The Great One continues to set records over 20 years after he hung up his skates.
The autographed jersey that Wayne Gretzky wore in his final NHL game with the New York Rangers sold for $715,120 through Grey Flannel Auctions on Sunday. Gretzky tallied his 2,875th career point in that April 18, 1999, tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The sale marks the most expensive price for a U.S.-based hockey jersey, surpassing the $657,250 figure that Mike Eruzione’s “Miracle on Ice” jersey from the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics fetched in 2013.
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It is still almost half the price of the most expensive hockey – and Gretzky – jersey of all time. The jersey Gretzky wore in his final game with the Edmonton Oilers sold for $1.452 million in 2022. The only other jersey to crack seven figures was Paul Henderson’s Canada national team jersey that he wore in the 1972 Summit Series against the USSR, which sold for $1.275 million in 2010.
Following Gretzky’s retirement, he was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, bypassing the regular three-year waiting period. He remains the NHL’s all-time leader in points, goals (894), assists (1,963) and more.
Gretzky’s No. 99 became one of the most iconic jersey numbers in sports across his 20-year NHL career. He is joined by Jackie Robinson (No. 42 in MLB) and Bill Russell (No. 6 in NBA) as the only players to have their numbers retired league-wide.