his life. At age six he began playing youth hockey for the Brantford Atoms. The seasons consisted of sixty nine games. Gretzky scored ninety six goals in his first season at age six. When he was ten he scored 378 goals in the season. That is an average of 5.5 goals per game in that season. This sensationalism on the ice rocketed little Wayne into his first taste of stardom. "Strangers were now asking for his autograph, and he had caught the eye of the national media."(Fortunato, 18). This is also the time in his career when he acquired his nickname of "The Great Gretzky", given to him by an Ontario newspaper. Even at a young age in his pre-teen years he drew crowds of thousands. Sometimes he would play in tournaments in front of over ten or even eleven thousand people. When he was fourteen he moved to Toronto, away from his family. He lived with a teammate there playing in the Junior B League. This was a league with players aging twenty years old. Despite the difference in age and size, Gretzky was an extreme standout. At the end of
The National Hockey League has hosted the finest athletes in which the game of hockey has ever offered. Throughout over a century of history one person has had more of an impact on this league and this game. This man is Wayne Gretzky. Nicknamed "the great one", no player has done more positive for the game of hockey than him. Gretzky holds more records in the NHL than any other player in history, which shows his skill. He also holds records for attendance and fan support, which shows his other contributions to hockey. A life dedicated to hockey continues to the present and will in the future. This life began January 26th, 1962. The native Canadian was born in Brantford, Ontario. However he spent his childhood at his grandfather's homestead. His hockey career first started when he would skate on the frozen river in the back yard. This river is where he learned to skate, shoot, and love what would become his life. At age six he began playing youth hockey for the Brantford Atoms. The seasons consisted of sixty nine games. Gretzky scored ninety six goals in his first season at age six. When he was ten he scored 378 goals in the season. That is an average of 5.5 goals per game in that season. This sensationalism on the ice rocketed little Wayne into his first taste of stardom. "Strangers were now asking for his autograph, and he had caught the eye of the national media."(Fortunato, 18). This is also the time in his career when he acquired his nickname of "The Great Gretzky", given to him by an Ontario newspaper. Even at a young age in his pre-teen years he drew crowds of thousands. Sometimes he would play in tournaments in front of over ten or even eleven thousand people. When he was fourteen he moved to Toronto, away from his family. He lived with a teammate there playing in the Junior B League. This was a league with players aging twenty years old. Despite the difference in age and size, Gretzky was an extreme standout. At the end of