{"product_id":"who-is-wayne-gretzky-isbn-9780448483214","title":"Who Is Wayne Gretzky?","description":"After breaking or tying more than sixty records in hockey, it's no wonder that Wayne Gretzky is known as \"The Great One.\" Born in Brantford, Ontario, on January 26, 1961, in a nation obsessed with the sport, he threw himself into the game practically from the time he first laced up a pair of skates. When he retired from the NHL in 1999, he had led several teams to Stanley Cup victories, competed in the Olympics, and changed the way hockey was played forever. Known for his love for family and as a truly decent human being, Wayne Gretzky is revealed as more than a sports legend in this easy-to-read biography.Gail Herman has written several biographies for young readers, including \u003ci\u003eWho Was Davy Crockett?\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWho Was Jackie Robinson?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eWho Is Wayne Gretzky?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Fifty in fifty. That means scoring fifty goals in fifty hockey games.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Maurice “The Rocket” Richard, of the Montreal Canadiens, was the first National Hockey League player to do it, in the 1944–1945 season.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Ten years passed. Twenty. Thirty. It seemed no other hockey player could pull off the feat. Finally New York Islander Mike Bossy tied the record thirty-six years later. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e How much time would pass before someone else scored fifty goals in fifty games?\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e One season later, Wayne Gretzky, just twenty years old, skated onto the ice. The place: Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Canada. The date: December 30, 1981.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Wayne was the center for the Edmonton Oilers. He was about to face off against the Philadelphia Flyers.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e It had been an amazing season for Wayne. By the thirteenth game, he had thirteen goals. After thirty-five games, he had thirty-eight goals. And after thirty-eight games? He had a whopping forty-five.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Now he was ready for game thirty-nine.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e No one—ever—had scored fifty goals in less than fifty games. Just five more goals and Wayne would do it.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e On this gusty winter day, Wayne felt lucky. Somehow he knew he’d score—and score big.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In the first period he scored two goals, one right after the other. By the end of the second period, he scored again for a hat trick: three goals altogether. Five minutes into the third period, Wayne slid the puck around a rushing defender. He shot, lifting the puck high in the air. He scored! His fourth goal of the game!\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Now Wayne had forty-nine goals. Could he make it fifty?\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e With ten minutes left, Wayne shot and shot again. Each one was stopped by the Flyers’ goalie. Only seconds remained. The game was close: Oilers, 6; Flyers, 5.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Philadelphia pulled its goalie off the ice. An offensive player skated out, to try to tie the game. It was a risk. Philadelphia left their net wide open. Wayne took off down the ice.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Grant Fuhr, the Oilers’ goalie, pushed the puck to right wing Glenn Anderson.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Pass it to me!” Wayne shouted from the Flyers’ zone. Three seconds were left on the clock. Wayne got the puck. A defender charged. Two seconds left. Wayne zipped around the Flyer. He shot.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Goal!\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Wayne had done it. Fifty goals in only thirty-nine games.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Teammates mobbed Wayne. The hometown crowd went crazy. Wayne Gretzky didn’t just break the record. He destroyed it! By game fifty, he had sixty-one goals. And by the end of the season, Wayne scored ninety-two goals in eighty games for another record.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Wayne would go on to break or tie more than sixty records. Most goals in a season and most goals in a career. Most assists in a season and most assists in a career. Most career points. (In hockey, players earn a point for each goal or assist.) If you only counted Wayne’s assists, he’d still have the most points of any player. Ever.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Wayne retired in 1999. He hasn’t played for years. Yet many of his records still stand—including fifty goals in thirty-nine games. He probably holds the record for holding the most records of any professional athlete.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Wayne wasn’t the biggest or fastest or strongest. But the way he played—his style and smarts—would change the game. Wayne Douglas Gretzky was a different kind of hockey player, almost from the time he could walk.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eChapter 1: Growing Up Gretzky\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In Canada, hockey is THE sport. When Canadian children dream of being a pro athlete, most don’t think of baseball or football. They dream of hockey, and playing for glory in the National Hockey League. It’s said Canadian children grow up on skates. Wayne Gretzky did. He started skating when he learned to walk.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Wayne was born on January 26, 1961, in Brantford, a small city in the province of Ontario, Canada. In Brantford, it snows for almost half the year. There’s lots of time to skate outdoors.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e When Wayne was two, his dad bought him his first pair of skates. Walter Gretzky strapped them on for little Wayne. Together, they stepped onto the frozen Nith River.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Walter helped Wayne slide along the ice. According to Walter, “He’d never ever been on skates before. I put him on the ice. He literally skated. Just skated.” And that’s where it all began—on the river running right past the Gretzky family farm.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Walter Gretzky had grown up on the farm, outside town. He too grew up playing hockey. He met Wayne’s mom, Phyllis, when he was a teenager. Phyllis went to the games he played. And Walter watched Phyllis play softball. Sports were always a part of their lives.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The two married in 1960, and moved to a small house in Brantford.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The city is known as the birthplace of the telephone. It’s where Alexander Graham Bell worked on his landmark invention. The first telephone factory was built there, too. Phones were big business. And many people worked for Bell Canada. Walter was a lineman for the company.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In 1961, Walter was working above a manhole. A phone cable had caught, and Walter was trying to loosen it. He pulled. Suddenly, a heavy frame flew out of the manhole. It hit Walter on the head, cracking his helmet. The next thing he knew, he was lying facedown on the street. Everything was spinning. He had a fractured skull.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The accident left Walter deaf in one ear. He had constant headaches. But Walter Gretzky didn’t let that stop him. How could he? He and Phyllis had a growing family.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e After Wayne, Walter and Phyllis had four more children: Kim, Keith, Brent, and Glen. On weekends, they’d all troop out to the family farm to visit their grandparents.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Every Sunday after church, Grandma Gretzky made a huge dinner. She was born in Poland. So she served traditional Polish food like pierogi, a kind of dumpling. And every Saturday night, from the time Wayne was little, the family gathered around the TV. They watched a show called \u003ci\u003eHockey Night in Canada\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e While the TV was on, Wayne and Grandma had their own face-off. Grandma, the goalie, sat in a chair. Toddler Wayne “skated” across the floor, shoeless. Using a tiny hockey stick, he’d shoot a rubber ball or rolled-up sock between Grandma’s legs.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Wayne was hooked on hockey.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In town, Walter took Wayne to park rinks. Wayne never wanted to leave. Poor Walter waited for hours in the freezing cold. When Wayne was four, Walter had an idea. He’d turn their backyard into a skating rink.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e First he cut the grass very short. Then he turned on the sprinkler. He let it run all night long. In the morning, the ground was covered in a layer of ice. It was a rink! Now Walter could sit in his warm kitchen and watch Wayne out the window. The family called it “Wally Coliseum.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Wayne wanted to learn everything about playing hockey. So Walter set up empty detergent bottles. He taught Wayne to weave around them. He ran through drills. “Go where the puck is going,” he told Wayne again and again. “Not where it’s been.” Sometimes Wayne used a tennis ball instead of a puck. It taught him control.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e But Wayne wanted to play in real games. He begged his father to find him a team.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Wayne was too young, his parents thought. He was only five. Back then, players had to be at least ten. But Wayne kept begging. So his parents tried to sign him up for the Brantford Atom league team. They were turned away.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Wayne didn’t give up. He kept practicing. And he kept after his parents.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The next year Wayne turned six. This time, he was allowed to try out. Wayne was small—even for his age. But all those drills paid off. His skills made him stand out. And he made the team!","brand":"Penguin Workshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304878985445,"sku":"NP9780448483214","price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780448483214.jpg?v=1767744172","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/who-is-wayne-gretzky-isbn-9780448483214","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}