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$299.00
Official WHA Indianapolis Racers hockey puck, autographed in silver paint pen by Wayne Gretzky, who added his famous number "99" after his signature.
The Racers were the first Pro hockey team that Gretzky played for (see below).
Signed at an official private autograph session.
Gretzky's personal autograph hologram is affixed to the back of the puck.
Sold with Certificates of Authenticity from both The Autograph Source (Lifetime Guarantee) and Wayne Gretzky Authentic.
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The Indianapolis Racers were a franchise in the former World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1978. They competed in five seasons, folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena. They are best known for being the first professional team to secure the services of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.
The Racers were known in the major league hockey world for their fanatical fans, and the franchise lead the WHA in attendance for the 1976-1977 season. The Racers won the 1975-1976 WHA Eastern Division championship, and swept the rival Cincinnati Stingers in the 1977 WHA playoffs.
The NHL had stringent rules regarding the age of players they could sign while the WHA regularly signed underage players. Nelson Skalbania, the owner of the Racers, signed 17-year-old future super-star Wayne Gretzky to a personal contract worth between 1.125 and 1.75 million dollars over 4 to 7 years, which was at the time one of the largest contracts ever offered to a hockey player.
Skalbania, a wealthy real estate businessman, regularly "flipped" real estate property and sports franchises for a profit. Skalbania mismanaged the promising Indianapolis hockey market, however, and just eight games into the 1978-1979 season Skalbania liquidated his greatest asset to his old friend and former (and future) partner, Peter Pocklington, owner of the Edmonton Oilers. Pocklington purchased Gretzky and two other Indianapolis players. The Racers folded 17 games later on December 15, 1978. and major league hockey has not returned to Indianapolis.
The other six WHA teams finished the season, and before the Winnipeg Jets won the 1979 Avco World Trophy, the league accepted the terms of a merger with the NHL whereby Edmonton, Winnipeg, Quebec and New England would enter the NHL as expansion teams the following season, and the WHA itself would cease operations. Cincinnati and Birmingham, the other surviving WHA teams, were paid to disband.
Mark Messier also began his career with the Racers in the 1978–79 season, playing five games but failing to register a point before finishing his tryout contract.
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