1 Growing Up Gretzky

Chapter 1 Growing Up Gretzky In Canada, hockey is THE sport. When Canadian children dream of being a pro athlete, most don't think of baseball or football. They dream of hockey, and playing for glory in the National Hockey League. It's said Canadian children grow up on skates. Wayne Gretzky did. He started skating when he learned to walk. Wayne was born on January 26, 1961, in Brantford, a small city in the province of Ontario, Canada. In Brantford, it snows for almost half the year. There's lots of time to skate outdoors. When Wayne was two, his dad bought him his first pair of skates. Walter Gretzky strapped them on for little Wayne. Together, they stepped onto the frozen Nith River. Walter helped Wayne slide along the ice. According to Walter, "He'd never ever been on

skates before. I put him on the ice. He literally skated. Just skated." And that's where it all began—on the river running right past the Gretzky family farm. Walter Gretzky had grown up on the farm, outside town. He too grew up playing hockey. He met Wayne's mom, Phyllis, when he was a teenager. Phyllis went to the games he played. And Walter watched Phyllis play softball. Sports were always a part of their lives.

The two married in 1960, and moved to a small house in Brantford. PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES IN LAND AREA, CANADA IS THE SECONDBIGGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. (RUSSIA IS THE BIGGEST; THE UNITED STATES IS THE THIRD.) BUT WHILE THE UNITED STATES IS DIVIDED INTO FIFTY STATES, CANADA IS MADE UP OF TEN PROVINCES

AND THREE TERRITORIES. THE PROVINCES— INCLUDING ONTARIO, QUEBEC, AND BRITISH COLUMBIA— ARE SIMILAR TO STATES. PROVINCES MAKE UP 60 PERCENT OF CANADA'S LAND, AND 97 PERCENT OF ITS POPULATION. FEW PEOPLE LIVE IN THE TERRITORIES TO THE NORTH. WHY? LIKE IN THE LARGEST US STATE, ALASKA, THE ARCTIC WEATHER THERE IS HARSH. THE NUNAVUT TERRITORY STRETCHES TO THE NORTH POLE! The city is known as the birthplace of the telephone. It's where Alexander Graham Bell worked on his landmark invention. The first telephone factory was built there, too. Phones were big business. And many people worked for Bell Canada. Walter was a lineman for the company.

In 1961, Walter was working above a manhole. A phone cable had caught, and Walter was trying to loosen it. He pulled. Suddenly, a heavy frame flew out of the manhole. It hit Walter on the head, cracking his helmet. The next thing he knew, he was lying

facedown on the street. Everything was spinning. He had a fractured skull. The accident left Walter deaf in one ear. He had constant headaches. But Walter Gretzky didn't let that stop him. How could he? He and Phyllis had a growing family.