Gretzky, Wayne

Wayne Gretzky: The Making of the Great One

The making of The Great One. An informative biography of the legend of Wayne Gretzky told by Mark Messier, Brett Hull, Walter Gretzky, Gordie Howe, and others.

Gretzky: An Autobiography

Gretzky: From Backyard Rink to the Stanley Cup

Total Gretzky: The Magic, The Legend, The Numbers

Total Gretzky provides fans with a wonderful and lasting tribute to the greatest hockey player of all time. This gorgeous, full-colour book based on The Hockey News’ commemorative magazine The Great One, but adding much, much more, gives readers the total picture. It features over 130 glorious, stunning photographs, almost exclusively in colour. It includes a moving tribute by celebrated hockey author Roy MacGregor, a foreword by Gretzky fan and friend Peter Gzowski, and fascinating and revealing articles by former NHL players and acclaimed Hockey News editors and writers.

And Total Gretzky features something truly unique: the most exhaustive look at Gretzky’s career, in numbers, ever compiled. In addition to career totals and records held, Total Gretzky lists every game, year by year, in which Gretzky ever played in the NHL, in the WHA, in junior, on Team Canada, and in all-star games, with a running total of goals, assists and points accumulated for each stage of his remarkable career. Milestone games and records are highlighted, and Gretzky’s amazing achievements are set against those of other hockey immortals.

Total Gretzky is a dazzling and complete testament to Wayne Gretzky, a book that no hockey fan should be without.

Walter Gretzky: On Family, Hockey and Healing

The inspiring story of an ordinary man who, from humble beginnings and against the odds of a devastating illness, has led—is leading—an extraordinary life.

To many people, Walter Gretzky is the ultimate dad, the father of the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, and the first inspired coach to a talented young boy. Walter’s major insight into hockey—that a player should “go where the puck is going”—guided Wayne’s brilliant style, and Wayne himself has said about his talent: “It’s God-given. It’s Wally-given.” It’s safe to say that no other famous hockey player’s father is held in such high esteem, and that Walter Gretzky has carved out this singular niche in his own right.

Now, for the first time, Walter tells at length the story of his life, about growing up on a small family farm, about meeting and marrying Phyllis, about raising four boys and a girl in a modest home in Brantford on the salary of a telephone repairman, about hanging onto his modesty and values when the comet of talent and celebrity hit.

Walter also talks about the process of recovering from a stroke that came close to killing him ten years ago. Through his own grit and determination, and with the help of dedicated therapists and doctors, his family and friends, Walter battled back from an aneurysm that left him with many cognitive difficulties and destroyed a decade of memories—including his recollection of the death of his mother and almost all of Wayne’s NHL triumphs of the eighties.

As many of the people who have encountered Walter even briefly will testify, he is very charismatic, and it’s his extraordinary compassion, which has flourished since his stroke, that makes him so compelling. Yes, he struggles with some limitations, but he has also discovered a calling in helping others. All of his many public speaking engagements are for charity, and this book would not exist were it not for Walter’s role as the official spokesperson for Canada’s Heart and Stroke Foundation. The only way he would ever agree to talk about himself at such length was in the hope that his experience with stroke would be useful to other people. “Every second of every day is important to me,” he writes, “and I only hope that if telling my story can help even one person, then all of this will be worth it. And remember, there is life after stroke…look at me!”

Wayne Gretzky: The Great Goodby

From his humble beginnings in Brantford, Ontario to a truly illustrious career as the most prolific goal scorer in NHL history, Wayne Gretzky is undoubtedly the greatest player the game has ever seen. From Edmonton to Hollywood to St. Louis to Broadway, he helped his teams win four Stanley Cup championships and three Canada Cup tournaments. This new volume, Wayne Gretzky: the Great Goodby, is a tribute to his legacy, and this collectable book will provide readers with a keepsake to remember not only his tremendous career but his thoughtfulness, his humble nature and his compassion. Illustrated throughout with 90 full-color photographs and 10 black & white.

The Great One : The Life and Times of Wayne Gretzky

One of this century's greatest athletes, Wayne Gretzky, The Great One, never failed to enthrall hockey fans with his incredible talent and skill.

It was with bittersweet sadness that the hockey world accepted the retirement of its most beloved player after the 1998-99 season. For the past twenty years, Wayne Gretzky above all has epitomized the toughness, power, and excitement of hockey. A class act, admired by teammates and foes alike, holder of numerous records, and always a consummate sportsman, Gretzky simply defines the game of hockey.

Including more than 120 extraordinary black and white and color photographs, The Great One celebrates Gretzky, from his early days as Brantford, Ontario's whiz kid, all the way to his Stanley Cup glories. The Great One includes a compilation of number ninety-nine's records of achievement and game-by-game statistics for his two decades of excellence.

Expertly written and researched by hockey historian Andrew Podnieks, the book also includes rare interviews, anecdotes, and little-known facts about Gretzky.

With Wayne Gretzky's retirement, hockey fans everyone mourned the passing of an era. But Gretzky's words and achievements live on in The Great One. There is no better way to remember the career of hockey's most superb and charismatic player.

ANDREW PODNIEKS is the author of many books on hockey, including The Blue and White Book, Portraits of the Game, and Shooting Stars. A hockey historian, photographer, and former creative writing teacher, Andrew lives in Toronto.

The Great Gretzky

The Great Gretzky

Quotations On The Great One: The Little Book of Wayne Gretzky (Little Red Book)