Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky’s top NHL trading cards
Wayne Gretzky cards have been part of the hobby for more than 40 years. In that time, over 12,000 different cards and stickers featuring The Great One have been released.
Whether you’re looking to start a Gretzky collection or need to know which one of his cardboard appearances demand the most attention, here’s a list of his top cards:
1979-80 O-PEE-CHEE #18
Considered a grail card by hockey collectors, Gretzky’s rookie card—depending on the grade—can sell for six or seven figures. In 2020, a PSA 10 sold for $1.29 million at Heritage Auctions. A year later, a PSA 10 sold for $3.75 million in a private sale brokered through Heritage. Lower grades can still run in the thousands of dollars.
1979-80 TOPPS #18
The Topps Gretzky rookie is a cheaper option. Although the card looks the same on the front and back, this version is less coveted than the O-Pee-Chee ones released in Canada. A PSA 10 sold for $1.2 million in 2022 through Heritage Auctions.
1980-81 O-PEE-CHEE #250
Like many top athletes with expensive cards, Gretzky’s second-year card is a solid option. Depending on whether the puck on the corner is scratched or not (to reveal his name and position), this card can sell for as little as $50 but can go for thousands in high grades.
1980-81 TOPPS #250
Again, the Topps edition is virtually the same as the O-Pee-Chee one since no company logo is featured on the front. As is the case with his rookie card, the Topps version is cheaper.
1988-89 O-PEE-CHEE #120
Gretzky’s first card since the blockbuster deal that saw him leave the Edmonton Oilers for the Los Angeles Kings is featured in the same set featuring a pushpin designed at the top of each card that so many collectors love. It features him, stick down, as if ready to take a faceoff while staring directly at the camera.
1988-89 TOPPS #120
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The Topps version from the same year features Gretzky, a smile across his face, holding up a Kings jersey from the press conference where he was first introduced to the Los Angeles media.
1993-94 DONRUSS ELITE SERIES #10
The mid-’90s were all about inserts. They remain, in many cases, affordable for collectors. One example of this is Gretzky’s Donruss Elite Series card. This card, of which only 10,000 copies were printed, features plenty of flash and foil, a novelty at the time. It can be had for under $50.
1994-95 UPPER DECK ‘BE A PLAYER’ #108
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Issued by Upper Deck and limited to just 300 copies, the 1994-95 Upper Deck ‘Be a Player’ Gretzky autograph is his first certified signature card ever.
1997-98 UPPER DECK ‘GAME JERSEYS’ #GJ8
In another first, this is the first-ever Gretzky game-worn patch card ever released. It features Gretzky in an Eastern Conference jersey—he was playing for the New York Rangers at this point of his career—from an All-Star Game and a game-worn patch to go with it.
2004-05 YOUNG GUNS RETRO #183
Released after Gretzky had long retired, this Upper Deck card tries to imagine what it would have been like if The Great One had been issued his own Young Guns card before such a thing had even existed.
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Clemente Lisi
