Nicknamed "The Great One", he has been called the greatest hockey player ever by many sportswriters, players, and the NHL itself.

At age 10, Gretzky scored an astounding 378 goals in just one season with the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers. He also had 139 assists for a single-season total of 517 points.

The Great One started tucking his jersey in on the right side when he was just six years old. At the time, his jersey was too big, so his dad instructed him to tuck the shooting side in.

Hockey wasn't the only sport Gretzky excelled at. He batted .492 for the Junior Intercounty Baseball League's Brantford CKCP Braves in the summer of 1980 and was offered a contract by the Toronto Blue Jays. History repeated itself in June 2011, when Gretzky's 17-year-old son, Trevor, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs.

In 1978, the NHL did not allow the signing of players under age 20, but the World Hockey Association (WHA) had no rules regarding such signings. Several WHA teams courted 17-year-old Gretzky, who ultimately signed with the Indianapolis Racers. He played only eight games for Indianapolis before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers, who would be absorbed into the NHL one year later.

He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League for four teams from 1979 to 1999: the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and New York Rangers.

Gretzky became known for setting up behind his opponent's net, an area that was nicknamed "Gretzky's office".

Gretzky became the first player to score 50 goals in less than 50 games when he accomplished the feat in only 39 games during the 1981-82 season. Not only did he break Mike Bossy and Maurice "Rocket" Richard's record of 50 goals in 50 games, he did it in style by finding the back of the net five times in the 39th game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

An acknowledged enforcer, Dave Semenko was Wayne Gretzky's "on-ice bodyguard" during his early career in Edmonton, beginning in the WHA in 1978 and ending when Semenko was traded to the Hartford Whalers in 1986. Semenko is considered one of the toughest players ever in the NHL.

Edmonton defeated the New York Islanders in the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals, clinching the series in Game 5 thanks in part to Gretzky's two first-period goals.