Presented here is one of a group of nine Gretzky game pucks, dating from the transcendent early years of Gretzky’s career, acquired by John Hamilton directly from Glen Sather, President and GM of the Edmonton Oilers. Each puck was utilized to achieve a different milestone or record in Gretzky’s then young career.
The list of players who had the kind of impact on their sport that Wayne Gretzky did in hockey is understandably brief: Babe Ruth, Wilt Chamberlain, Tiger Woods, that's a nice sampling and presumably pretty good company for "The Great One." There's a certain singularity implicit in that nickname that wound foreshadowing his place in NHL history. After a one-year flirtation with the World Hockey Association (WHA), Gretzky landed with the Edmonton Oilers where he quickly began establishing scoring records at a dizzying pace and led his team to four Stanley Cup championships. Starting with his second year with Edmonton, he would put up scoring totals of 164, 212, 196, 205, 208, 215 and 183, a seven year span unmatched and largely unimagined. At the time, no one in NHL history had ever recorded point totals in that particular stratosphere, and only Mario Lemieux has managed to elbow his way into that exclusive club since then. Gretzky's trade to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 had an immediate impact on the team's performance, eventually leading them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, and he is credited with popularizing hockey in California. He captured nine Hart Trophies as the most valuable player, 10 Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP, and five Lester B. Pearson Awards (now called the Ted Lindsay Award) for most outstanding player as judged by other players. After his retirement in 1999, he was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, making him the most recent player to have the waiting period waived. The NHL retired his jersey number 99 league-wide, making him the only player to receive this honor.
This puck then is an historical artifact befitting of that rare singularity, in this instance the very puck used in the Nov. 19, 1983 game against the New Jersey Devils when he scored eight points. As might be expected in a 13-4 thumping, the puck shows game use and has been wrapped with trainer's tape that was affixed following the contest to include notations of game, time, place, etc. The artifact is in superb condition and without issue; much of the writing by hand has faded from the trainer's tape. Includes a 3-by- 1/2-inch plastic nameplate with gold finish engraved with the date, score and description.
Includes a copy of a Letter of Authenticity signed by Glen Sather, President and GM of the Edmonton Oilers, along with a Letter of Provenance from The Newport Sports Museum.