Wayne Gretzky is one of the most celebrated hockey players of all time. The legend has given innumerable iconic moments to hockey fans. However, his jersey no. 99 was even more iconic than most of his performances. 99 wasn’t just like another number but became a trademark for the fans. The stands used to be full of fans wearing 99 jerseys and cheering for the sport’s biggest name. However, the story behind getting this number is an interesting one. 

Earlier this year, the team of Spittin’ Chiclets hosted an interview with Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky spilled some beans on his journey from a junior player to becoming a legend of the sport. However, the revelation of the story behind his jersey number became the highlight of the story. 

Wayne Gretzky revealed that 99 was never his preference

In the interview, Gretzky revealed that he didn’t play with 99-number jerseys till his junior B matches. He further added that 99 never even came to his mind. One day,day, he went to his coach and asked to switch the number. The coach agreed, however, things got tricky from there. 

In the interview, Gretzky said that the coach kept giving him multiple options. But, the white tornado was confused and kept swirling around. This frustrated his coach and thus, he came up with a solution. The coach shouted, “Jesus Christ! Why Don’t you wear two nines.” Gretzky accepted the number, though it wasn’t his first priority. 

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“The number I wanted was 16,” he said. However, his teammate Arthur Rutkand had that number and he wouldn’t give it up. So Gretzky had to make peace with 99. 

The dilemma that followed

The Ice Hockey legend revealed that having a big number on the jersey was very rare in those days. He had an unusual feeling about the number in the beginning. He also added that there was only one guy who had such a number; 77 on his jersey. The 61-year-old further added that the guy was judged by everyone back then. “I remember everybody thinking, God that’s a silly number,” he revealed. 

The Great One may have got the unexpected number on his back, but his achievements have made up for everything. Gretzky set incredible standards for the upcoming generations of hockey players.

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It is accurate to say that Gretzky was never affected by the number 99, but the Great One has altered how people would view the number.