32 Facts About Peter Pocklington

Peter Hugh Pocklington was born on November 18,1941 and is a entrepreneur and vocal advocate of free-market capitalism.

Peter Pocklington earned the enmity of many Canadians when he traded hockey's greatest player, Wayne Gretzky, to the Los Angeles Kings.

Peter Pocklington was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, to Basil Cohen Peter Pocklington, an insurance executive who had immigrated from England as a young man, and his wife, Eileen, and grew up in London, Ontario.

The greatest influence on young Peter Pocklington was the legendary motivational speaker Earl Nightingale and his best-selling recording, The Strangest Secret.

Peter Pocklington had the cash flow to buy Edmonton's fledgling team in the World Hockey Association, the Edmonton Oilers.

Peter Pocklington would come to operate several businesses over the next several years, but he has always said owning sports teams gave him the most satisfaction.

The man who came to be known as "Peter Pocklington Puck" bought part ownership of the Edmonton Oilers in 1976.

Peter Pocklington was taken hostage by a gunman who broke into his home.

The kidnapper was caught and Peter Pocklington made a full recovery.

However, before the ransom could be paid, police snuck into the house and shot both Petrovic and Peter Pocklington, wounding both men.

In 1983, Peter Pocklington entered the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership convention.

Peter Pocklington campaigned on a platform of free trade with the United States, privatizing government-owned Crown corporations like Air Canada, Petro-Canada and Canadian National Railway, retiring the national debt and implementing a flat tax.

Peter Pocklington withdrew his candidacy before the second ballot and supported the eventual winner Brian Mulroney, who would adopt some of Pocklington's policies while in government.

Peter Pocklington was an active philanthropist for many years in Edmonton.

From 1995 to 2010, Peter Pocklington served as a member of the board of directors for the Betty Ford Center.

In 1998, after selling the Oilers, Peter Pocklington moved to the US with his wife Eva, and settled in Palm Desert, California.

Peter Pocklington remains active in business and philanthropic pursuits there, and was for a long time member of the board of directors at the Betty Ford Center.

On October 8,2014, Peter Pocklington was invited back to Edmonton when the Oilers organized a 30-year reunion of their first Stanley Cup championship team.

Peter Pocklington insisted the province disband its pork marketing board, which fixed prices on pork at a rate higher than what the meat packers could sell it in the marketplace.

When Peter Pocklington was confronted with the issue, he protested it was the engraver's fault, not his, that the engraver had mixed up the people who were actually technical members of the team with a list of individuals who were to receive miniature replica Cups.

Peter Pocklington publicly threatened to move the team to Hamilton and Minneapolis, but never made good on the threats.

Peter Pocklington's remaining business empire was sold off piece by piece, including the Oilers and Trappers and Cambra Foods.

In May 2012, Peter Pocklington announced his family was auctioning memorabilia from his time as owner of the Oilers, including his rings from their Stanley Cup championships.

Peter Pocklington later claimed in his biography the confusion stemmed from a set of rings he had made for his father, and were sold by his father's estate in 2001.

Peter Pocklington invested in several businesses in the US, including the nutraceutical maker Naturade, and golf club manufacturers Golf Gear and Sonartec.

The court had earlier heard evidence that Peter Pocklington had, over a 19-month period, failed to disclose consulting fees paid to a company controlled by his wife.

Peter Pocklington argued that was not the case, that all income was reported through tax returns and bank statements.

Those geologists "boast impeccable reputations and have been conscientious and thorough in their testing", Peter Pocklington wrote in a letter to the Edmonton Journal.

On October 8,2014, Peter Pocklington was the focus of a media opportunity organized by the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club to promote the 30-year reunion of the 1984 Stanley Cup championship team.

Peter Pocklington subsequently sent letters to the editors of The Edmonton Sun.

Peter Pocklington has been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, or AMD.

On October 19,2013, The Edmonton Sun reported Peter Pocklington would seek stem-cell treatment for his condition.