A Wayne Gretzky rookie card has sold for a record $3.75 million at auction.
Heritage Auctions of Dallas said Thursday the 1979 O-Pee-Chee Gretzky card was in “gem mint” condition and went to an anonymous buyer. The card features the hockey great in his Edmonton Oilers uniform during the team’s final WHA season before the franchise joined the NHL.
The sale topped the online company’s previous high for a hockey card. In December, Heritage sold a Gretzky card from Professional Sports Authenticator for $1.29 million, the first hockey card to exceed $1 million.
The known record for a sports card sale came this year when a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball rookie card sold for $5.2 million through PWCC Marketplace.
A four-time Stanley Cup winner, Gretzky retired from the NHL in 1999 with a record 894 goals, 1,963 assists and 2,857 points. He left his job as an Oilers executive this week to become a hockey television analyst for Turner Sports.
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