Talk:Wayne Gretzky

Edit request from Bytheway82, 12 May 2011

this is the offiacial Walter Gretzky website:http://www.waltergretzky.com/index.php?page=biography

please change the nationality he's not from bealarus or ukraine!! They are polish ethnic immigrants. The half of Bealarus and Ukraine was in this time polish!!

• This is a heavily contentious issue that is already addressed in the article, complete with extensive sourcing. At the time of the family's emigration, their home was in fact neither in Belarus, the Ukraine or Poland, none of which existed; it was in the Russian Empire.  Ravenswing  07:51, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Not done: As above. Consensus will need to be reached before this is changed. Stickee (talk) 12:07, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

In the Ukrainian Weekly dated sunday May 9, 1982 (published by the Ukrainian National Association): When an Ukrainian-American reporter dropped by Walter and Phyllis Gretzky home to find out the truth of Wayne Gretzky's ethnic origin, he was told by Phyllis Gretzky, who stated she was All Canadian (English descent), that her husband Walter was Russian (father) and Polish (mother) descent. The reporter then phoned Mary Gretzky to confirm Phyllis's statement. He asked Mary Gretzky, Walter's mother if she was Ukrainian, she replied, NO, she was not Ukrainian, she was Polish and Catholic and her maiden name was Khodenetski (reporter's spelling). She also stated her husband was born in White Russia (which is Belarus). Mary also gave this reporter all the villages in her area with the Polish spelling. As a side note, my father is 100% Polish and ancestors settled in the area Mary Gretzky came from, his parents were Catholic (Roman) and could speak Polish and Ukrainian. In Western Canada there is a fairly large Polish ethnic group that came from where Mary Gretzky was born. Take it from me, A Ukrainian from this area would not refer to themselve as a Pole, and definitly a Pole would not say he was Ukrainian. There is no love lost between the two groups. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.72.220.80 (talk • contribs)

I can not believe you haven't at least admitted to Wayne Gretzky being of 25% Polish descent on Mary Gretzky's side by putting this information in the main Wikipedia autobiography. Mary Gretzky has stated she was not Ukrainian, she said she was POLISH! My Dad was of Polish ancestry close to Mary Gretzky's village and could speak Ukrainian as well as Polish. The Ukrainians were the majority in the area where his Mom and Dad came from. The two groups in Canada were antagonistic. Mary Gretzky would never say she was Polish if she was Ukrainian! Concerning Anton Gretzky, Walter's father, he was a landowner in Belarus, coming from Grodno ( as did my Polish noble great-grandparents) I would bet he was of Polish descent as the majority of landowners in Grodno were of Polish ancestry. Has anyone ever verifiably heard Walter Gretzky speak after coming off his coma. My Dad who is 100% Polish could have just as easily spoken Ukrainian as Polish coming off a stroke. Mary Gretzky was a Polish Roman Catholic, I have a strong feeling Anton Gretzky was of the same religious background. 50.72.209.149 (talk) 05:27, 11 May 2013 (UTC)

Please read WP:OR. Dbrodbeck (talk) 12:13, 11 May 2013 (UTC)

It almost seems the editors of Wayne Gretzky's biography are misogynists! I've given three proofs of Mary Gretzky's Polish ancestory, of which these arbitrators have totally ignored and not included in the main biographical body. Wayne and Walter say Mary Gretzky was Polish (as does Mary herself), but that is not good enough for the editors. Are the editors biased or afraid of getting it wrong. I am not 100% sure of Anton Gretzky being Polish, but his relatives in the present day Belarus say Mary was POLISH! This information is on a website! My great-grandfather was a Polish noble living in Belarus who married a woman from there who was also of Polish noble descent. Walter Gretzky's father, who was a son of landowners in Grodno, as was my Polish great-grandfather, was way more likely to be of Polish descent. Gretzky is the russified name of the more common Polish name of Grecki! 50.72.212.111 (talk) 14:46, 23 June 2013 (UTC)

Walter Gretzky in his book (ON FAMILY, HOCKEY AND HEALING) states "She (mother Mary Gretzky) was a devout Roman Catholic and her moral code ruled in our little farmhouse on the river". Please note Roman Catholic, it is the religion of the Polish group who inhabited the area of Podhajce. Ukrainians in this area were Greek Catholics, not Roman! The Polish ethnic group had a fairly large population group in this area. After WWII, when the boundaries of Poland were changed, most ethnic Poles were displaced to Southwest Poland, while the Ukrainians stayed behind. Lets stop being coy about Wayne Gretzky's paternal grandmother's Polish ancestry. Wayne, Walter, and Phyllis Gretzky all state that Mary Gretzky is Polish (they have never alluded to any other ethnic group). Mary Gretzky does not only say she is Polish, SHE STATES SHE IS NOT UKRAINIAN! There was a large Polish ethnic group who once inhabited the area now known as the Ukraine. At worst Wayne is one quarter Polish descent. The Belarusians and Ukrainians are going to have to fight over the other quarter. My comment on Walter's Dad is if Walter is correct about his father being of upper class/landowner from Grodno, there is a strong possibility that he was of the Polish ethnic group. Grodno had a huge Polish population and dominated as landowners (upper class). Not to mention Gretzky is a Polish name, correctly spelled as Grecki. ```` — Preceding unsigned comment added by Polonia2015 (talk • contribs)

Please see WP:SYNTH. You need to find a specific source that explicitly calls her Polish. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 16:07, 18 January 2015 (UTC)

Concur with NeilN. You clearly feel strongly about this issue, but we do not accept personal knowledge and original research as sources for our articles. Please locate reliable, neutral, third-party sources for this information. --Laser brain (talk) 16:12, 18 January 2015 (UTC)

In MacLeans Magazine dated July 25, 1988 and whose cover's headline title is The Royal Wedding, the union of Wayne Gretzky and Janet Jones in Edmonton at St.Joseph's Basilica (Roman Catholic), the issue of neither one being Roman Catholic is addressed by the Archbishop of Edmonton. This clergyman of virtue and high standing acknowledges Wayne is Anglican and Janet is Presbyterian, but he mentions that Wayne's grandmother Mary is "a good Polish Catholic". Wow, Mary Gretzky said she was Polish to a reporter whose ethnic background is not known for being pro Polish, and you shrug it off. All this language of speaking Ukrainian in the main article is a bunch of clutter to throw off the real facts of Wayne's ancestry. Was there a language expert in the Gretzky house to determine the legitimacy of it being Ukrainian and not a mixture of Polish-Belarussian. In response to you, I'm trying to keep my composure, have the decency to correct the spelling of the town Mary Gretzky came from! Mary would have referred to her town as Podhajce (the correct Polish spelling). Even the Ukrainian-American reporter talking to her stated Mary referred to all locations in the area as a Polish person would, as opposed to an Ukrainian. Give Mary Gretzky a little respect and don't let a certain ethnic group hijack this article. You say Wayne's background is not important in the grand scheme (your arrogance is showing). Wayne loved his grandmother dearly and from everything I read he was very proud of her Polish heritage, as was Dad Walter. Oh, by the way, the largest ethnic group in Podhajce (not Pidhatsi) was Polish (look it up, its recorded before WWII). About the language spoken by the Gretzky's at home, as a person who is descended from Poles in the area where Mary Gretzky comes from, I have inside experience of languages spoken. My Dad whose Polish on both sides speaks better Ukrainian than Polish as the Canadian neighborhood he grew up in had 3 Ukrainians for every 1 Polish Eastern Galician, and by no way does he consider himself an Ukrainian-Canadian. In Canada where Poles came from outside the current borders of Poland, this was the rule, not the exception.````— Preceding unsigned comment added by Polonia2015 (talk • contribs)

You know, in the grand scheme of things, how is where his grandparents came from even mildly notable anyway? I think we should not mention it at all. Dbrodbeck (talk) 22:32, 18 January 2015 (UTC)

Agreed. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 22:47, 18 January 2015 (UTC)

The first two paragraphs of the Early Life section could be pretty much deleted. Who cares who his mother's ancestor was? Or we could go to the other extreme and say his farthest back ancestors were from the Great Rift Valley in Africa like all H Sapiens...... Dbrodbeck (talk) 00:03, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

Gretzky stating "Thank God I'm Polish"

When Gretzky was being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999 he stated in an press conference "Thank God I'm Polish" in response to a joke about another inductee who wore a Scottish kilt. He was obviously referring to his ancestry so why is this not mentioned under the "Early years" section. Gretzky probably knows his family history quite well as his father probably explained it to him. He does not mention being Belorussian, Ukrainian, or Russian. I think it's important to include this information as these were his own words from his own mouth. I believe it was mentioned in the article a while back but someone removed it. There's a few sources online from the interview, for example on the CBS Sports website http://www.cbssports.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,1618511_60,00.html Anyone who watched the press conference will remember him saying it. Please include this info in the "Early years" section. RangersFan99 (talk) 15:01, 4 November 2011 (UTC)

Sound like a reasonable addition to me.Moxy (talk) 15:16, 4 November 2011 (UTC)

Read his father's biography where he talks about waking up after his stroke being able to speak only the language of his childhood - Ukrainian. Walter also talks about his parents speaking Ukrainian at home. Obviously they were labelled Polish because these territories were under Poland then, but it sounds like they were ethnically Ukrainian. Rather than argue, I would leave it as is - all three nationalites - those were confusing times.Mykyta (talk) 03:53, 19 November 2011 (UTC)

I wonder how this is at all important or notable. Dbrodbeck (talk) 04:05, 19 November 2011 (UTC)

We can't speak about the past from our perspectives today. These times were difficult. All i can say, they all were from Russian Empire, so ancestors came from Russia, but who they were, it is hard to undestand as i see there are bunch of patriots from different ethnic groups who are trying to take a win on each other. Belarus, Polish, Ukrainian. Is it really worth to discuss? We can say - his ancestors were Slavs (cause all ethnic groups i mentioned are Slavs). Read this. http://alexovetjkin.blogspot.ca/2010/01/wayne-gretzkys-belorussian-roots.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.252.76.134 (talk) 22:18, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

Grey Cup Champion?

I see this in the category list, but that category is for those 'on' winning teams. There is another category for coaches, but not one yet for owners.Canoe1967 (talk) 09:43, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS EDIT?????

Gretzky's ancestry is typically described as English on his mother's side and either Lithuanian (even his family name has got Lithuanian root meaning fast (Greichius), like and neurologist Michael Greicius, who runs the Stanford University memory clinic)....it is just more in-depth knowledge about his ancestors...my family didn't know their roots and thought they are polish until I dug deeper and found that we are 100% Lithuanian just forcefully polonised during Lithuanian-Polish republic time 1569-1795. the same is true with most of former Lithuania people including the Gretzkys.

A reliable source (newspaper, magazine) must say Gretzky is Lithuanian on his father's side. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 20:24, 4 June 2012 (UTC)

Trevor

I reverted this edit [1] figuring it was too much detail on Trevor. What do others think? Dbrodbeck (talk) 19:47, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

As the first person to remove the content, I agree that it is too much. This article is not about Trevor Gretzky, and incremental updates of his baseball career is not relevant to Wayne. That his son is most famous for being drafted by a Major League Baseball team is all that requires note here, imnsho. Resolute 20:17, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

I was about to revert when Dbrodbeck beat me to it as well. It was clearly a case of WP:UNDUE. All that was needed was a note that he was drafted. -DJSasso (talk) 17:47, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

Agreed, that much detail does not belong in this article. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 18:38, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

"Gretzky"

The usage of Gretzky (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) is under discussion, see talk: Gretzky (disambiguation) -- 76.65.128.222 (talk) 02:08, 14 August 2013 (UTC)

S, what has he won?

As someone getting into ice Hockey it's difficult to get an easy overview of what awards he won and when. Perhaps add an "honours" sections, like this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Beckham#Honours ? 194.28.127.52 (talk) 04:54, 16 January 2014 (UTC)

We don't have a section on his page because he has won so many awards it would overflow the page. If you want to see what he has won he has his own article just for his awards and records located at List of career achievements by Wayne Gretzky. -DJSasso (talk) 12:40, 16 January 2014 (UTC)

Under the Phoenix Coyotes section, which is lacking sufficient detail, there is a clear error stating that Steve Ellman owned Glendale (Jobing.com) Arena from 2006. The City of Glendale paid virtually the entire cost of construction and owns the arena.173.9.198.222 (talk) 16:50, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

It appears that you are correct about Elling, and I removed that from the sentence it was in. While I'm here, what details do you think are missing? Keep in mind that this is already a long article, so we need to be careful about adding too much more content to it. Giants2008 (Talk) 23:18, 19 May 2014 (UTC)

I went ahead and added a few facts to the Coyotes section from one of the cited articles, and have to admit that the section does look more filled-out now than it did before. Overall, I think you were on the right track, although I still believe we need to be careful not to bloat the article too much. Giants2008 (Talk) 22:22, 20 May 2014 (UTC)