Wayne Gretzky rookie hockey card sold at auction for record US$465,000

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Long after his retirement, Wayne Gretzky is still setting records.

A 1979 hockey card of the legendary player sold for a record US$465,000 on Thursday night at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Atlantic City, N.J.

It’s the most ever paid for any collectible hockey card, although it’s still far less than the $2.8 million paid in 2008 for a 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates Honus Wagner card, considered the rarest baseball card.

The same mint condition O-Pee-Chee of Gretzky sold for $94,000 in 2011, setting the record until an anonymous bidder bought it for more than four times that amount on Thursday.

Gretzky’s card shows the 18-year-old superstar in his Edmonton Oilers uniform, skating with stick in hand, looking up above the ice.

It was the first season the Oilers played in the NHL, having been in the rival World Hockey Association for seven years before the two leagues merged.

Gretzky began his pro career with the WHA’s Indianapolis Racers in 1978 before being sold to the Oilers later that year.