This day in 1999: Oilers retire Gretzky’s number

October 1st, 1999 will forever be remembered as the day the greatest player to ever play the game of hockey had his jersey retired by the Edmonton Oilers.

The Great One announced his retirement from the game during the prior season on April 18, 1999, with the New York Rangers. Typing out how great of a career Wayne had just doesn’t do it justice. Unfortunately, I wasn’t old enough to witness the height of it, but his numbers speak for themselves. Gretzky is an every-day household name here in Edmonton, and having his banner hanging at the top of Rogers Place is an honor.

To begin his retirement ceremony, Gretzky was driven in on the back of a truck and received a standing ovation for about five minutes. You can watch that video below. Wayne Gretzky was an Iconic member of our community back then and still is to this day. The NHL retired his number league-wide, making him the only person in the history of the NHL to hold that honor. He was immediately inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame and had his waiting period waved as well. There are a lot of benefits in this world if you’re super good at hockey in case you didn’t know! Gretzky then had his jersey retired again by the Rangers in 2002.

Gretzky finished his NHL career with 2,857 points in 1487 games. He currently holds 61 NHL records for an assortment of things, and will probably hold them for a very long time. At the end of the day, there are no words that can describe all the positives he brought to the game of hockey. Do you remember the Gretzky jersey retirement at the Skyreach Center? Let me know in the comments.