Which newspaper ran John Iaboni's 1971 profile of young Gretzky?

John Iaboni’s 1971 profile of young Wayne Gretzky ran in the Toronto Telegram. The article appeared in October 1971, when Gretzky was 10 years old and already attracting attention beyond his hometown of Brantford.

The profile highlighted a remarkable minor-hockey prospect known for scoring and for idolizing Gordie Howe, Detroit’s famous No. 9. Its reported title was “No. 9 with big No. 9 aspirations,” linking the young Gretzky’s ambitions to Howe’s number and reputation.

The timing is significant. Gretzky was still years away from the NHL, yet his performances with the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers had already made him a regional sensation. By age 10, he had scored 378 goals in 85 games, according to biographical accounts.

The Toronto Telegram was a major Toronto afternoon newspaper, but it ceased publication on October 30, 1971—only days after Iaboni’s article appeared. That short publication window can make the story easy to confuse with later Toronto Star or Globe and Mail coverage.