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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Wayne Gretzky Celebrity Tennis Tournament

Another day without any cards to celebrate a birthday--like a day without sunshine.
So we take a stroll down memory lane, to July 1982, for  the second annual Wayne Gretzky Celebrity Tennis Tournament. This was a  fundraising event to support the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind). It became one of my regular hounding events. It brought together a mix of hockey players and entertainment personalities. Some came every year but there was always a good rotating list. Some of the details (quite a few actually) are hazy. I believe this one was indoors and they had some tables set up to get autographs. You could also get them walking around the arena. There were also people not scheduled to appear or confirmed late, so you never knew who was going to be there. Of course, I brought some cards to get signed and that helped build up my collection. Buying a program was also a part so you could get something signed and help you identify signatures. From the scans below, the signature beside the picture is easy to identify. The ones on the cover not so. Still trying to figure out now who they are.



Front cover signed by Walter Gretzky, Gus Badali, Billy Derlago, Allan Thicke, Paul Coffey and ?????.
 Back cover signed by Bruce Hood, Robert Walden, Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, ???, ???, ??? and ???. Haven't looked at this in years. Looks like I might need to do some research to see who my ???'s are




Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson


Anton Stastny


  Colin Campbell


Garry Unger


 Mike Bullard and Mark Hunter (two former Brantford Alexanders)

2 comments:

  1. This article is very good,I like it very much,and welcome to cheap Tennis Rackets sports series.It can offer you leisure and fashion.

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  2. I was Wayne's tournament chairman that year as well. I have the original art for the cover of the program. I've known the family for over 40 years now. Inside you'll see my picture with comments. Zig Misiak. Great memories.

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