Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction February 2016
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/23/2016
The one and only Wayne Gretzky gifted his signed 1998-99 New York Rangers Hespeler game-used stick to a close, personal friend of the Gretzkys after he played his last NHL game at Madison Square Garden on April 18, 1999. “Wayne Gretzky 99, NYR, 1999” reads the bold black marker autograph on the front of the wood blade insert of this two-piece gamer with “Gretzky” factory printed on the CS Pro composite shaft with the Great One’s customary blue foam Gripper knob. The stick does not have the "1487" code marked on the butt end or the No. "99" embossed in the wood blade insert as other sticks we have seen from Gretzky’s last game. Comes with a PSA/DNA LOA for the autograph and a letter of provenance on Wayne Gretzky letterhead with his facsimile signature stating he used the stick in his last game.
A PSA/DNA sticker for the signature sits below the “Gretzky” stamp on the wood blade insert, which retains Wayne’s original baby-powdered black bulldog tape job.
Our consignor states: “Wayne and I have been friends since 1985. I lived with the Gretzky's three times in Los Angeles and directly across the park in New York. It's safe to say we are family. That said, in early April of 1999 I was living in Nashville, running my own company. Business commitments were going to keep me from being at Wayne’s retirement, but he and Janet systematically made those commitments go away. ‘You're not missing this,’ -- from both. I went to N.Y. on April 16, 1999 for six days. Retirement game day, 4/18/99, exceeded every one's expectations (minus a N.Y. Ranger - W and a hat trick from Wayne). After the game, friends and family waited for him in the Green Room and took turns going down to see him in the locker room. There were two cars waiting in the basement to transport his people to the World Trade Center event. After a couple of hours, I went downstairs to check on timing, and Wayne was on his way up. He asked half of us to take a car and go on ahead. He then asked me to first accompany him to the locker room where he handed me a number of sticks to put in the trunk of his car. He separated one to show me and told me, ‘This one is yours. It's a game stick from tonight, but please keep it under your hat. There just aren't enough to go around.’ He then asked me to come over to their apartment for dinner in the next few days and he'd sign both sticks (I also had received a stick from the last practice). I spent part of the next two days helping with packing, errands etc. and one of those evenings, he signed both sticks. As for the rest of the visit, it was epic and a privilege.”
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