Wayne Gretzky entered game #39 with 45 goals and needed to score five to get to 50 before the new year.  With already four goals to his name, Gretzky buried an empty netter for his fifth goal of the game to reach 50 in the Oilers 7-5 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.  Gretzky went on to break Phil Esposito’s record of 76 goals in a season when he recorded his 77th in February.  “The Great One” finished the year with 92 goals, a record which still stands today.

Scoring in the National Hockey League is way down when compared to the numbers being put up in the 1980’s.  With that being said, Gretzky’s record of 50 goals in 39 games figures to be safe for a very long time.

Here are Gretzky’s five goals against the Flyers.

Notable Birthdays

Tiger Woods, PGA – Born December 30th 1975 (age 36) in Cypress, California

Kenyon Martin, NBA – Born December 30th 1977 (age 34) in Saginaw, Michigan

LeBron James, NBA – Born December 30th 1984 (age 27) in Akron, Ohio

Gretzky entered the 1984-85 season with 914 points, and therefore only needed 86 points to reach 1000 for his career.  He would get their before the Christmas break, and would eventually finish the season with an incredible 73 goals, 135 assists and 208 points.  That would turn out to be Gretzky’s third largest point total in a single season during his NHL career, as he posted 212 points during the 1981-82 season, and 215 points during the 1985-86 season.

“The Great One” finished his historic career with 894 goals, 1,963 assists and 2,857 points.  All three of those totals still stand as NHL records, and unless the game changes in a drastic way, chances are those records will stand the test of time.

Here is a look at Wayne Gretzky breaking Gordie Howe’s career points record with his 1851st point.

Notable Birthdays

Kevin McHale, NBA – Born on December 19, 1957 (age 54) in Hibbing, Minnesota

Reggie White, NFL – Born on December 19, 1961 in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Warren Sapp, NFL – Born on December 19, 1972 (age 39) in Orlando, Florida

But for anyone whose only reason to get up every morning was to see Paulina’s newly added images on Twitter,  we regret to inform you that her Twitter account has recently been deleted.  Some believe that this may have been done at the request of her father, whose name has come up in discussions regarding the sale of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (the Toronto sports company that owns the Leafs, Raptors, Marlies, Toronto FC, and the Air Canada Center).

Whatever the case may be, Paulina’s Twitter is gone, and at this point we don’t know if it will ever come back.  So in memory of Paulina Gretzky’s incredibly hot Twitter account, here are 25 of the sexiest pictures she ever posted.

Wayne Gretzky being elected to the Hall-Of-Fame was a no-brainer, as he is considered by many to be the greatest player in hockey history, hence his nickname “The Great One”.  At the time of his retirement, Gretzky held or shared a remarkable 61 records, which in itself is a record.  Wayne holds many of the significant offensive records for the regular season, playoffs and the All-Star Game.  Gretzky also represented Canada on several different occasions in International play, including the Winter Olympics, World Championships, World Cup and Canada Cup.

One year after his retirement, at the 2000 All-Star Game, the National Hockey League announced that Wayne Gretzky’s famous #99 would be retired league wide.  Gretzky became only the second man in professional North American sports to have his number permanently retired, with Jackie Robinson’s #42 being the first by Major League Baseball.

Here is a tribute to Wayne Gretzky.

Notable Birthdays

Yvan Cournoyer, NHL – Born November 22nd 1943 (age 68) in Drummondville, Quebec

Benoit Benjamin, NBA – Born November 22nd 1964 (age 47) in Monroe, Louisiana

Joe Nathan, MLB – Born November 22nd 1974 (age 37) in Houston, Texas

Most people probably thought that Wayne Gretzky’s sperm would be capable of creating the next greatest hockey player to take the NHL by storm.  That hasn’t been the case.  Instead, what the Great One’s baby batter has created is a first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, and a lovely lady by the name of Paulina Gretzky.

The above image was posted on her Twitter account, and has left us believing that there may be a new “Great One” in the Gretzky household.

I always knew Gretzky was a magician with a hockey stick and a puck, but who ever knew he could produce the same type of magic when it comes to creating visual effects for videos?  If you don’t understand what we are talking about, you may want to check out the video below.

Hat Tip – [College Humor]

At the time of the trade, Gretzky was clearly the best hockey player on the planet.  He was coming off his eighth straight season of winning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the leagues Most Valuable Player, as well as seven straight Art Ross trophies as the league’s top scorer.  More important than his individual accomplishments was the success of his team, as he led the Oilers to four Stanley Cups in a five year span from 1984-1988.

The trade of Gretzky was often compared to the trade of Babe Ruth, as both owners had to “sell” their best player due to other failed business ventures.  To this day, many people in Edmonton still cringe when they hear the name Peter Pocklington.

Here is a clip of Gretzky’s press conference when the trade was announced.

Notable Birthdays

Brett Hull, NHL – Born August 9th 1964 (age 47) in Belleville, Ontario

Deion Sanders, NFL – Born August 9th 1967 (age 44) in Fort Myers, Florida

Rod Brind’Amour, NHL – Born August 9th 1970 (age 41) in Ottawa, Ontario

Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier spent nine very successful years together in Edmonton winning four Stanley Cups.  However, their reunion in New York was short-lived, as after only one year together, Mark Messier was a free agent and decided to leave town and sign with the Vancouver Canucks.

Wayne Gretzky would end his professional hockey career with the Rangers, playing his final three seasons in New York.  In his first two seasons with the Rangers, Gretzky put up solid numbers, posting over 20 goals and 90 points in both years.  However, in his final season, at the age of 37 “The Great One” had by far his worst statistical season, scoring only nine goals and 62 points to go along with a -23.

Here are highlights of Gretzky in a Rangers uniform.

Notable Birthdays

David Carr, NFL – Born July 21^ST 1979 (age 32) in Bakersfield, California

C.C. Sabathia, MLB – Born July 21^ST 1980 (age 31) in Vallejo, California

Kellen Winslow II, NFL – Born July 21^ST 1983 (age 28) in San Diego, California

Gretzky held the previous record of 212 points, which he recorded during the 1981-82 season.  The following three years he would record 196, 205 and 208 points before reaching the 215 mark during the 1985-86 season.  He would reach that total by scoring 52 goals and dishing out 163 assists, which was also a new single season record.  Despite his regular season success, Gretzky would fail to lead his Oilers to their third Stanley Cup in a row, losing to the Calgary Flames in the second round of the playoffs.

Till this day, Gretzky’s 215 points remain the most ever recorded in a single NHL season, as do his 163 assists.  In fact, Gretzky still holds the top four, and seven of the top eight single season point totals, with Mario Lemieux occupying the fifth spot on that list.  There are several records that Gretzky holds which may never be broken, and his single season point total from 1985-86 is one of them.

Here is a look at Gretzky’s top 10 moments from his career.

Notable Birthdays

Roberto Luongo, NHL – Born on April 4, 1979 (age 32) in Montreal, Quebec

Allan Houston, NBA – Born April 4, 1971 (age 40) in Louisville, Kentucky

Jack Del Rio, NFL – Born April 4, 1963 (age 48) in Castro Valley, California

In the second period of a game against the Vancouver Canucks, Gretzky received a cross-ice feed from Marty McSorley and buried it into a yawning cage for the record breaking goal.  “The Great One” would record an additional 92 goals in his career, finishing with a total of 894 regular season goals.  At the time of his retirement many considered this record to be untouchable, but that is no longer the case.

In 2005 a Russian sniper by the name of Alexander Ovechkin entered the league and has been a scoring machine ever since.  Ovechkin has averaged over 53 goals per season in his first five seasons.  At the young age of 24, if he were to stay healthy, 900 career goals could be a definite possibility.

Here is a clip of Gretzky’s 802nd goal.

Notable Birthdays

Jason Kidd: NBA – Born March 23rd 1973 (age 37) in San Francisco, California

Mark Buerhle: MLB – Born March 23rd 1979 (age 31) in St. Charles, Missouri

Maurice Jones-Drew: NFL – Born March 23rd 1985 (age 25) in Oakland, California