Wayne Gretzky jumped started hockey fandom, almost by his lonesome.
I don’t agree.
I’d need facts/figures to show that he dramatically improved hockey game attendance or tv viewership. Hockey was already a well-established North American sport at the time. Not at the level of the NFL, NBA or baseball, but established nonetheless. Gretzky just put a youthful face on a game that was seen as a “Gordie Howe” kind of thing.