Essential Collections: Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers O-Pee-Chee Run

This 1979-80 Wayne Gretzky O-Pee-Chee Rookie is probably the most recognizable hockey card of all time. The Great One is considered by most to be the best hockey player that ever lived. He won multiple Stanley Cups and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. This card features him as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

This 1980-81 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky is the 2nd year card of The Great One. Not the most attractive of cards, this one is a good mark for Gretzky fans who cannot afford the expensive rookie card of the greatest hockey player of all time.

This 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky is another great looking Gretzky card. This card is special because in the 1981-82 season Gretzky broke the NHL record for most goals in a season with 92. This record still stands today. Gretzky scored his 50th goal in the 39th game of the season. He was unsurprisingly named the league MVP that year.

This 1982-83 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky hockey card is yet another great early card of the Great One. It must have been nice to open up a pack and find a Gretzky card in those days no matter what team you followed. This one again has Gretzky in his Edmonton Oilers jersey.

This 1983-84 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky hockey card is one of the better looking Gretzky cards of the 1980s. The year this card was issued was another huge season for Gretzky as he led the league in goals, assists, and points. He was named an All Star and the league MVP. He also won his first Stanley Cup that year as the Oilers beat the four time defending Cup Champion New York Islanders in the finals.

This 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky hockey card features a head shot of the Great One sporting the hockey haircut he helped make famous. Gretzky won a Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers the year this card was issued. He notched 255 points (regular season and playoffs) that year which is still an NHL record. There is no doubt that this was a hot card in its day.

Owners of this 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky have yet another Gretzky card from an MVP year as Gretzky was the Hart Trophy winner that year. Gretzky led the league with 215 points which is still an NHL record. His total of 163 assists is also an NHL record. Despite having perhaps the best regular season of all time in 1985-86, Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers were bounced from the playoffs by the Calgary Flames.

This 1986-87 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky is another nice 80s card featuring the Great One. Still a couple of years before he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, this one features Gretzky with the Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky would go on to break most offensive NHL records in his Hall of Fame career.

This 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky hockey card features a great picture of The Great One skating in his Edmonton Oilers uniform. It was unknown at the time that this was to be the last Wayne Gretzky card as a member of the Oilers as he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings during the summer of 1988. However, that last season, he led the Oilers to the Stanley Cup and won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP.

This 1988-89 Topps Wayne Gretzky is the first hockey card to feature The Great One as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. This iconic photograph was made possible by a trade in the offseason before the 1988-89 NHL season. Gretzky would not go on to have the success with the Kings that he had with the Edmonton Oilers. Nevertheless, Oilers fans must hate this card.