That's pretty compelling evidence. I can't argue with you.
It would be interesting to do a similar post on the most dominant athlete in an individual sport. Michael Phelps would be hard to beat. He won 28 Olympic medals in swimming, 23 of them gold. He won about 2 1/2 times more golds than Mark Spitz (9) and total medals than Ryan Lochte (12).
Agreed completely! Of all the great seasons he had, 1985-86 is perhaps the most amazing. He had 215 points (remember, he is the only player in NHL history with a 200-point season), and his record-setting 163 assists would have won him the scoring title even if he hadn't score a single goal. Simply astonishing. It got to the point where we almost took for granted what he did, forgetting that no player before had ever done it, nor has anyone ever done it since. I am glad that I got to see him play at his peak.
Also a native Michigander here. The Great One, and there will never be another one. His presence on the ice made the team un-defendable. His secret is that he knew he was The Great One but was humble and completely unselfish. He simply could see before others where the puck was going to be and found a way to get there.
The best quote I heard on the subject (I forget who said it) from back in the 90s: “Wayne Gretzky is not the Michael Jordan of hockey; Michael Jordan is the Wayne Gretzky of basketball.”
As a long time Southern Californian my exposure to hockey has been limited. But, when Gretzky came to town, whoo boy. Let's see if Caitlin Clark has a similar impact for the WNBA.
Agree Gretzky was amazing, but I think Babe Ruth also deserves consideration. His all time home run record was eventually broken , but in his time he was often winning the season he total by 30 hrs. Also early in career excellent pitcher
One of my favourite stats is that Wayne Gretzky and his brother Brent hold the NHL record for most combined points by two brothers. Brent had all of FOUR points. (The Sutter brothers had a few more points, but there were 6 of them!)
Got to see Connor McDavid in person contre les Canadiens de Montréal right before the pandemic and the speed with which this dude plays is really something else to see. Aboslutely worth the price of admission. Hockey is arguably the hardest team sports to play (you have to be skilled on skates and with a stick) and so it's always bothersome how many American sports commentators omit talking about hockey's best players past and present (especially with the most exciting first round in all of North American sports starting this weekend).
Great analysis, Chris! I don’t disagree with you. If you look at Wilt Chamberlain’s stats, you’ll find some other crazy achievements. Averaging more than 50 points a game for an entire season is pretty amazing. Gretzky won more than Wilt, so you’re probably correct.
La Cheeserie! While I think Babe Ruth is a closer second than you give him credit for (he changed the game), #99 is the tops. In addition to the quantitative argument (statistics) Gretzky was also responsible for rules changes, including the introduction of no loss of man power for "coincidental minors" thus limiting the number of 4 on 4 opportunities the Oilers had.
Yeah, thinking about all of team sports now. Chris mentions Messi in soccer. Football is tough because of specialized positions, but let's say Brady. Baseball = Ty Cobb, and Jordan in basketball. People will argue all of those. Hockey is always about chasing The Great One now. I've never talked sports with anyone who thinks otherwise. For anyone who is even a casual hockey fan, you know the topic is almost off-limits. I would be a non-serious person trying to compare Gordie Howe with Gretzky. Even Howe knew that Gretzky is The Great One.
Gretzky is amazing, though some of his gaudy numbers do have to be looked at in the era he played, where goalies couldn't stop a beach ball.
The more assists than anyone else has points is such a ridiculous stat. I remember they made a big deal out of Jaromir Jagr passing Mark Messier to be #2, since no one was passing The Great One.
I used to eat at Gretzky's Restaurant in Toronto. 99 Blue Jay Way.
That's pretty compelling evidence. I can't argue with you.
It would be interesting to do a similar post on the most dominant athlete in an individual sport. Michael Phelps would be hard to beat. He won 28 Olympic medals in swimming, 23 of them gold. He won about 2 1/2 times more golds than Mark Spitz (9) and total medals than Ryan Lochte (12).
I agree! I am going to do that!
If someone were to argue with me that Phelps is the greatest Olympian (from any nation) of all time, I would absolutely agree.
Agreed completely! Of all the great seasons he had, 1985-86 is perhaps the most amazing. He had 215 points (remember, he is the only player in NHL history with a 200-point season), and his record-setting 163 assists would have won him the scoring title even if he hadn't score a single goal. Simply astonishing. It got to the point where we almost took for granted what he did, forgetting that no player before had ever done it, nor has anyone ever done it since. I am glad that I got to see him play at his peak.
Also a native Michigander here. The Great One, and there will never be another one. His presence on the ice made the team un-defendable. His secret is that he knew he was The Great One but was humble and completely unselfish. He simply could see before others where the puck was going to be and found a way to get there.
The best quote I heard on the subject (I forget who said it) from back in the 90s: “Wayne Gretzky is not the Michael Jordan of hockey; Michael Jordan is the Wayne Gretzky of basketball.”
As a long time Southern Californian my exposure to hockey has been limited. But, when Gretzky came to town, whoo boy. Let's see if Caitlin Clark has a similar impact for the WNBA.
I'm from Michigan and solid hockey country. Gretzky is a god to us. You get no argument from me! Thanks for a fun article. Amazing stats.
The stats are just unbelievable. Like, I had to check them a few times to make sure they were right. They are that amazing.
Agree Gretzky was amazing, but I think Babe Ruth also deserves consideration. His all time home run record was eventually broken , but in his time he was often winning the season he total by 30 hrs. Also early in career excellent pitcher
https://theathletic.com/5408983/2024/04/17/wayne-gretzky-nhl-last-game/
What timing, Chris!
One of my favourite stats is that Wayne Gretzky and his brother Brent hold the NHL record for most combined points by two brothers. Brent had all of FOUR points. (The Sutter brothers had a few more points, but there were 6 of them!)
Got to see Connor McDavid in person contre les Canadiens de Montréal right before the pandemic and the speed with which this dude plays is really something else to see. Aboslutely worth the price of admission. Hockey is arguably the hardest team sports to play (you have to be skilled on skates and with a stick) and so it's always bothersome how many American sports commentators omit talking about hockey's best players past and present (especially with the most exciting first round in all of North American sports starting this weekend).
Great analysis, Chris! I don’t disagree with you. If you look at Wilt Chamberlain’s stats, you’ll find some other crazy achievements. Averaging more than 50 points a game for an entire season is pretty amazing. Gretzky won more than Wilt, so you’re probably correct.
La Cheeserie! While I think Babe Ruth is a closer second than you give him credit for (he changed the game), #99 is the tops. In addition to the quantitative argument (statistics) Gretzky was also responsible for rules changes, including the introduction of no loss of man power for "coincidental minors" thus limiting the number of 4 on 4 opportunities the Oilers had.
Great read. Thanks for you time.
Absolutely. Thanks for reading.
Yeah, thinking about all of team sports now. Chris mentions Messi in soccer. Football is tough because of specialized positions, but let's say Brady. Baseball = Ty Cobb, and Jordan in basketball. People will argue all of those. Hockey is always about chasing The Great One now. I've never talked sports with anyone who thinks otherwise. For anyone who is even a casual hockey fan, you know the topic is almost off-limits. I would be a non-serious person trying to compare Gordie Howe with Gretzky. Even Howe knew that Gretzky is The Great One.
Correct. You can debate MJ vs Lebron. There is no credible debate between Gretzky and anyone else.
How many Gordie Howe hat tricks did Gretzky have?
More than Gordie Howe.
I realise that Cricket is not an America focused sport but Don Bradman, the Australian batsman should surely be in with a shout.
Career average of 99.94 (so close! - bowled for a 0 in his final innings)
37 (THIRTY SEVEN!!) higher than the next best in all time international Cricket.
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Don_Bradman
Hell of a story.
That is so cool.
Well worth a read.
In Cricket he's so far ahead of anyone else (like Gretzky) it's ridiculous.
Gretzky is amazing, though some of his gaudy numbers do have to be looked at in the era he played, where goalies couldn't stop a beach ball.
The more assists than anyone else has points is such a ridiculous stat. I remember they made a big deal out of Jaromir Jagr passing Mark Messier to be #2, since no one was passing The Great One.
I used to eat at Gretzky's Restaurant in Toronto. 99 Blue Jay Way.