Less than 7,000 people witnessed the greatest hockey player of all time score his first professional goal.
On Oct. 20, 1978,17-year-old Wayne Gretzky played his fourth game for the World Hockey Association’s Indianapolis Racers against — coincidentally — the Edmonton Oilers. With 6:37 left in the second period, he slipped a backhander past goaltender Dave Dryden at Market Square Arena. Gretzky jumped, pumped his fist and 6,286 fans cheered. He scored his second goal 34 seconds later in the same shift to give the Racers a 3-1 lead. Edmonton ended up winning 4-3.
“Everybody knew that was going to be a big moment,” said Andrew Smith, Insider for the ECHL Indianapolis Fuel and team historian. “That was the first goal for one of the greatest players ever. He only scored one more goal in Indianapolis and then that was it.”
After scoring three goals and recording three assists in eight games for the now defunct Racers, Gretzky’s career in Indiana was over.
In June 1978, Gretzky left his native Ontario and signed a seven-year personal services contract with Racers majority owner Nelson Skalbania — a former Canadian sports magnate and financier who later filed for bankruptcy. With the organization in financial trouble, Skalbania sent Gretzky, goaltender Ed Mio and left winger Peter Driscoll to Edmonton for a reported $850,000.
Indianapolis, which had quickly embraced the young phenom Gretzky, was devastated.
“Reaction ranged from disbelief to violent anger,” former IndyStar reporter Dick Denny wrote in an article published Nov. 3, 1978.
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Indianapolis will get a chance to see The Great One again when he returns Monday for the CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic. The game features the best talent in the Indy Fuel’s league, which is two steps down from the NHL. Gretzky will serve as the guest of honor and be part of special pregame festivities. The all-time leading scorer in NHL history will also drop the puck.
There was buzz when Gretzky arrived in Indianapolis. He had impressive numbers in junior hockey, racking up 182 points for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League the year before signing with the Racers. But he was undersized and not the best skater, so it was hard to know how dominant he’d become.
“I’m not sure people really knew what they had,” Smith said. “History was going to be playing in Indianapolis and they could spend their $4 and go to Market Square Arena and watch him play. He just wasn’t a household name yet.”
And he never had the chance to become one in Indianapolis — his name was even misspelled in IndyStar headlines several times during his short career in the city.
However, there were knowledgeable fans who could tell he was special.
“He knew where every player was going to be all the time and their idiosyncrasies,” said Bruce Flanagan, a statistician for the Racers when Gretzky played. “Not only for his teammates, but also the opponent. He’d know if you were playing a particular team, this player would always skate this way, always go to his left or his right. (A player would) make this mistake in his skating and Gretzky would know that and take advantage of it.
“He was good at passing and liked to play from behind the net. He came up and played with guys 10-12 years older than him who were some of the world’s best hockey players.”
Flanagan has an old black-and-white Racers program from Gretzky’s first game against the Birmingham Bulls that he hopes to show him Monday. In the photo, Gretzky, whose No. 99 was retired by the NHL in 2000, was wearing No. 20 for a reason Flanagan can’t recall.
“I can hardly wait to say hello to him again,” Flanagan said. “He won’t remember me, but I remember him.”
When the Racers announced Gretzky’s sale to Edmonton, coach Pat Stapleton called it a “death in the family.” Gretzky told reporters he didn’t like the situation, but of course had no control of the matter.
“I don’t like it, but I’m a puppet on a string,” Gretzky said in an IndyStar article published Nov. 3, 1978, one day after the deal was made public. “I want to play and I have to go where they send me.
“I always will have great memories of Indianapolis, which has the greatest hockey fans in the world. I’ll always remember that this is where I broke into hockey. People here have been wonderful. I hope that the guys, and there still are a lot of good hockey players here, will get it going and win for the fans. They deserve it.”
The Racers franchise folded later that season.
Gretzky went on to become professional hockey’s all-time leader in points (2,875), goals (894), and assists (1,963) in addition to setting 58 other league records. During his 20-year career, he won four Stanley Cups and nine NHL MVP trophies.
Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in November of 1999. Now he’s a partner and vice-chairman for the Oilers.
But before all that, he played in Indianapolis.
“He is part of our history, he is part of our city’s DNA,” Smith said. “There is a lot of pride that he started his career here.”
Follow IndyStar reporter Laken Litman on Twitter and Instagram:@lakenlitman.
