1. First played professional hockey in the now defunct World Hockey Association (WHA) before he entered the National Hockey League.

2. After his first season in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky did not win the Calder Memorial Trophy that is awarded to the NHL’s top rookie player because of his one year of experience in the WHA. Instead the award was won by Boston Bruins defenseman Ray Bourque.

3. When Wayne Gretzky played for the New York Rangers, it was the only time during his NHL career that he was not the team captain.

4. When the Edmonton Oilers traded Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings, the trade included 15 million dollars in cash and three first round draft picks going back to the Oilers.

5. When Wayne Gretzky requested a trade during the 1996 season, the two teams most interested were the New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues. The trade would eventually be carried out with the Blues. After a half season in St. Louis, Gretzky would then sign with the Rangers.

6. Early in Wayne Gretzky’s career he broke the long standing “50 goals in 50 games” record that had been held by Maurice “The Rocket” Richard and Mike Bossy. Gretzky scored his 50 goals in the first 39 games of the season.

7. Wayne Gretzky’s name appears on the Grey Cup that is awarded to the champion of the Canadian Football League. He was a part owner of the Toronto Argonauts in the early 1990′s when they won the championship.

Wayne Gretzky is not only one of the most famous hockey players in the world, but one of the most famous professional athletes. He has successfully made the transition from hockey player to front office to head coach and is poised to make just as big of an impact off the ice that he made while on the ice. Wayne Gretzky will definitely go down as one of the most important professional athletes in history.

1. John Elway’s last game of college football is famous for a reason completely unrelated to him. His last game was the now famous Cal-Stanford game in which the Cal Bears returned the final kickoff of the game, with the help of five laterals, for the winning touchdown.

2. John and Janet Elway have four children and their names also start with the letter “J”. Their names are Jessica, Jordan and Juliana, and Jack.

3. In his one season of minor league baseball in 1982, John Elway batted .318 and led the team in RBI.

4. At the age of 38, John Elway became the oldest player to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl.

5. There are two number sevens that have been inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame, John Elway and also the quarterback that preceded him, Craig Morton.

6. During his son’s senior year of high school, John Elway served as his and his team’s quarterback coach.

7. John Elway was the number one overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts who later famously traded him to the Broncos after he threatened not to play for them. The players he was traded for were Quarterback Mark Herrmann, Offensive Lineman Chris Hinton, and a first round draft pick that ended up being Offensive Lineman Ron Solt.

John Elway will go down in history as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He will be remembered fondly, and not just in Denver, as football fans in many cities took a liking to him based on his hard nosed play and successful results.