There are good men. And then there are good men..Case in point … a fellow who played hockey, for a team up north..A team we roundly hated. We did..Why? Because he, and his team, were so damn good..And because they regularly beat the hell out of our team, down south, the Calgary Flames..I’m speaking, of course, about man known as “The Great One.”.Oilers great, Wayne Gretzky. Man, myth, legend..And greatness, is deserved folks: he notched 61 NHL records, including a handful that are truly staggering..Single-season marks of 92 goals, 163 assists and 215 points; a point streak of 51 games; 894 career goals and 2,857 career points; 15 seasons of 100 or more points, 13 of them consecutive..And on, and on, it goes..And yet Wayne himself said this of his mentor, Red Wings’ great Gordie Howe, who died at age 88..“Best player ever, and I’ll say that to the day I die,” said Gretzky, at the time..He also knew his history, both on and off the ice, something that was important to him as he grew into an exceptional player, as well as an ambassador for the sport..“I asked my son ‘You know how many hat-tricks Gordie Howe had?’ My son says ‘I dunno. Fifty, 60?'.I said, ‘He had one. That’s when you know you are a really good player.’ ”.He meant, of course, the Gordie Howe hat trick. That wonderful trifecta consists of the player collecting a goal, an assist and a fight in a single game..A fantastic Howe legacy! Cherished to this day..Off the ice, everybody knew who Gordie Howe was. Even “Tiptoe Through The Tulips” singer, Tiny Tim, who was big at one time. Tim was a big Gordie Howe fan, it turned out. And after meeting him, they asked Gordie what he thought..Gordie answered, “Well, if he likes hockey, he has to be OK.”.In other words, leave Tiny Tim alone, or you’ll get an elbow in the face!.But Howe’s fame, was even greater than that..Said Wayne: “When I signed with Indianapolis in the WHA, I went to New York to do a little PR with Gordie and Bobby Hull, and coincidentally, Muhammad Ali was in the lobby and he came over to say hello. This is pretty wild, even Muhammad Ali knows Gordie Howe.”.Gretzky also learned to be polite to people and to sign autographs the right way..“If you notice, every autograph you ever got from Gordie says ‘Gordie Howe.’ You don’t have to say ‘who’s that signature?’” said Gretzky. “You look at jerseys and sticks now and you say ‘who’s this guy?’.“Gordie took the time for every person.”.He sure did — signing my game program at the Olympia, surrounded by a gaggle of kids..When one child tried to shove his way to the front, I remember Gordie saying, “Now don’t do that, or … I’ll punch you in the nose.”.We all laughed at the joke, but the shoving stopped..It’s about giving back, folks, something NHL players today, could do a lot more of. A helluva lot more of..One epic Howe story, is recounted by his son Murray..When Gordie found out that the night watchman at Olympia Arena had been mugged, Gordie gave the man his watch. When the story became public, Gordie got 10 watches in the mail..So then … it’s no surprise, that Gretzky is now being remembered, for an even greater fan appreciation moment..According to a report in HockeyFeed.com, Gretzky was at a promotional event that put the spotlight on first responders, during a game between the FDNY and NYPD..Being that the event was between a pair of teams based out of New York, Wayne was asked to retell a famous story related to a family that lost their son during the tragic events of 9/11, the report said..Gretzky would go on to share a story about how he met a family one day by the pool in Las Vegas, a chance meeting.."Janet and I happened to be in Vegas for a charity event and they were sitting by the pool... sort of a family get together. I kinda walked by and they said, 'Are you Wayne?' and I said yeah and they said 'We had a son that tragically passed in 9/11 and here's his picture,' and they gave me his card and I said I'll keep it in my wallet for life.".Of course, a very nice thing for Gretzky to say and do … keeping a photo of a man he had never met..And not only just keep it, but keep it, in his wallet, forever?.That is too much, right? Apparently, not..According to Gretzky, a full decade later, he ran into friends of that very same family when he was once again in Las Vegas.."Ten years later I was in Vegas again for another event," continued Gretzky, "and friends of their family said 'Can we ask you a question, do you still have that picture of our friend? Their family told us you were gonna have it in your wallet.' I said yeah, and I pulled my wallet out and I still had the picture. I said I promised the family I would never lose it, I would keep it forever.".An incredible act of kindness..Yet, the Great One never wanted any recognition — he remained humble, and matter of fact throughout, as he repeated the story. Just like Gordie would have done.."You know what? Everyone went through a hard time," said Gretzky. "For me to keep a little keepsake like that is special to me.".As I said. There are good men, and then there are really good men..If only more NHLers and professional athletes at large, would give back..At some point, big money loses its meaning. It dissolves the connection between the fans and athletes. It destroys, distorts and corrupts..I hear that Los Angeles Angels’ Japanese baseball phenom, Shohei “Shotime” Ohtani, who is both a sensational DH and pitcher, is poised to become the first MLB player to earn a half a billion dollars in free agency, should he go that route..It’s true, he is an amazing player. But this will only make it harder, I assume, for regular folks to afford to take their kids to see a baseball game..American free enterprise, gone mad. The world, if you will, gone mad. Our priorities completely shot to hell..So … let Mr. Ohtani keep his millions..I’ll tell you one thing, I would bet he doesn’t keep a photo in his wallet..From a family who lost their son in 9/11..And that, my friends, means more than all the money, in the world..It doesn’t cost a dime, to be a class act.
