Wayne Gretzky was the best player on earth and the perfect spokesman for hockey.
He has always been kind to everyone who wants to talk to him and respectful of his opponents. Walter Gretzky is to thank for that.
Walter didn’t just want Wayne to be a great player; he wanted to raise him to be a kind and good man as well.
It was Walter who built a backyard rink, which allowed Wayne to skate from a young age and as often as he wanted.
Wayne was also dedicated to minor hockey and charities, which made him so beloved by everyone.
”Everything I am is because of him. It’s as simple as that,” Wayne said in a 1996 interview.
Walter Gretzky sadly died at the age of 82 in 2021, but Wayne Gretzky never let an opportunity to share a great story about him pass.
”Not too often you can say that people don’t have enemies, but I don’t think my dad had an enemy. He was beloved by everyone,” Gretzky said on the ’This Past Weekend’ podcast with comedian Theo Von.
”I remember one time, I came home and when I would go home and visit him every now and then, my dad would tell the whole city.”
Wayne Gretzky eventually learned not to tell his father about his visits. But one time, Gretzky, at the peak of his career, was taken by surprise when he made an unannounced visit at home.
”I got smart on that. I called my mom and said, ’I’ll be coming home tomorrow, don’t tell dad.’ So I get there in the morning, and this is hilarious. I walk in, and there’s a guy lying on the couch. I kind of know everybody that goes in and out of our house.
”My mom was in the kitchen and I said, ’Who’s lying on the couch? Who is that?’ She goes, ’I don’t know, but he’s hitchhiking across the country from Newfoundland and wanted to see the house, so your dad told him to spend the night and have a good meal.’”
Wayne Gretzky said that Walter’s gesture against the hitchhiker speaks volumes about the kind of person he was.
”That’s the kind of guy my dad was, and the guy spent the night and got up in the morning, and him and I had a coffee at the dining table. He got to take a picture with my jersey on.”
