Walter Gretzky

Walter Gretzky was the father and first coach of Wayne Gretzky, and was known across Canada as the country's hockey dad. Walter Gretzky never played in the NHL, spending 34 years as a Bell Canada telephone repairman while flooding the family's Brantford backyard into the rink where Wayne and his brothers learned the game. Walter Gretzky died on 4 March 2021 in Brantford, Ontario, aged 82.

Role	Father and first coach of Wayne Gretzky; minor-hockey coach and fundraiser
Born	8 October 1938, Canning, Ontario
Died	4 March 2021, Brantford, Ontario, aged 82
Day job	Bell Canada telephone line repairman for 34 years
Known for	Coaching Wayne from the age of three, and the instruction to skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been
The backyard rink	Flooded each winter behind the family home on Varadi Avenue in Brantford, so his children could skate every day
Charity work	Golf tournaments raising more than $3 million for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and the SCORE computer-training programme for visually impaired students
Legacy	Order of Ontario 2002; Order of Canada 2007; Brantford Citizen of the Year 1996; a school and a municipal golf course carry his name

Wayne Gretzky and his father, Walter Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky shares story of finding a stranger sleeping on his parents’ couch

This says everything about him

Wayne Gretzky and his late father Walter Gretzky

Why Wayne Gretzky’s lawn always was the greenest growing up

For the most hilarious reason!

The awesome thing Wayne Gretzky did after ”50 goal in 39 games”

This is so wholesome

This is what happened just before Wayne Gretzky’s final NHL game

This gesture toward his father is truly amazing

When Wayne Gretzky got criticized by his dad for the first time and responded in the best way possible

The question is whether anyone has been as superior in a sport as Wayne Gretzky was for many years in hockey. The Canadian still goes by the nickname “The Great One,” and there’s no discussion ...