What was the name of the first professional team Wayne Gretzky played for?

The Indianapolis Racers were the first professional team Wayne Gretzky played for. The Racers competed in the World Hockey Association, a major professional league that challenged the NHL during the 1970s. Gretzky signed with Indianapolis as a 17-year-old in 1978 and began his professional career there.

His time with the Racers was brief. Gretzky played only eight games for Indianapolis during the 1978–79 season before the financially troubled franchise sold his contract to the Edmonton Oilers. He then finished the season with Edmonton, where his professional career began to take shape.

Many quizzes list the Edmonton Oilers because that is the team most closely associated with Gretzky and the club where he became a global superstar. However, Edmonton was his second professional team, not his first. Gretzky had also played major junior hockey for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds before turning professional, but the Greyhounds were not a professional team. The Indianapolis Racers therefore remain the canonical answer.