HockeyGretzky by the numbers at age 50

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Wayne Gretzky hoists the Stanley Cup over his head after his Edmonton Oilers beat the New York Islanders in 1984. (Canadian Press)

Wayne Gretzky turns 50 on Wednesday. To celebrate No. 99 hitting the half-century mark we have compiled 99 accomplishments of his time in hockey.

0 - Playoff appearances in four seasons as head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.

1 - Gretzky scored his first NHL goal in the third period of his third game against Vancouver Canucks goalie Glen Hanlon on Oct. 14, 1979.

2 - As in '02, when he steered the Canadian men's hockey team as its executive director to Olympic gold in Salt Lake City.

3 - Assists in three games as an emergency call-up with the Peterborough Petes in 1977.

4 - Stanley Cups won by the Edmonton Oilers with Gretzky.

5 - Times Gretzky missed the playoffs in his final seven seasons.

6 - Professional teams Gretzky suited up for: the Indianapolis Racers, Edmonton Oilers of the WHA and NHL, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.

7 - Assists registered in one game three times by No. 99.

8 - Seasons with the Kings before Gretzky was shipped to the Blues mid-season.

9 - Hart Trophies as the NHL MVP.

10 - As in age, when Gretzky started to receive notoriety for playing with the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers. And scoring 378 goals.

12 - OK, this is a bit of a stretch. But this was the sweater number of Steve Peters when he played under coach Don Cherry on the Colorado Rockies. What is Peters' connection to Gretzky? When No. 99 was taken third overall by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the 1977 OHL draft, Tom McCarthy went first to Oshawa...and Peters was taken second by Niagara Falls.

13 - Consecutive seasons he scored 100 or more points, an NHL record.

14 - Assists, another record, in the 1985 conference final against Chicago.

15 - Stanley Cup playoff records held by No. 99.

16 - Years old when he was drafted by Sault Ste. Marie and began to wear No. 99 because Greyhounds teammate Brian Gualazzi had No. 9.

17 - The age Gretzky turned pro.

18 - His age when he completed his rookie NHL season, and was named as a second-team all-star.

19 - Times he led his club in scoring (he was limited to 45 games in 1992-93 due to injuries to finish fifth).

20 - The number of NHL seasons Gretzky played.

21 - Years in length of the $20-million US personal services contract he signed with Oilers owner Peter Pocklington in Jan. 1982.

22 - Number of shifts Gretzky took in his final NHL game on Apr. 18, 1999.

23 - The age of No. 99 when the Oilers won their first Stanley Cup.

24 - Game-winning goals in the playoffs, a record he still shares with Bobby Hull.

25 - Points scored in 18 NHL all-star games (13 goals, 12 assists).

26 - The date in January 1979 when the Oilers held his 18th birthday at centre ice, and the day he signed his 21-year contract.

27 - Minutes to start a November 1984 game was all Gretzky needed to score a hat trick and set up two more goals en route to a 7-1 win in Toronto.

28 - The age of No. 99 in October 1989 when he broke Gordie Howe's NHL career points record of 1,850.

29 - The date in May 1993 of the seventh game of the Western Conference final between the Kings and Maple Leafs in Toronto, one of the best games Gretzky said he ever played.


Wayne Gretzky, left, exchanges a verbal barrage with Islander goaltender Billy Smith in 1983. (Dave Buston/Canadian Press)

30 - Second standing ovation the other players gave Gretzky at the 1984 NHL all-star game dinner.

31 - Assists in his 1988 playoff run, another NHL record.

32 - Seconds and 14 minutes into a game in Winnipeg in October 1990, he picked up an assist on Tomas Sandstrom's goal to reach the 2,000-point plateau.

33 - Saves made by Coyotes goalie Robert Esche to give Gretzky his first win as an NHL coach.

34 - Games it took him to reach 100 points in 1983-84.

35 - Years old when Gretzky was traded in February 1996 for the second time in his career, this time from Los Angeles to St. Louis.

36 - The average number of wins in a season for Gretzky in his four years as Coyotes coach.

37 - Seconds after Kings teammate Mike Donnelly scored in the third period to give Los Angeles a 4-3 lead, Gretzky scored his third goal of the game in what turned out to be the winner against the Maple Leafs in the 1993 conference final.

38 - His age when he played his final NHL game for the Rangers in a 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

39 - Games is all Gretzky required to score 50 goals in 1983-84.

40 - Sticks he prepared for his final NHL game.

41 - Games he was sidelined with back problems in 1992-93.

42 - The Varadi St. address of his family's home in Brantford, Ont.

43 - Goals in 72 games for the WHA Oilers in 1978-79.

44 - Years old when Gretzky's long-time teammate Mark Messier retired.

45 - Games Gretzky was limited to in 1992-93, the fewest in his career.

46 - Goals Gretzky scored at Madison Square Garden, 29 while he was with the Rangers.

47 - Playoff points he recorded in 1985 to set a record.

48 - More points in 1981-82 when he registered 212 than in his previous season.

49 - The sweater worn by Gretzky's younger brother, Brent, with Tampa Bay.

50 - Career hat tricks for the birthday boy.

51 - Consecutive games Gretzky recorded a point in 1983-84.

52 - Goals he scored in his record 215-point 1985-86 season.

53 - His assist total in his final NHL season in New York.

54 - Goals he scored in his first season with the Kings.

55 - Goal season that Jimmy Carson was coming off of when the Kings shipped him along with Martin Gélinas, three first-round draft picks and $15,000,000 US to Edmonton for Gretzky, Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski in Aug. 1988.

56 - Game hitting streak by Joe Dimaggio was an oft-used comparison when Gretzky put together his 51-point consecutive-game point string.

57 - Plus 2,800 was Gretzky's final point total.

58 - The age of Gretzky's friend Pat Burns when he passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer last year. Gretzky owned the Hull Olympiques and hired Burns as his coach, which jumpstarted his career.

59 - Penalty minutes in 1982-83, the most he had in a season.


In 1988, Wayne Gretzky joined the L.A. Kings, a trade that shocked the hockey world. (Otto Greule/Allsport)

60 - Or more goals scored by Gretzky in one season, which happened five times.

61 - Official NHL records upon his retirement.

62 - Points he registered in his final NHL season.

63 - Games he played for Canada at the world junior, Canada Cup, world championship, Rendez-vous '87, World Cup and Olympics. He scored 34 goals and 103 points in those games.

64 - The age Gretzky's mother Phyllis was when she passed away from lung cancer, a couple months before the 2006 Olympics.

65 - His point total in his injury-riddled 1992-93 season.

66 - Of course, it was No. 99 to No. 66 for the dramatic game-winner in the 1987 Canada Cup.

67 - As in 1967, Gretzky watched his first NHL game live at Maple Leaf Gardens, attending a Leafs-Oakland Seals game with his grandmother when he was six years old.

68 - The number of games his Brantford team played the year he scored 378 goals.

69 - The point total of the Oilers in Gretzky's first NHL season.

70 - Or more goals in four consecutive seasons between 1981-82 and 1984-85.

71 - The highest goal total Jari Kurri scored in a season, playing alongside Gretzky.

72 - Holes in length of the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic, a Nationwide Tour event in the Collingwood, Ont., area.

73 - Short-handed goals he scored in his NHL career.

74 - Games he only played in 1983-84, yet Gretzky still managed to score 87 goals and 205 points for the highest goals-per-game average at 1.18 and points-per-game at 2.77.

75 - Shots on goal by both teams in the 1989 NHL all-star game in Edmonton when Gretzky returned as a Los Angeles King. He scored a goal and two assists to earn MVP honours.

76 - Goals was Phil Esposito's old season record before Gretzky surpassed him in 1981-82.

77 - Of the 80 games Gretzky notched at least a point in 1984-85.

78 - The year Gretzky made his international debut for Canada at the world junior tournament in Montreal and won a bronze medal.

79 - The margin of points he won the 1983-84 scoring race.

80 - The number of WHA games Gretzky played for the Indianapolis Racers and Oilers.

81 - Canada Cup, he led the tournament in scoring, but Canada lost in the final 8-1 to the Soviet Union.

82 - As in "I don't think I'll ever be the Wayne Gretzky of 1982," he once said of the year he scored a record 92 goals.

83 - Was the year Gretzky and the Oilers advanced to the Stanley Cup, but lost to the Islanders.

84 - The Great One and Canada beat Sweden in the Canada Cup final this year.

85 - The middle digits of his career NHL record of 2,857 points.

86 - Seconds remaining when Gretzky fed Mario Lemieux for the famous game-winner against the Soviet Union in the 1987 Canada Cup.

87 - In that same Canada Cup, the Great One scored a remarkable 21 points in nine games.

88 - Aug. 9, 1988 saw Gretzky traded from the Oilers to Los Angeles.

89 - The last year he was named Canada's athlete of the year.

90 - Second ovation he received from Blues fans in his first home game with St. Louis in March 1996.

91 - With Gretzky out because of a back injury after U.S. defenceman Gary Suter delivered a vicious cross-check, Steve Larmer scored the tournament clincher for Canada in the 1991 Canada Cup.

92 - His record goal total with the 1981-82 Oilers.

93 - As in the spring of 1993, when he broke the hearts of Toronto Maple Leafs fans with his undetected high stick on Doug Gilmour in Game 6 and subsequent hat-trick in the decisive Game 7 that gave Gretzky and the Kings the conference final.

94 - Gretzky took a bunch of players to Europe for a tour during the 1994 lockout.

95 - He managed 48 points in 48 games in the lockout-shortened 1995 season.

96 - As in 1996 was the summer he signed as a free agent with the Rangers.

97 - In February 1997, he ended the longest goal drought of his career at that point, 21 games.

98 - The '98 Olympics, when he was left on the bench in the shootout loss to Dominik Hasek and the Czech Republic.

99 - Gretzky will be the last to wear the sweater number. According to the best-selling book By the Numbers, only five others wore No. 99 - Joe Lamb, Desse Roche, Leo Bourgeault, Rick Dudley and Wilf Paiement.

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