“It Was Very Intimidating”: Muhammad Ali Came Into Wayne Gretzky’s Locker Room to Discuss a Shared Honor in 1983

The greatness of Wayne Gretzky doesn’t end on the ice rink. It also influences other great personalities to approach him. The Great One had one such experience a long time ago with none other than the boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

On the Dan Patrick Show back in 2016, Wayne Gretzky recalled the moment he met the boxing legend for the first time, in the locker room. The locker room witnessed the world’s two greatest athletes, with a common nickname, having a conversation about their honor.

Something Wayne Gretzky and Muhammad Ali shared in common

Apart from having great careers in parallel sports, Wayne Gretzky and Muhammad Ali shared their nickname in common, i.e., The Great One. “He came in the locker room and he said he was looking for the great one because I’m not a great one because he’s the greatest of all time. So we just let him say okay that’s fair enough by me and good for you. Then sat back in my chair and slumped in the corner. You know what it was very intimidating and I’ll tell you because he was such a huge figure not just in sports world but worldwide,” Gretzky said in an interview with Dan Patrick. 

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It looks like the legendary boxer made it clear that he is the greatest among the Great One. Although it was a sarcastic remark, Gretzky also took it lightheartedly and got a good laugh out of it. It was also the first time he met Ali. The reaction of the boxer was also pretty unexpected for the NHL legend. Dan Patrick mentions that Ali was one of those guys to whom you won’t be able to react unless you meet them in person. According to Gretzky, Ali wasn’t just the greatest athlete of all time but also the nicest person of all time.

The Great One

Even after all these years, Wayne Gretzky’s record is still prominent. The NHL records that were set by him are still there at the top. He had 894 career goals and 1,963 assists in 1,487 games.

Gretzky got his nickname from a random guy because he scored 400 goals when he was only 10 years old. Beides, there is no other NHL player with similar stats to the legend. Some might get close in later years, but that’s just speculation.

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What do you think of Muhammad Ali claiming to be the greatest among the great ones? Let us know in the comment section.