Wayne Gretzky - ESPN SportsCentury (2001)

This is the ESPN SportsCentury documentary about Wayne Gretzky, detailing his life and hockey career. Includes interviews with many of Gretzky's friends and teammates, such as Mark Messier, Luc Robitaille and Mario Lemieux.
Hosted by Chris Fowler. Produced in 2001.

[@DanielNYR]

If he never scored a single goal he'd still lead the NHL in points. That is absolutely mind boggling.

[@JuliusC1973]

That fact right there tells you if their is a Hockey Player you would want to call Hockey's Version of a Point Guard, it's Wayne Gretzky. I use to call him Magic Johnson on skates, because he made pin point passes to teammates without even breaking stride.

[@crockernevln4878]

My father, who watched Ruth, Chamberlain and Howe, said Gretzky was the most statistically dominant athlete he had ever seen. I agree.

[@jeffreykaufmann2867]

@@crockernevln4878 Gretzky would have won the Art Ross three times on his Assists alone.

[@constancemiller3753]

My mother loved that he won the Lady Bing trophy so many times.

[@avipatel4058]

Most players can count on hand how many 5 point games they've had. Gretzky had 96. In the 1983-84 season he could have stopped playing after his 42nd gane and still won the scoring titles...almost 3 months before the end of the season. He won the scoring title by 79 points. In 1985/86 season he recorded a point in 77 of the 80 games.

[@jefftaylor2547]

The Gretzky Family was the most humble and down to earth People. I became friends with Walter in 86 when he worked as a troublesooter for Bell Canada. He was sent to my Pizza Store to find out the problem I was having with my stores phone number. Bell had sent 3 different technicians and they couldn't find the problem so they said they will send the best to figure out what's going on. He figured it out right away and I couldn't believe it. At first I didn't recognize him but eventually I figured out who he was. He gave me his personal phone number to call him if the problem came back. I made him a x large pizza to take home for his family. I couldn't believe he called me back and said that it was the best pizza he ever tasted. After that we became friends and he became one of my customers.

[@adamdorgant9454]

Thanks for Sharing!!!!

[@cryptohalloffame]

wow, my Dad was the same, considered the best technician at Bell, he fixed everything that no one could, including going to the prime minister's residence in the middle of the night

[@markmiller489]

Dude that’s an amazing story 😮👍👍

[@dereksoutar9320]

Used to be. Not anymore.

[@gregscott3479]

What Canadians see: A committed and passionate young man that was more, motivated, intellectual, innovative, than his peers. An athlete who embraced his natural talents, family support and understood the importance of the values and opportunities his Country offered and the importance of his role for future Canadians. What the Sports world sees; A skinny Canadian kid dominating a sport considered violent, but plays with grace and intellect. Gretzky's records are ridiculous, back in his day when we picked our Fantasy teams,(not called that back then) Gretzky was divided into 2 players, 1 pick got his goals the other pick got his assists. America loves results and winning, but deep inside America also loves a successful Gentleman.

[@ripapa6355]

Let's put Grezky's final "poor" season (98/99)into perspective. He was 33rd in the league in points, and averaged almost a point per game in his last season.

[@mursuka80]

He was 9th in assists that year.

[@79whocares]

and still lead his team in points

[@thebirdbrand]

Thank You, PlayStation 2 for Sponsoring This Video

[@eriklakeland3857]

Gretzky did not “always get last in the conditioning drill” 2:28 He was renowned for his stamina, it’s attributed to why he scored so many goals in the 3rd period, not just clutch

[@aaronjackson9385]

Exactly. And he smoked atheletes from other sports in a foot race.

[@jaxonclay4444]

Instablaster.

[@J597.]

@@aaronjackson9385 He smoked the other athletes because they literally smoked. Conditioning of the athletes back then is nowhere near what it is today.

[@aaronjackson9385]

@@J597. SRL smoked? I know he snorted cocaine at a dark time in his life after his eye surgery/retirement.

[@kellismith4329]

Not to mention his numerous overtime winners, he played smart used his energy when he had to

[@redcat10]

The vhs feedback is everything

[@carlowens9720]

400 goals and 120 assists in junior hockey at Age of 10!!!!

[@thebirdbrand]

They were teaching us “The Gretzky Curl” at the Hashmarks and Bluelines even when I played hockey back in 2007. I was taught that by Mikko “The Flying Finn” Mäkelä.

[@cominghometorome811]

The GREATEST of all time the 🐐 of Hockey

[@bradonstott3759]

To this day, nobody in men's pro team sports in North America is on the same level of play that Gretzky was - nobody is even close. And the fact that he did this with no major rules changes is astounding. A guy that changed the foundation of an entire league and never looked back..........

[@kriskalbfleisch5020]

Tyson, bird, gretzky, barry sanders, bo jackson are all in the same league.

[@morrisheinersz2005]

@@kriskalbfleisch5020 and none of them are close to babe ruth

[@kriskalbfleisch5020]

Get out of here nerd

[@readrothbard153]

Jordan, Brady, Bird, Montana

[@JuliusC1973]

And he made the players around him better. I used to read The Box Scores to see how productive that team was. If you were lookign to see who has 100 Points or more (Goals + Assists) then you had to look at Gretzky, + Kurri + Messier + Anderson + Coffey for starters.

[@ehcsemak3917]

The great one Gretzky, we never forgot this Legend

[@user-nu4rw6gx2f]

Gretzky was a chess master on ice hockey skates!🏒🇨🇦

[@tommclarty17]

This Wayne Gretzky character seemed to be a pretty good hockey player.

[@11DNA11]

"Laces... OUT!"

[@jamesholmen9725]

The greatest athlete in history, a pretty good player? LOL😁

[@chriswebster24]

Yep, that’s why they called him the Pretty Good One.

[@aaronmunroe8912]

I think your gun is digging into my hip Ray.

[@aloysiusdevadanderabercrom6401]

@@chriswebster24 🤣😆😆 That response is perfection. Well done sir

[@BrandonKohout]

The Great One

[@eddywil]

growing up in the 70's & 80's, we were blessed with great athletes. they seemed humble and hard working. not like today's athletes who are spoiled and think fans are lower the them.

[@m.alexanderzagorski2438]

Gretzky was a chess master on ice hockey skates!

[@clydeperrine2959]

The Great One, period.

[@13e11even11]

Imagine 8 straight Hart Trophies (MVP) and 9 in ten years. No one else in the big four sports was or may ever be close to that.

[@13e11even11]

@Mike Hammer that is a fine topic. There might be others who would say the same about Geordie Howe. When I watched Howe he was past his best but was still impressive. As for Orr I saw him, and was overwhelmed by him. It was effortless for him. He changed the position forever. Hard to say but worthy discussion. I would still say Gretzky

[@scottrackley4457]

Grandma Gretzky, "You little shit, you won't score on me!"

[@RyanLee-kt9uq]

The GREATEST pro athlete of all time !!!!

[@kriskalbfleisch5020]

Is bo jackson.

[@mattdrummond5654]

One word. Ali..

[@tonygreene81able]

No. Tom Brady is the GREATEST

[@jeffreykaufmann2867]

Greatest Athlele In a Team Sport.

[@iAMJaws]

@@mattdrummond5654 not ali LMFAOOL

[@willstuart4504]

One of a kind... Gretzky will always be the Goat, but as time passes and we see new Generational Superstars become the NEW face of the NHL... ( Mario, Crosby and now McDavid ). ..we're reminded of how this great game changes and evolves with time as well. It's why I hate when fans try to say one Generational Star is better than another. Idk, but to me trying to compare a Crosby or a McDavid ...to a Howe or Gretzky , is really just not fair. Too much changes in the game and the way the game is played, as well as everything else ... But with that said , I honestly don't think Gretzky's scoring records will ever be broken. But you never really know for sure, maybe one day someone will come along and break these "unbreakable records " but as of today ... I just don't think it's something I will ever see? Wayne ...you will always be the Great One.👍👍

[@jasonsmith5226]

The numbers Gretzky put up (& 4 rings,6 Finals,I think)...he's the greatest ever in any team sport. Nobody is even close...& I have no dog in this fight...I'm Colorado fan.

[@intellivisionmaster7999]

I remember when Wayne came into the league. From day 1 and until Mario showed up, all anyone cared about in the NHL was Wayne Gretzky! Fun times, and great memories!

[@traviskeeler4533]

You're absolutely right man. You simply CAN NOT compare the players from different era's. How many goals would Sid have if he was "protected" the way Wayne was by Dave Semenko and then Marty McSorley (and that is no knock on Wayne....the game was just different back then! It was a REQUIREMENT to have a guy who did nothing but protect your Star Players!) Even the SIZE of guys has changed. The average in Wayne's day was 5'11" 165lbs...give or take...a BIG guy was 6'2" 210....NOW the AVERAGE guy is that big...or even bigger....Just the evolution of the game. I agree that his records will most likely never be broken. Just too much parity in the game nowadays. But he WAS and is a special dude man. Greatest AMBASSADOR the game ever had...or ever will.

[@bortflong5734]

Kids today will never know how underwhelming all these "best of the century" countdowns were

[@edgarvivar3549]

Explain

[@constancemiller3753]

The music was terrible. Its piano bar level. The voice overs weren't great. Example: 'My Hero' by the Foo Fighters was the anthem of Gretz' final season. It's not here.

[@sudsysutherland359]

With myself being a big hockey & nascar fan i found that #99 Wayne Gretzky & #3 Dale Earnhardt shared a lot of similarities such as Wayne being able to read the play way ahead before it happened & Dale Earnhardt being able to see & feel the air on the big restricter plate tracks.

[@phillipg1331]

23:37 Lemieux and Gretzky hold their sticks up at the exact same time. Eerie.

[@michaelclyburn5858]

The absolute best.

[@canuck_gamer3359]

He took advantage of the fact most players had short attention spans. He could pass the puck (which he did better than anyone-ever) and then be in position where the puck would be after 2 more passes long after everyone on the other team had stopped watching him lol.

[@SirMikeyV]

Thanks Mike.

[@philbaudo5114]

Thank you mike

[@TheHellasavagex]

Gretz at his worst was better than most at their best... Let that sink in... 🤯

[@monkeynumbernine]

Hockey is the only sport I have ever enjoyed 🎉❤️ Gretzky is the greatest of all time 🎉

[@camschuster5947]

ESPN needs to bring this show back…so good

[@huudamu1884]

MY HERO

[@alexandroslysais1798]

He is into the realm of immortal.

[@BrandonKohout]

Wayne Gretzky the Babe Ruth of hockey.

[@kevo31415]

Michael Jordan at least

[@paysonfox88]

There's a player in baseball now named otani,,, he is proof that these players will be seen again in each sport, may take a 100 years, but they do come around more than once.

[@johnkidd1226]

Nope, no comparison. He is Wayne Gretzky, hockey player. He was offered a baseball contract at 16, though.

[@BrandonKohout]

@@johnkidd1226 It’s called referencing.

[@johnkidd1226]

@@BrandonKohout And I dont agree with it. This business of arguing a G.O.A.T. in every sport or comparing athletes in different sports and different eras is a fool's game at best. I watched Howe, Orr and Gretzky for years and would never pick one as the best, nor would they.

[@NovaScotiaNewfie]

Wayne wanted to move to the US to play baseball at 16 or so. Walter said no. I'm sure he knew Wayne would be up their with Howe, Hull, Richard etc.

[@10topowerof8]

Watching this made me realise that Michael Jordan is the Wayne Gretzky of basketball.

[@JuliusC1973]

Back then I called Wayne Gretzky Magic Johnson on Skates because he could pass the puck at full speed to spots where his teammates could take the puck at full stride, shoot and score.

[@JuliusC1973]

I've compared Gretzky's Skillset to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in that he can go full speed and make passes to teammates without even slowing down. If you ever saw Magic and Bird Live, then you know they made no-look passes to teammates all the time.

[@kriskalbfleisch5020]

No no no. Larry bird was do much better than jordan.

[@mirz2351]

@@kriskalbfleisch5020 i'm not massive into hockey but what's wild is people can debate the best in other sports but in hockey it's just Wayne Gretzky.

[@kriskalbfleisch5020]

@@mirz2351 because wayne Gretzky was so ahead of his time. He was bored with Russian training exercises because he was doing then since he was four. Bird was also ahead of his time...eat was Jordan known for jump high and being fed the ball all the time by pippin? The bad boy pistons made jordan...all the years Jordan played with bird...bird was league mvp.

[@JuliusC1973]

Number 66 + Number 99 Who Could Stop Them?

[@redcat10]

Indeed the semi final of that tournament almost did they went it overtime to defeat Hasek

[@JuliusC1973]

If you're on the opposing team, you had better believe in prayer and get down on your knees and pray.

[@Sabotage_Labs]

Gretz...a superhuman man...nearly a demi God...with the humility and kindness of a simple and average everyday man. What he not only did in the NHL but...what he did FOR the NHL is unlike any one person has and likely will do. If I had one complaint about Gretzky...he played for the wrong teams lol. That and...beating my Flyers twice for the cup. But, if your team is going to lose in the finals... It's just a little bit easier when you know you were beat by arguably the overall best hockey club that ever laced them up. Those Oilers teams....was like men playing in a boys league. So much speed. So much synergy. They changed the league forever. But...did they HAVE to do it against my Flyers....lol. There is one Great One. There will never....EVER...be another. The greatest team sports athlete playing in the fastest and hardest league to succeed in.

[@RaineriHakkarainen]

Not true! Lemieux and Orr were better than Gretzky! In 1980s Gretzky's time NHL 8 goals per game! So easy to score! Goalies were bad and small! Ovechkin ERA only 6 goals per game! So difficult to score today! In 1980s Gretzky's time 90% of the NHL players from Canada! Now under 60% of the NHL players from Canada! Much tougher league now! The Soccer game 250 million players! Gretzky's Canada only 650000 hockey players! That means The Soccer All Stars would beat Gretzky easily 100 game series 93-7! Soccer 4 billion fans in the world! Cricket 2 billion fans! Gretzky played only against players from Canada! Can not be the greatest sportsman!!

[@ron5706]

I seen. The great one. Put a move. On. Neil Broten of the northstars. No slouch himself. Gretzky. Had the puck. Far end blue line. Took off like a bat outta hell. Full speed. Toward end of blue line. Broten in fast pursuit. He slammed on the brakes. As did broten. Who fell slid by. Gretzky teed up a slap shot from said blue line and scored. It was a goal that took my breath away. The greatest individual goal. I ever saw

[@heybrandon88]

Holy dog shit, the fact that you are correct. Bronze statues are not enough, we need solid gold with an honour guard.

[@craigusselman546]

The thumbnail of Gretz lol

[@VE9ASN]

Not just the best, but heads and tails better than all the other goats from other sports.

[@RaineriHakkarainen]

Come on! Not true! Lemieux and Orr were better than Gretzky! In 1980s Gretzky's time 8 goals per game! So easy to score! Goalies were bad and small! Ovechkin ERA only 6 goals per game! So dufficult to score today! In 1980s Gretzky's time 90% of the NHL players were from Canada only! Now under 60% of the NHL players from Canada! Much tougher league now! The Soccer Game 250 million players! Gretzky's Canada only 650000 hockey players! That means The Soccer All Stars would beat Gretzky easily 100 game series 93-7! Soccer 4 billion fans! Cricket 2 billion fans! Gretzky played against players from Canada only! Can not be the greatest sportsman!!

[@JuliusC1973]

We'll never know how many more Stanley Cups The Oilers would have won if Pockington could have kept that team intact.

[@RyanLee-kt9uq]

For selfish reasons it was a blessing in disguise. Because of Gretzky getting traded, the NHL expanded and gained more popularity because of him. But yes, I agree that Edmonton would’ve won a lot more cups if he stayed. That team was a dynasty.

[@JuliusC1973]

@@RyanLee-kt9uq I will always wonder How Many Stanley Cups could they have Won if they stay together? That team was so deep, if you stopped 2 or 3 of them on a given night, then there were 6 or 7 other Players on that Team that could tear the opposing team apart.

[@ryanblaney2193]

Should have stayed with the oilers, would have had 1000 goals easy!.

[@JuliusC1973]

@@ryanblaney2193 And probably 4 more Stanley Cups.

[@pomerlain8924]

Pocklington couldn't afford to keep the team together. Gretzky had been playing in Edmonton on a discount. Gretzky's contract was up after 1989, and he would have been an unrestricted free agent at age 28. And being the best player in the game, he was going to be commanding huge money on the open market. Edmonton wouldn't have been able to come close to matching those offers, unless Pocklington was willing to let all his other star players walk. So it was either let Gretzky walk without getting anything back for him, or trade him to get some return and some cash to continue to field a competitive a team. It's a tough part of the business, but we see teams do this all the time today across all sports if they know they won't be able to re-sign them.

[@astecklesable]

Wayne Gretzky is a God

[@johnnysengbusch9475]

Canadian Dad Mount Rushmore Walter, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy. Special consideration Alan Thicke.

[@jjhofstra5956]

I didnt realize until decades later that Peter Pockington got a very unfair reputation about the big trade

[@pomerlain8924]

Yep the ESPN 30 for 30 episode about the trade explained why Pocklington had to do what he did.

[@craigschulz1852]

I worked for Peter Pocklington at Palm Dairies. While I was delivering one night, the trade was announced on radio. The fury was unleashed in Edmonton immediately. While I was at 109th st & Jasper Ave, a crowd surrounded my deliverly truck& surrounded me. They rocked the truck back & forth almost tipping it over. If it wasn't for the cops showing up & saving me , I would have been tipped over. I had to drive to the cop station to get a police report. Then I had to drive back to the dairy to replace the whole load. My supervisor was thinking I was lying & finally believed me when I showed him the police report. Also the news showed the incident on TV. That was one long day, finally finishing at 1 pm the next day 42 hours later. I slept in my pickup for 8 hrs then made it home for a a day off.

[@mhthmusicvideos]

Poetry on Ice

[@user-dp7td7fj1l]

Growing up was Gretzky was the only athlete on Michael Jordan’s level....EVER

[@noahhess3402]

Tom brady

[@kriskalbfleisch5020]

Not true. Their was a cartoon called pro stars featuring gretzky, bo jackson and micheal jordan.

[@Aqua.man045]

@@noahhess3402 Tom brady wasnt playing in the 1980s

[@79whocares]

guess u dont know bo.

[@larrylindgren9484]

Not like today's player who think they are above the game. He always stayed grounded. He was a better person than a hockey player. Now that saying something. Records are meant to be broken. But No one will ever break the points record. If a hockey player played 20 years, they'd have to score 143 points a year every year to tie him. Players now hardly get a 100 in a year. That's 28.5 years. To tie him. That's crazy. So start at 18 end at 46.5 years of age still scoring a 100 points. Never going to happen. 38 year old player getting 143 points. Not going to happen. Plus you need good players with you. That's why it will be impossible. 1963 assists. Other players had to score:)

[@morrisheinersz2005]

if i was goalie and gretzky was on the ice, i would not ever leave that net

[@jasonsmith5226]

St Louis lost in 2OT of game 7,to that Red Wing team,that had like the best record ever.(granted my Avs beat em in WCF)-but that's a pretty good run-they act like they were total failures. Blues easily could've won that series,& probably took a lot out of Detroit,to my Avs benefit. And even in NY,he had 97pts in 82 games...then 20 in 15 playoff games,Rangers made a nice run to ECF, beating Florida-the defending conference champs,then beat the 1 seed-NJ,who won a Cup,2 years prior,then lost to Philly in 5 in ECF. In a series they easily could've won,though nobody was beating Detroit that season. Then 90 pts in 82 games,& while he only scored 9 goals his last season,he still had 62 points in 70 games,on a bad team. And this is the clutch & grab,trap,& low scoring days. So 62 points in ,70 games,would really be like 70 points today. Basically a point per game,on a bad team...no he wasn't still Gretzky,but he was still pretty damn good at 38. As Costas said,MJ didn't even match Gretzky...he would've needed to average like 55-60 pts per game,to replicate what Gretzky did time,& again. 200 points 4 times,& 196 another...are you kidding me? I think he had 15 seasons of 100+ points....plus 2 other "bad seasons" in NY,with 97,& 90 ok pints...are you serious? And ya,Wilt averaged 50 a game,but that's back when the competition was nowhere near as fierce. If he wasn't playing Bill Russel,he was going up against smaller, overmatched dudes. Gretzky did in basically the modern era...or at least when the competition was comparable to today. And I think Wilt only won 1 ring,late in his career. Gretsky was un fucking believable. I just wish I paid more attention to hockey in the 80s/early 90s. I didn't start following it closely,til the Nordiques came to Denver,in 1995. Gretzky was still playing at basically an All star level then,but obviously wasn't at "greatest player in team sports history"-anymore. But overall,he is the greatest team sports athlete ever,& it's not really close. Many of his records will NEVER be challenged...let alone broken. As great as McDavid is,he will never approach those,& he hasn't even got to WCF,let alone 4 Cups,& 6 Cup Finals.

[@harman5289]

I hope this documentary talks about his high stick on Gilmore

[@aaronmunroe8912]

I love how fans wear grudges like badges of honor.

[@adamkennedy7698]

THE BEST BUY FAR GO GRETZSKY LOVED BUY ALL ........

[@annehajdu8654]

*BY. x2

[@BrandonKohout]

Wayne Gretzky the Michael Jordan of hockey.

[@dnasty312]

Except Wayne came first

[@karmicobsession1636]

@@dnasty312he’s still right

[@morrisheinersz2005]

gretzky don't look slow to me

[@cdlocalz7542]

worst day in oiler history

[@bondini101]

They could have done a much better documentary for Wayne.

[@ryanwilliams8390]

Think Ovi will break his goal record. Everyone talks about crosby mcdavid and so on but imagine Ovi in the 80s Ovi is the only guy to score 50 or more goals in his era in the 70s 80s 15 maybe 20 guy's got 50 Ovi has over 700 goal's in this era unreal best athlete goal scorer in the NHL today only guy that will or come close to surpass Gretz.

[@gophersk]

96 was after he hit Gilmore with a high stick.. League let him off.......

[@joedeangelis8322]

41:51

[@markphillips2484]

Did Al Hamilton compare the us to Russia that was a stupid thing to say

[@Afact-kt8qb]

go away wayne

[@alexcoury3768]

Wayne went to High School in Indiana. First at Carmel High School in Carmel Indiana but they wouldn’t allow for any adjustment to his school schedule for his minor league hockey schedule. He transferred to Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis which did grant him a lot of leniency in adjusting his schedule so he could play minor league hockey while still in high school. He was amazing at a young age. I went to Carmel HS when he was there in the same grade as me. I never knew he was there till years later. Crazy huh?

[@rcnut5112]

Gordie howe set the bar

[@nana-vt1lm]

Umm ya do know Gretzky wanted out right? He was traded more like released! Biggest misconception in history of sports!

[@solarbear8888]

Devastated me as a kid when he was traded. Hated every American hockey team since.

[@markphillips8097]

I wouldn't compare the US to Russia that is a very stupid statement the US saved hockey it grew it well beyond where Canada could take it,it would have been the CFL equivalent without the united States

[@user-ps5ux2sp6w]

anpanman!

[@matabeleman]

he should have not signed the 21 year contract...he lost millions because of that...

[@InMotionForAMillion]

I'm sure he'll be okay.

[@gollese]

Aye, think he survives with the hundreds of millions he has.

[@user-dp7td7fj1l]

Hockey has been dead since Wayne Gretzky🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿

[@InMotionForAMillion]

Not even close to being correct. In fact, it's quite the opposite...the NHL is worth a lot more today than it was in 1999.

[@NeverSober8008]

I enjoyed watching the Chicago blackhawks vs LA Kings, and the penguins win their cups.

[@betepbou9723]

Because he is genetically Russian. Another Russian can be better- Ovechkin

[@robertlavrakas7442]

BOBBY ORR WANNA BE!

[@mrktyb]

Mario was a lot better than Gretzky. But he had two handicaps in racist Canada. He had a terrible cancer and he was french. Two big problems in racist Canada who despises and hates French people.

[@scott83074]

Worst/dumbest trade in professional sports history

[@user-uf3rh8kf9s]

Gretzky deserved the Ross Trophy in '79-'80 because his point ratio was higher than Marcel Dionne's despite being tied in points.🇨🇦🏒

[@79whocares]

Dionne had more goals, Gretzky also didnt qualify for rookie of the year cause he played in the WHA the year before. He did win the Hart (mvp) that year tho

[@Amber90125]

The Great One