Wayne Gretzky poses in his restaurant in Toronto Thursday, September 9, 2010. Gretzky, the tousle-headed kid who turned the hockey world on its ear, turns 50 Wednesday.Darren Calabrese
Wayne Gretzky may be long retired from the NHL, but the Great One is still managing to set records.
Gretzky's NHL rookie card fetched $94,163 at an online sports memorabilia auction Sunday. According to a release sent by the auction organizers, SCP Auctions, that's the highest price ever paid for a hockey card.
While Gretzky's rookie card is easy enough to find on eBay or other popular auction websites, it is rare to find one free of small flaws or imperfections. The card sold Sunday was graded 10, or mint condition, by Professional Sports Authenticator.
The most ever paid for a trading card from any sport was $2.8-million for a rare card of Pittsburgh Pirates star Honus Wagner made in 1909.
Gretzky along with former Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall once owned that card, paying $451,000 for it in 1991.