Bobby Orr

ARTICLE CONTENTS:  |  Suggested Reading

Orr, Robert Gordon
Robert Gordon Orr, "Bobby," hockey player (b at Parry Sound, Ont 20 Mar 1948). He was an outstanding junior player with Oshawa Generals and joined Boston Bruins in 1967 at the age of 18, winning the CALDER TROPHY. He revolutionized the role of the defenceman with his end-to-end rushes, his playmaking and his incredible scoring feats - he is the only defenceman ever to win the ART ROSS TROPHY as leading scorer, accomplishing the feat twice. He dominated the flow of play, surging forward and skating with an intensity exemplified in the photograph of him soaring through the air after scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal.

He was voted the greatest athlete in the history of Boston, ahead of the great baseball and basketball stars. His list of awards is to date unmatched by any defenceman in NHL history: HART TROPHY 1970, 1971 and 1972; CONN SMYTHE TROPHY 1970 and 1972; and JAMES NORRIS MEMORIAL TROPHY 8 years 1968-75. He was first-team all-star 8 consecutive years, 1967-75, and scored 270 goals and 645 assists in 953 games, adding 92 points in 74 playoff games. He suffered his first knee injury in his rookie season, and by the time he left Boston to sign a $3-million contract with Chicago Black Hawks (1976-77), he had had 6 knee operations. Orr was unable to participate in the CANADA-SOVIET HOCKEY SERIES due to injury, but did play in the inaugural CANADA CUP in 1976. His knees were already destroyed but his performance was outstanding, earning him honours as the tournament's most valuable player and proving he was still the best player in the game. Following the tournament he was able to play in only 26 games for the Black Hawks before his knees put an end to his career.

Orr was elected to the HOCKEY HALL OF FAME in 1979 and was made a member of the ORDER OF CANADA that same year. He is currently a player agent in the US and devotes his time to several charities. Orr is widely considered to be one of the sport's greatest players.

Orr, Robert
Orr, Robert
Orr flies through the air after scoring the overtime goal that brought the Stanley Cup to Boston in 1970 (Canapress).

Author JAMES MARSH


Suggested Reading
Stephen Brunt, Searching for Bobby Orr (2007).

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