There have been a few elite players in history, whose athletic ability and domination have earned them international recognition beyond their sport’s normal fan base.  For basketball, the player would be Michael Jordan and for hockey, few would dispute the player to be Wayne Gretzky.

On this day, January 9th, in 1998, Hockey News announced that it selected Wayne Gretzky as the greatest hockey player of all time. Although Gretzky was still an active player at the time, his accomplishments had shattered most records in hockey history, including: earning 10 MVP awards, breaking the 100 point mark in 16 seasons, as well as 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records and six all-star game records.

Gretzky’s accomplishments on the ice have earned him the title of “The Great One,” although most would agree, Hockey News included, that the moniker may be more accurate by substituting great with “greatest.”