BOBBY ORR - LEGENDARY NHL DEFENSEMAN

Bobby Orr: A Biography Presentation by Peter Stylianou

REMARKABLE ATHLETE:

Bobby Orr is considered, along with Wayne Gretzky and
Gordie Howe, to be one of the three greatest hockey players of the modern era. Emerging from Parry Sound in
Ontario’s near-north, he redefined the defensive style of hockey; there was nothing like it before him. He was the first to infuse the defenceman’s position with offensive juice, driving up the ice, setting up players and scoring some goals of his own.

He was drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1966 and quickly won the Calder Memorial trophy as the league’s most outstanding rookie. After 12 phenomenal seasons, Orr posted a total of 915 points in only 657 games. He was almost re-writing record books as he was setting so many at such a fast pace.

He was the first player to win three straight MVP Hart trophy awards and eight straight Best Defenseman Norris trophies. He was the first defenseman to score twenty or more goals in a season and the only defenseman to lead the league in scoring, and did that twice. His most famous goal won the Boston Bruins the Stanley Cup in
1970 – against the St. Louis Blues in overtime – and led them to a second Cup in 71-72 against the New York
Rangers.

Just how great, how early? For the 1962-63 hockey season, Orr joined the O.H.L. Oshawa Generals as a bantam-aged 14 year old playing against 19 and 20 year olds, and he was a star.

Stephen Brunt, the author of “Searching for Bobby Orr”, was at his best when he described Orr’s brilliance on the ice painting a vivid portrait of a player forever changing the role of his position... “Wherever he was on the ice, the puck seemed to come to him, as though directed by a higher force. And when he carried it, when he was stick- handling, Orr never needed to look down. He could some- how feel the puck there on his stick blade... Orr seemed to have five or six different speeds, different gears, each of which he could achieve without any obvious extra effort...

Brunt adds, “If it’s numbers you need to evaluate Orr’s best ever brilliance, consider no more than this one: in his 1970-71 season with the Bruins, Orr amassed a plus minus tally of... + 124. Compare that to Gretzky in his absolute prime of 1985, the 208 pt. + 98 season... The truth is... there is no comparison, and the 1970-71 season stands alone as the greatest ever played by anyone in the history of the N.H.L.

In just his third season, he was on the ice an average of
37 minutes a game. Much of that time he was carrying the puck. That is nearly two complete periods that Orr was quarterbacking the team, each and every night.

In 1970, the magazine Sports Illustrated named him
“Sportsman of the Year” shaping the social culture of the times along with Muhammed Ali and Joe Namath. He became a perennial figure on the N.H.L. All-Star team and also played in the 1976 Canada Cup against the
Soviets. Bobby Orr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of
Fame in 1979.

HEROIC QUEST:

On March 20th, 1948, Avra Orr gave birth to their third child. It was a difficult birth and the child’s survival was in question, but this was no average baby. This infant would become Robert Gordon Orr, hockey’s greatest player... EVER!

Growing up in a small and rural town, Bobby had one life goal, and it was to play in the N.H.L. Stephen Brunt’s physical description of Bobby Orr was “all skin and bones”, which appears to be the reason he won’t reach his goal. However, Bobby’s attitude was unique – he was dedicated and determined.

He knew how much he had to work and train to reach his goal, and wasn’t intimidated. Young Bobby practiced until he puked. He would spend several hours a day practicing his skating on the Seguin River and then his shooting in his garage. Brunt remarked, “On the river, he could skate forever”. Orr demonstrated that perseverance is not just an attitude, it’s a way of life. There were obstacles. Bobby lived in a time of post-war that complicated his early life.
Also, his father was a drunk and didn’t offer the support that, say a Wayne Gretzky received from his father
Walter. His perseverance was the feature that enabled
Orr to forget about the world around him and focus on his ambition.

BOBBY’S GREATNESS – NO FOIL:

Here’s the other kicker. Every other superstar athlete had some sort of foil, an individual enemy with similar skill to overcome and conquer. Tom Brady has Peyton Manning, etc. But let’s be blunt – nobody could match Bobby Orr!
Gordie Howe could do everything, but not at top speed.
Bobby Hull went at top speed, but couldn’t do everything.
And the physical aspect is missing from Gretzky’s game.
Orr covered every inch of the ice.
While Orr didn’t put up quite the numbers as Number 99, when you’re responsible for both ends of the ice, how can you? Gretzky had enforcers Dave Semenko and Marty
McSorley as enforcers to help out. Orr was counted on to stimulate the offense and play his natural position of defenseman as well.
Amazing!

BOBBY’S ACHILLES HEEL:

The story of Orr can’t be told without it’s tragic dimension. “Hockey Achilles” is the description of Bobby’s knees (mainly his left one). They were inherently weak and fragile. During 1969 to 1975 Bobby had several knee surgeries. The other N.H.L. teams realized that the only way to stop Orr was to try and punish his weak knees.
Many teams began running people at him and these hits took their toll.

In the 1976 Canada Cup, Orr drew upon his immense courage and played through extreme pain to lead his country to victory.
In 1978, he knew that his knees could no longer take it, hung up his skates, and retired.

BOBBY’S MENTOR:

Bucko McDonald, an all-star N.H.L. defenseman in the
1940’s, coached Orr in Pee Wee and bantam hockey.
Bucko was the one who had Bobby play defense.
When Douglas Orr questioned Bucko about his son’s move to D, Bucko responded, “Bobby was born to play defense”. OTHER INTERESTING INFORMATION:

TORONTO PASSED ON SELECTING BOBBY ORR:

The Toronto Maple Leafs had first crack at Bobby Orr, and turned him down sight unseen. In 1960, a letter sent by A.A.
Gilchrist to Punch Imlach – then GM for Maple Leaf Gardens – describes a 12-year-old fair haired crew cut lad having the earmarks of a Gordie Howe. Bob Davidson, head scout of
MLG, responded by saying he was “a little too young to be put on any list for pro-tection” and “we will contact him if he is good enough”.

Hindsight says the Leafs needed to take this letter seriously and move heaven and earth to get this kid, and they didn’t.
They let this youngster get away.

BOBBY ORR’S TWO SONS NEVER PLAYED HOCKEY:

It seems really sad that Orr’s two sons never learned how to skate. Bobby never forced them to follow in his footsteps, but to keep the door closed on them seems unfair.

BOBBY ORR’S AGENT ALAN EAGLESON STOLE BOBBY’S FORTUNE:

Bobby’s naivety is partly to blame for allowing his agent,
Alan Eagleson to assume almost complete control over his life and finances off the ice. He used Orr to promote and enrich himself. He kept many items of memorabilia that belonged to Bobby.