“Was Bigger and Better Than I Thought”: Wayne Gretzky Was Once ‘Fascinated’ by Gordie Howe’s Kind Gesture Before Breaking His Idol’s Goal Record

Breaking a record is every athlete’s dream. Interestingly, the world of sports is filled with record-breaking victories. One of the greatest of the NHL, Wayne Gretzky, is no exception. During his prime, Gretzky broke the amazing 801-goal record of Gordie Howe by scoring 802 in the year 1994. Since then, Gretzky was unstoppable. Gretzky retired in the year 1999, with an exceptional record of 894 goals. No one to date ever lingered around Gretzky’s golden number. 

Six years ago, Wayne Gretzky was seen recalling the time he spent with his idol, Gordie Howe. Gretzky was nothing but grateful for everything that he learned from Howe. Although Gretzky broke Howe’s legendary record, Wayne praised Howe for being his inspiration.

Wayne Gretzky savored memories of his idol Gordie Howe

Back in 2016, Wayne Gretzky appeared in an interview with the NHL Network. Gretzky refreshed his memories to take a moment to appreciate Gordie Howe. He took back his fans to memory lane by talking about his record-breaking win against Howe’s record in 1994. Gretzky told NHL about his inspiration to set a new NHL vitae.

Gretzky said, “One of the greatest parts of 802 was I got to spend a lot of time with Gordie and his wife Colleen because Gordie was following me around.” According to Gretzky, Gordie was truly an idolizing figure, as he influenced Gretzky in many ways. Elaborating on this, Wayne said, “A lot of times when you meet your idol, you’re somewhat taken aback or disappointed. For me, when I met Gordie, he was bigger and better than I thought”.

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In his encomium for Gordie, Gretzky even expressed his heartfelt gratitude towards his idol. “When I had an opportunity to be around his record and break his record, I found it really fascinating to be around him, ask him questions and talk about stories,” added Gretzky. Clearly, Wayne credits his record-breaking win to his idol, Gordie Howe.

Gretzky’s relationship with Gordie Howe

The one who acted as a catalyst between Gretzky and his love for ice hockey is none other than the legend himself, Gordie Howe. Growing up, Gretzky idolized Gordie and missed none of his matches. Inspired by Gordie’s flair in handling the puck, Gretzky pursued his career as an athlete in ice hockey. The foundation of Gretzky’s record-breaking career was set in his childhood when he met his idol in person. Throughout his career, Gretzky even wore the jersey with the number 99 on it, in order to pay tribute to Gordie, who wore the number 9 jersey. 

If Gordie has paved the way for Gretzky’s successful career, then Gretzky has done a great job of taking his legacy to great heights. Naturally, Gordie and Gretzky’s relationship is the greatest mentor-mentee dynamic of all time.

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