“Grateful for All the Hard Work”: Canadian Man Returned With Precious Wayne Gretzky Collection in 2022, Seven Years After It Was Stolen

The disappearance of the rookie card of Ice Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky is an instance of how far a fan can go for his hero. In 2015, a man named Ian Moore lodged a complaint about losing the token. Several items, along with the prized 1979 Gretzky’s rookie car, were stolen from Moore’s collections. With almost seven years to investigate the theft, Ian must have lost hope of getting it back, until 2022. A police officer found some exhibits, among which the million-dollar worth card was the one, and he contacted the actual owner and handed it over.

Moore appreciated the hard work of the policeman and thanked him for getting it back to him. Reportedly, Moore recognized all his belongings even before seeing them! A true fan, indeed. But how did he lose all those?

Regaining Wayne Gretzky rookie card

Moore has a collection of rare NHL tokens along with some vintage hockey cards. Unfortunately, he lost all those prized possessions in a theft in his Byland Road home in 2015. Devastated, he took a step to complain about his stolen things. Eventually, the police stopped the investigation due to a lack of threads and evidence. Moore, too, lost all hope until Rick Goodwin of the Kelowna RCMP trailed some clue. As per reports of Castanet, four years after the incident, the police arrested a man and a woman near the area of Boyce Crescent. When Goodwin came to know about the seizure of vintage hockey cards from the convicts, he “immediately remembered the investigation from 2015”.

Goodwin said, “I dug-up the details of the old file and was able to track down Mr. Moore. I was surprised to learn he still had my old business card I had given him years earlier”. The unexpected news amazed Moore, and he could not wait and took possession after completing some formalities. Thankful to the authority, he stated, “I am grateful for all the hard work that has been done to return my card”. In addition, he remarked, “I am very impressed by the efforts made by Const. Goodwin, the work he put into this investigation and how he remembered the theft of my hockey cards after so many years”. Evidently, the convicts did some research and comprehended the value of those cards.

Fans were crazy about the Great One

Indeed, this is not the first time fans crossed the boundaries for the Great One. In the initial stage of Wayne Gretzky’s career, playing for the L.A. Kings, he became very popular. His pictures were everywhere – on jigsaw puzzles, T-shirts, key chains, billboards, television, and drugstore counters. His jersey was always in demand among the kids who chose to wear it for every game they went to see. Not only that, but female fans were also crazy about him and will stare at him for hours which would lead to their discontent, eventually.

Read More – “It Felt Odd”: Wayne Gretzky’s Stardom Once Led to a ‘Bizarre’ Act by Crazy Fans

Indeed, the stealing and the rare collection prove how priceless a legend can be, even after retirement.

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