Wayne Gretzky wore four jerseys on April 18, 1999. One for warm-ups. One for the first period. One for the second. One for the third and overtime. The Rangers' equipment staff swapped them out like they were preparing evidence for a future auction house. Which, 27 years later, is exactly what happened.
The first-period jersey. The one Gretzky wore during the pre-game ceremony and the opening 20 minutes of his final NHL game. It sold for $448,994 at Classic Auctions on February 24.
That's the least valuable of the four.
The Night Itself
Gretzky's final game was at Madison Square Garden against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He recorded his 2,857th and final NHL point in the second period. An assist on a Brian Leetch power-play goal. The Rangers lost 2-1 in overtime on a Jaromir Jagr goal. Nobody cared about the score.
After the final whistle, Gretzky shook hands with every Penguin on the ice. He took a lap around the Garden. The arena gave him all three stars. First star: Gretzky. Second star: Gretzky. Third star: Gretzky.
Then he disappeared into the tunnel for the last time.
Four Jerseys, Four Price Tags
Here's what we know about each jersey from that night.
The warm-up jersey has not surfaced publicly in recent auction records.
The first-period and pre-game ceremony jersey came directly from former Rangers GM Neil Smith, who received it from Gretzky after the game and held onto it for over two decades. MeiGray photomatched it, including to the April 26, 1999 cover of Sports Illustrated. That's the one that just brought $449K at Classic Auctions.
The second-period jersey is the crown jewel. That's the one Gretzky was wearing when he set up the Leetch goal. His last point. Ever. It sold for $715,120 at Grey Flannel Auctions in June 2023 to actor and collector Rob Gough. Gough turned around and consigned it to Sotheby's in September 2025, where it was estimated at over $2 million in a dedicated sale titled "The Great One."
The third-period jersey sits in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Not for sale.
So the scoreboard: $449K for the first period. $715K for the second period. Priceless for the third. And the warm-up jersey is somewhere, waiting.
What $449K Means for Hockey Memorabilia
Context matters. The most expensive hockey jersey ever sold is Gretzky's final Edmonton Oilers sweater from the 1988 Stanley Cup. That went for $1.452 million at Grey Flannel in 2022. It still had champagne stains from the locker room celebration. Seventy-five days after wearing it, Gretzky was traded to LA.
The $449K result at Classic Auctions puts this first-period jersey solidly in the upper tier of hockey memorabilia. But it also shows how much weight collectors assign to the specific moment a jersey was worn. Same game. Same player. Same night. But the second-period jersey, the one attached to the final point, commands significantly more.
In sports memorabilia, the narrative is the asset.
The Rest of the Classic Auctions Sale
The Gretzky jersey was the clear headliner, but the February 2026 Classic Auctions sale had depth. A 1951-52 Parkhurst Maurice Richard rookie card graded SGC Mint 9, the highest-graded example known, brought $62,968. A Tim Horton 1969 Toronto Maple Leafs game-worn alternate captain's jersey also crossed the block, along with a complete 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee set with 172 cards graded PSA Mint 9 and 38 at Gem Mint 10.
Hockey memorabilia has been quietly building momentum for years. It doesn't get the mainstream attention that basketball and baseball command. But the buyer pool is deep, the supply of significant pieces is small, and Gretzky's name moves numbers every single time.
Four jerseys from one night in 1999. The cheapest one just sold for almost half a million dollars. The warm-up jersey is still out there somewhere. And whoever has it just watched its value go up.
