Wayne Gretzky rookie card: key RCs, checklist and collector interest
Wayne Gretzky's first base rookie card is the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee #18. Wayne Gretzky's rookie season was 1979-80.
Wayne Gretzky
Never selected in an NHL draft.
Photo: The original uploader was Hakandahlstrom at English Wikipedia. Later versions were uploaded by IrisKawling at en.wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0Wayne Gretzky card market
Collector attention: up 6% this week, up 77% over 30 days
Attention measures how much people are looking up this player, a leading indicator collectors watch. It is not a price. Source: Wikipedia pageviews through 2026-10-15.
Wayne Gretzky's key rookie cards, by our criteria
- First licensed base RC: The licensed base rookie card from the earliest year in the player's checklist. Where an Upper Deck Young Guns card exists, that card.
- First chromium RC: The licensed chromium (Chrome, Prizm, Optic and the like) rookie card from the earliest year in the player's checklist.
- Scarcest licensed RC autograph: Among licensed rookie-card autographs in the player's checklist, the one with the lowest stated print run.
- First prospect card: For a player whose rookie cards are not out yet, or a baseball player's Bowman 1st: the earliest prospect card in the player's checklist. Not a rookie card.
Which Wayne Gretzky card is the real rookie card
His rookie cards are from the 1979-80 season, his first in the NHL, and come in two versions with the same card number, 18. O-Pee-Chee, a Canadian company with a marketing agreement with Topps dating to 1958, issued a 396-card set with English and French text on the backs; Topps issued a 264-card set in the United States. The O-Pee-Chee checklist lists him with the Edmonton Oilers. The O-Pee-Chee card has been widely reprinted, so counterfeits are a known issue.
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Wayne Gretzky rookie card checklist with card numbers
2 rookie cards, each confirmed on the linked pages. Not every parallel is listed.
Wayne Gretzky's career, in brief
- Played 20 NHL seasons, 1979 to 1999, for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.
- Finished his NHL career with 894 goals, 1,963 assists and 2,857 points in 1,487 regular-season games.
- Won nine Hart Trophies and four Stanley Cups, all four with Edmonton (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988).
- Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999.
Career facts: [1]
- Played from 1975 to 1999.
- Honors include the Silver Olympic Order, the Companion of the Order of Canada, the Hockey Hall of Fame, among 58 listed on Wikidata.
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Record public Wayne Gretzky card sales
Reported sales only, each with the report that carried it.
- 2021-05-27: 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee #18, PSA 10, sold for $3,750,000 at Private sale brokered by Heritage Auctions. ESPN
- 2020-12-10: 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee #18, PSA 10, sold for $1,290,000 at Heritage Auctions. NBC Sports
- 2020-12-10: 1979-80 Topps #18, PSA 10, sold for $720,000 at Heritage Auctions. NBC Sports
- 2022: 1979-80 Topps #18, PSA 10, sold for $1,200,000 at Heritage Auctions. Sports Collectors Digest
Grading Wayne Gretzky cards
A PSA 10 (Gem Mint) or BGS 9.5 is the top grade most collectors look for; it means sharp corners, clean edges, centered printing and an unmarked surface. A graded card and a raw one are different cards to look up.
- The 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Gretzky has been widely reprinted, so counterfeits are a known risk; the set's design uses a blue border around the photo (source: Cardboard Connection set page).
Sources [1]
How PSA, CGC and Beckett grade
PSA
- Top grades:
- Gem Mint 10, then Mint 9 and NM-MT 8.
- Half grades:
- 1.5 through 8.5 since February 2008; there is no PSA 9.5.
One overall grade on the label. Centering weighs heavily in it.
CGC
- Top grades:
- Pristine 10 (virtually flawless, 50/50 centering), then Gem Mint 10 and Mint+ 9.5.
- Half grades:
- Yes, from Fair 1.5 up to Mint+ 9.5.
Authentic (AU) for a genuine card that cannot take a number; Authentic Altered (AA) for one that was altered.
Source: CGC grading scale
Beckett (BGS)
- Top grades:
- Pristine 10; a Black Label Pristine 10 has a 10 in all four subgrades.
- Half grades:
- Yes, 1 to 10 in half points.
Four subgrades on the label: centering, corners, edges and surface.
Source: Beckett grading
Grading scales as each grader describes them, checked Oct 16, 2026.
Population by grade
A population report counts how many copies of a card a grader has graded at each grade. Search 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee #18 on PSA Population Report or CGC Cards Population Report.
How to identify your Wayne Gretzky card and check what it sold for
- Find the year and maker on the back of your Wayne Gretzky card, and the card number, usually top or bottom on the back.
- Check the front and back for a serial number (for example 23/99) and for a colored or patterned finish: those mark a parallel, which is a different card from the base version.
- Look for the RC logo or the word Rookie. A card from before the first pro season, such as a Bowman 1st or a college card, is a prospect card, not a rookie card.
- Note any grade on the slab label (PSA, BGS, SGC, CGC). A raw card and a graded one are different listings.
- Search sold listings for that exact year, set, number, parallel and grade. What a card sold for is a better guide than any asking price.
Check Wayne Gretzky rookie cards in eBay's sold listings or eBay's price guide for that exact card.
Wayne Gretzky cards for sale now
Wayne Gretzky card questions
- What is Wayne Gretzky's rookie card?
- Wayne Gretzky's first base rookie card is the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee #18. Wayne Gretzky's rookie season was 1979-80.
- What year is Wayne Gretzky's rookie card?
- Wayne Gretzky's rookie season was 1979-80, so the rookie cards carry that year.
- How many rookie cards does Wayne Gretzky have?
- Our checklist lists 2 Wayne Gretzky rookie cards with card numbers, each from a cited source. It is not every parallel or color variation.
- How much is a Wayne Gretzky rookie card worth?
- Parlae does not print card values. Find the year, set, card number, parallel and grade on your card, then check eBay sold listings or eBay's price guide for that exact card.
- Are collectors watching Wayne Gretzky right now?
- Collector attention is flat: Wikipedia lookups of Wayne Gretzky are up 6% this week. That is attention, not a price.
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Card facts checked 2026-10-15. Parlae prints no card values. Set and brand names belong to their makers; Parlae is not affiliated with them.
By the Parlae deskCard data updated Oct 16, 2026 at 7:22 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number