Bobby Orr
[edit] BiographyRobert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, Order of Canada (born March 20, 1948 in Parry Sound, Ontario) is a retired Canadian ice hockey defenceman and is considered to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time. [1] [edit] Playing careerBorn in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, Orr displayed his ice hockey talents at a very early age. He started skating and playing Shinny at age four, and was signed by Boston Bruins' scout Wren Blair at the age of twelve. As a 14-year-old he played for the Oshawa Generals in the junior league Ontario Hockey Association, competing against eighteen-, nineteen- and twenty-year-olds; National Hockey League rules dictated that he could not join the Boston Bruins before reaching eighteen. In his third season Orr led the Generals to the OHA championship, and in his final season with Oshawa he averaged two points a game. Prominent Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson negotiated his first contract with the Bruins. At the time it made Orr the highest-paid player in league history. In his first professional season — although missing nine games with a knee injury presaging such woes throughout his career — he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's outstanding rookie and, while the perennially cellar-dwelling Bruins finished in last place that season, sparked a renaissance that propelled the Bruins to make the playoffs the following twenty-nine straight seasons. New York Rangers defenceman Harry Howell, the winner of the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenceman in Orr's rookie year, famously predicted that he was glad to win when he did, because "Orr will own this trophy from now on." An injury to his right knee limited Orr to just 46 games in the 1968 season, but he nonetheless won the first of eight straight Norris trophies. In 1970 he did the unthinkable, doubling his scoring total from the previous season to score 120 points, six shy of the league record and becoming the first (and to date, only) defenceman in history to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer. Besides the Norris and Art Ross, Orr also captured the first of his three consecutive Hart Trophies as regular-season MVP and later won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his playoff heroics, being the only player in history to win four major NHL awards in one season. He went on to lead the Bruins in a march through the playoffs that culminated on May 10, 1970, when he scored one of the most acrobatic goals in hockey history to give Boston its first Stanley Cup in 29 years. The subsequent image of Orr flying through the air, his arms raised in victory — he had been tripped by Blues' defenceman Noel Picard at the moment of shooting — became a prize-winning photograph and is arguably the most famous and recognized hockey image of all time.  The following year, 1971, in a season where the powerhouse Bruins shattered dozens of league offensive records, Orr finished second in league scoring while setting records that still stand for points in a season by a defenceman and for plus/minus (+124) by any position player. He led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup again the following season, leading the league in scoring in the playoffs and scoring the championship-winning goal en route to his second Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. His knee problems would take an increasing toll after 1973. Despite being limited by knee injuries which would later force him to retire early, he continued to dominate the National Hockey League during his career, leading the Bruins to another first place league finish and the Stanley Cup finals in 1974. In a shortened career, he still won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's most outstanding defenceman eight times, more than any other player in NHL history. In 1976, despite several knee operations that left him playing in severe pain, Orr was named the most valuable player in the Canada Cup international competition. At the end of the 1976 season, Orr's contract was over and the Boston Bruins needed to renew it. The Bruins offered Orr a lucrative contract, including over 18% ownership in the Bruins organization. However, Eagleson, who by this time was doubling as Orr's agent and executive director of the NHLPA, falsely told Orr that the Chicago Black Hawks had a better deal, something that was not revealed for a number of years. It later emerged that Eagleson had very good relations with Black Hawks owner Bill Wirtz, and frequently colluded with owners he favoured to hold down salaries. Orr subsequently signed with Chicago, but his injuries rendered him too severely hurt to play effectively, and, after playing in only 26 games over the next three seasons, retired in 1979. Famously, he never cashed a Chicago pay check, stating that he was paid to play hockey and would not accept a salary if he wasn't playing. Orr retired having scored 270 goals and 645 assists in 657 games, adding 953 penalty minutes. At the time of his retirement, he was the leading defenceman in league history in goals, assists and points, 10th overall in assists and 19th in points. The only players in league history scoring more points per game than Orr are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy. [edit] Style of playOrr inspired the game of hockey with his command of the two-way game, which was unique for a defenceman. Defencemen with offensive skills had not been very common in the NHL prior to his arrival, although there were some historically notable exceptions such as Eddie Shore, Doug Harvey and Red Kelly. However, their total offensive impact was limited to playmaking for the most part. Orr was unique in that he could score goals as well, and he influenced countless defensemen who followed him, such as Brad Park, Paul Coffey, Denis Potvin, and Ray Bourque. His speed, most notably a rapid acceleration, and his open ice artistry electrified fans as he set almost every conceivable record for a defenceman. In contrast to the style of hanging back defensive play common in the later 1950s and 1960s, Orr was known for his fluid skating and end-to-end rushing. Orr's rushing enabled him to be where the puck was, enabling him not only to score effectively but also defend when necessary. Orr's style was augmented by the fact that his home arena for most of his career, Boston Garden, had an ice surface shorter than the standard NHL rink. He was thus able to get from one end of the rink to the other in a very short time. [edit] RetirementAfter more than a dozen knee operations forced Orr's early retirement in 1979, the NHL waived the mandatory three-year waiting period for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and he was enshrined at age 31 — the youngest player ever to be inducted, and one of only ten players to get in without having to wait three years. "Losing Bobby," said Gordie Howe, "was the greatest blow the National Hockey League has ever suffered." One of Orr's lasting legacies is that his popularity helped to cement the expansion of the NHL in America and his 4 jersey - which was retired by the Bruins in January, 1979 - was popular with fans there. He has been honored with his name recorded on Canada's Walk of Fame. A museum exists in his honor in his home town of Parry Sound called the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame. In 1979 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Orr later played a role in the exposure of Eagleson's misconduct over the years. In addition to misleading his clients about contract terms, Eagleson used the NHLPA pension fund to enrich himself. Eventually, Eagleson was convicted in American and Canadian courts and sentenced to 18 months in Canadian prison, of which he served six months. Orr, who once considered Eagleson a "big brother," was one of several players who threatened to resign from the Hall of Fame if Eagleson wasn't removed. Facing certain expulsion, Eagleson resigned from the Hall soon after his conviction in 1998. Subsequent to his playing career, Orr served briefly as an assistant coach for Chicago, and as a consultant to the NHL and the Hartford Whalers, spending the bulk of his retirement years as a Boston-area bank executive. He is currently a player-agent in Boston. Every year, Orr used to coach a team of top Canadian Hockey League players against a similar team coached by Don Cherry in the CHL Top Prospects Game. [edit] Career achievements and facts
[edit] Records
[edit] Player AgentORR Hockey Group is a Boston-based player agent majority owned by Orr and repurchased in Feb 2002. The group represents such surging young talent as Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, Rick DiPietro, Nathan Horton, Jeff Carter, Anthony Stewart and Brian Boyle. Spezza when asked on the experience of having Orr as an agent replied: "I don't think I have a true feeling for how great he is. I have so much respect for him. I watch him on tapes and it's just ridiculous how good he was compared to the guys he was playing against. He's a great guy and you don't even know it's Bobby Orr, the way he talks to you." interview [edit] Cultural references
[edit] Statistics
--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
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1963-64 Oshawa Generals OHA 56 29 43 72 0
1964-65 Oshawa Generals OHA 56 34 59 93 0
1965-66 Oshawa Generals OHA 47 38 56 94 92
1966-67 Boston Bruins NHL 61 13 28 41 102 -- -- -- -- --
1967-68 Boston Bruins NHL 46 11 20 31 63 4 0 2 2 2
1968-69 Boston Bruins NHL 67 21 43 64 133 10 1 7 8 10
1969-70 Boston Bruins NHL 76 33 87 120 125 14 9 11 20 14
1970-71 Boston Bruins NHL 78 37 102 139 91 7 5 7 12 10
1971-72 Boston Bruins NHL 76 37 80 117 106 15 5 19 24 19
1972-73 Boston Bruins NHL 63 29 72 101 99 5 1 1 2 7
1973-74 Boston Bruins NHL 74 32 90 122 82 16 4 14 18 28
1974-75 Boston Bruins NHL 80 46 89 135 101 3 1 5 6 2
1975-76 Boston Bruins NHL 10 5 13 18 22 -- -- -- -- --
1976-77 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 20 4 19 23 25 -- -- -- -- --
1977-78 Did Not Play - Injured 0 0 0 0 0
1978-79 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 6 2 2 4 4 -- -- -- -- --
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NHL Totals 657 270 645 915 953 74 26 66 92 92
[edit] References[edit] Related Articles[edit] Recent Bobby Orr ArmchairGM Stories
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