0 Who Is Wayne Gretzky

Who Is Wayne Gretzky?

Who Is Wayne Gretzky? Fifty in fifty. That means scoring fifty goals in fifty hockey games. Maurice "The Rocket" Richard, of the Montreal Canadiens, was the first National Hockey League player to do it, in the 1944–1945 season.

Ten years passed. Twenty. Thirty. It seemed no other hockey player could pull off the feat. Finally New York Islander Mike Bossy tied the record thirty-six years later.

How much time would pass before someone else scored fifty goals in fifty games? One season later, Wayne Gretzky, just twenty years old, skated onto the ice. The place: Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Canada. The date: December 30, 1981. Wayne was the center for the Edmonton Oilers. He was about to face off against the Philadelphia Flyers.

It had been an amazing season for Wayne. By the thirteenth game, he had thirteen goals. After thirty-five games, he had thirty-eight goals. And after thirty-eight games? He had a whopping forty-five. Now he was ready for game thirty-nine. No one—ever—had scored fifty goals in less than fifty games. Just five more goals and Wayne would do it. On this gusty winter day, Wayne felt lucky. Somehow he knew he'd score—and score big. In the first period he scored two goals, one right after the other. By the end of the second period, he scored again for a hat trick: three goals altogether. Five minutes into the third period, Wayne slid the puck around a rushing defender. He shot, lifting the puck high in the air. He scored! His fourth goal of the game! Now Wayne had forty-nine goals. Could he make it fifty?

With ten minutes left, Wayne shot and shot again. Each one was stopped by the Flyers' goalie. Only seconds remained. The game was close: Oilers, 6; Flyers, 5. Philadelphia pulled its goalie off the ice. An offensive player skated out, to try to tie the game. It was a risk. Philadelphia left their net wide open. Wayne took off down the ice. Grant Fuhr, the Oilers' goalie, pushed the puck to right wing Glenn Anderson.