Gretzky says favourite nickname is the one Alberta gave him, not 'The Great One'
Already with one of the most iconic nicknames in professional sports history — The Great One — it’s easy to forget that Wayne Gretzky was briefly bestowed with a different title: the White Tornado.
During his minor hockey days, Gretzky, wearing white gloves, dominated a Quebec City tournament with speed and scoring prowess, leading someone in French media to dub him le Tornade Blanche.
“My dad hated that one. He hated The Great One,” Gretzky admitted.
Those same gloves sold for US$14,291 (CAD$ 19,727) at auction in 2019.
His personal favourite, however, is Doc, in recognition of his honorary doctorate from the University of Alberta, awarded in 2000.
Gretzky made the revelation on the recent New Heights podcast with brothers and pro footballers Jason and Travis Kelce.
Gretzky told the Kelces he asked friends to call him Doc because people also did so for Dr. Jerry Buss, the late former owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. In reality, Buss was a legitimate doctoral recipient, having completed a Ph.D in physical chemistry at the University of Southern California before becoming a real estate magnate and an NBA franchise owner.
“My kids even call me Doc,” Gretzky said.
He offered a different version of how he earned the name five years ago on TNT’s The Steam Room.
He recounted being on a plane when one of the flight attendants asked if there was a doctor on board to help attend to a passenger with anxiety, prompting him to hit the call button.
“She goes, ‘Really?’ And I go, ‘Yeah, I’m an honorary doctor.’ She goes, ‘That’s not funny,’ and I said, ‘Well, my goodness, I wouldn’t have said it if I thought the guy was really in trouble.”
Doc was applied, he said, after he told friends on the golf course.
Another little-known sobriquet he revealed to hosts Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson is Mr. Douglas, which was the name he’d use at hotels to avoid fans at the height of his fame. Douglas is also his middle name. Teammates quickly adopted it in the locker room once they found out.
Gretzky said fellow former Oilers great Mark Messier, meanwhile, would often call him Mr. Waynderful.