jack the gripper.. wayne gretzky.

[AndTheySayChiCity 0]

always saw his wood sticks taped up since his days with the Oilers/LA Kings..earliest i saw his Titan wood sticks from is 87-88 when he started to use it.

Easton Aluminum

http://www.gameusedsticks.com/sticks/gretzky_silver_1.jpg

http://www.gameusedsticks.com/sticks/gretzky_silver_2.jpg

used on all of his Hespeler sticks.

http://www.gameusedsticks.com/sticks/gretzky_1999_4.jpg

gauze like sponge type handle.

until recently as well.. with this Heritage game used Louisville OPS.

http://www.gameusedsticks.com/sticks/gretzky_heritage_1.JPG

http://www.gameusedsticks.com/sticks/gretzky_heritage_2.JPG

what exactly is it and is it/was it ever available to the public? i remember seeing some of brett hull's old sticks with "Jack The Gripper" handles on them as well. anyone know?

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

The grip on the R+ is a Tacki-Mac, not a Jack The Gripper. SRI got him using it as a substitute.

Can't find JTGs anymore, but I know someone who has a stash of them still.

[dangle7 0]

first off, the top pic is ovi photoshopped. take a close look at the "gretzky" name bar. have you ever seen a pro stock in ms word font?

if the second pic is from the same source, i would consider re-thinking your theory

i find it extremely difficult to believe that one of the greatest goal scorers ever didnt tape his own sticks.

that's like james bond not loading his own gun

[ean 0]

Looks like you've stumbled upon NHL history's best kept secret to goal scoring.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

first off, the top pic is ovi photoshopped. take a close look at the "gretzky" name bar. have you ever seen a pro stock in ms word font?

if the second pic is from the same source, i would consider re-thinking your theory

i find it extremely difficult to believe that one of the greatest goal scorers ever didnt tape his own sticks.

that's like james bond not loading his own gun

FUNNY

The pictures are ALL LEGIT. Gretzky's Easton HXP5100 shaft had his name as part of the graphics. Even the retail version.

And yes, he DID tape his sticks for the Heritage Classic. Some players do their own, some don't.

[AndTheySayChiCity 0]

The grip on the R+ is a Tacki-Mac, not a Jack The Gripper. SRI got him using it as a substitute.

Can't find JTGs anymore, but I know someone who has a stash of them still.

what's SRI? sorry for the lack of knowledge.

how exactly does it work? do you tape your stick with hockey tape then go over it? does it just slip on the butt end of your stick?

where can i get my hands on Tacki-Mac? i saw one random listing on ebay for a brand new still in the bag JTG but i wasnt sure how old it was. thanks in advance for the links/suggestions!

currently i just use gauze tape.

much like this that's pictured on this tennis racket grip

[mickz 107]

first off, the top pic is ovi photoshopped. take a close look at the "gretzky" name bar. have you ever seen a pro stock in ms word font?

if the second pic is from the same source, i would consider re-thinking your theory

i find it extremely difficult to believe that one of the greatest goal scorers ever didnt tape his own sticks.

that's like james bond not loading his own gun

Wasn't Gretzky endorsed by Jack The Gripper?

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

He's a member.

[AndTheySayChiCity 0]

found the link after doing some google searches.

so Tacki-Mac is the closest thing i can get to JTGs?

http://www.tackimac.com/shoppingcart/hocke...mmandgrips.html

his is more comparable to the 4 in sand small, correct?

my grips tend to be 4-6 in from the butt end anyways. by no means am i looking to buy it just b/c Gretz used it, i've always used gauze tape on my grips and it still kind of eats away at the palm of my gloves, but i always wondered where i could get my hands on the JTGs i'd see on Gretz and Hull's sticks.

again, how do the grips work? do they just slip over the butt end?

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

You can get the 6" and cut it with a razor blade.

They have a double-adhesive tape you put on the shaft, then wet it with hot water, and then slip the grip on it.

[AndTheySayChiCity 0]

sounds good! do you know how long they'd typically last? i know the grips themselves are about $5 each... the price of about 2-3 rolls of tape.

thanks JR!

there's actually a couple places in Chicago that have them in stock, so i'll have to check them out.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

THey last a while and don't kill your gloves.

I would still use them if I could find them. I used to cut the knob as well.

[mack 44]

You can get them on eBay, but for $30-$40. Those are the real eBay idiots.

[fatwabbit 93]

found a similar thing in the store here for field hockey sticks. One of those cost about $4, and is about 12" long so you can basically get two grips for $4.

[dangle7 0]

do we really think gretz is going to use a retail shaft? lets get real.

any real pics in game play/ hull using it?

still not buying it

[LkptTiger 1]

I'm all for skepticism, but your particular case extends to a fault.

[Krev 86]

do we really think gretz is going to use a retail shaft? lets get real.

any real pics in game play/ hull using it?

still not buying it

You sir, are an idiot.

[AndTheySayChiCity 0]

do we really think gretz is going to use a retail shaft? lets get real.

any real pics in game play/ hull using it?

still not buying it

so you're trying to tell me.. that the Gretzky sticks in these pics off of GameUsedSticks.com is..fake/not authentic.

tell me how in the hell someone's gonna get their hands on a stick (down to the exact pattern/lie) that is taped up to the exact specifications of the great one, himself? oh gretz, never used that stick. someone just stole it from him then faked his signature on the stick.

TONs of players use retail shafts.

Simon Gagne (and Jarome Iginla) used a retail Easton Ultra Lite shaft (as did Brian Leetch when he played.. Paul Kariya currently)for a while in his first couple years in the show.

Theo Fleury used a retail Nike Ignite shaft.. as did a ton of other players who used Nike back in it's hayday.

Marian Hossa used a retail Easton ZCore..

prior to custom OPS, the only things you could get custom were wooden sticks and graphite or wood blades..i think just recently within the last almost 10 years, companies decided to offer custom shafts with certain whippier or stiffer flexes.

[AndTheySayChiCity 0]

Believe it or not, Gretz didn't ever tape his sticks in both Edmonton or LA. That is a fact!

awesome fact to know! so you talked to Gretz before hand and he gave you a run down of how he likes his sticks to be done?

haha how does one acquire a position like that? lol

[Viking 1]

do we really think gretz is going to use a retail shaft? lets get real.

any real pics in game play/ hull using it?

still not buying it

I googled and couldn't find any pictures where you could clearly see the handle of his stick, but I did find this - it's another one of the TPS sticks from a different site. Surely you don't think two different sites are selling fake Wayne Gretzky sticks that just happen to be to the exact same specifications... Look, he really used the grips, and those really are his sticks. Why is it so hard to believe that Wayne Gretzky used a certain type of rubber grip on his sticks?

[kovalchuk71 212]

Wayne Gretzky's restaraunt has about 20 of his sticks there....All of his aluminums have grippers on them. I have seen them myself.

[Monty22 833]

IIRC, When Marc Savard was a Ranger just coming up to the show he cleaned the shop I worked at out of the grippers. I believe they had just been disontinued, and he wanted to be like Gretz. Not as much as Ryan Smyth, but just a little.

[Tikkanen 1]

I have the Easton Aluminum autographed sitting right across from me with the Gripper on it. I thought it was common knowledge that that is what he used.

[Viking 1]

It is. That guy's knowledge is uncommon, apparently.

[Sparty4 0]

When Prospal scored last night they panned across the Philly bench and it looked like he uses a jack the gripper too.