A TRIBUTE TO BOBBY ORR

Early in the 1900s, Robert Orr moved his family to a small Canadian town
called Parry Sound.  Robert's son, Doug, was an exceptional athlete.  He
excelled in track and hockey.  Doug Orr had the potential to play in the
N.H.L., but joined the Navy instead.  Doug married Arva Steele and the
couple settled in Parry Sound after World War II.

Children soon began to fill the Orr household.  Their first child was a
girl, Pat, followed by a son, Ron.  On March 20th, 1948 Arva Orr gave birth
to her third child.  It was a difficult birth and the child's survival was
in question, but this was no average baby.  This infant would grow to become
Robert Gordon Orr, hockey's greatest player...EVER!

Arva and Doug Orr named their young son after his paternal grandfather,
who had been a professional soccer player in Ireland before immigrating to
Canada.  

Bobby began skating at the age of four, on a pair of skates that Gene
Fernier, a friend of Doug Orr, had given to Bobby.  The Seguin River was
where young Bobby began his skating.  He would spend several hours a day
practicing his skating on the river and then spend an extra hour at night,
taking shooting practice in his garage on Great North Rd.

Bobby quickly took to the local game of Shinny that was played on the
frozen river.  The object of the game was for one player to grab the puck
and try and keep it on his stick as long as he could, while all of the
other players tried to steal it from him.  The game was considered a great
way to develop stick-handling.  Young Bobby Orr was the 'King of Shinny'.
Bobby recalls playing Shinny, "Most of the time we would be on the ice
from early morning until darkness.  Sometimes there would be 30 of us,
chasing after the same puck."

Organized hockey started for Bobby at the age of five.  He quickly jumped
up through the levels while winning unparalleled praise and recognition
before reaching the age of twelve.  Royce Tennant, Bobby's first coach,
had this to say, "He was good with people.  A leader in a quiet sort of
way."  Bobby was a big fan of Montreal Canadien defenseman Terry Harper
while growing up.  He liked to watch a defenseman who was an offensive
threat.  I guess he learned well.

Bobby was a hard worker in school, as well as on the ice.  In the summers
he loved to swim, hunt, and fish with his father and brothers.  Their 
favorite fishing spot was a place called Moon River.  Doug Orr remembers
Bobby as a very good, young fisherman, "He was always a good fisherman.
He could catch them in a bathtub".

Bucko McDonald, an all-star NHL defenseman in the 1940s, coached Orr in
PeeWee and Bantam Hockey.  Bucko was the one who had Bobby play defense.
When Doug questioned Bucko about the move, Bucko responded, "Bobby was born
to play defense".

In 1960, in a town called Ganonoque on the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the
legend of Bobby Orr began to blossom.  The Parry Sound Bantam All-Stars
were playing in a tournament and all six NHL teams had sent scouts to the
game to look at two young promising players for Ganonoque named Eaton and
Higgins.  

Within minutes of the puck being dropped the scouts for the Boston Bruins
had forgotten about Higgins and Eaton and had their eyes focused on the
skinny little kid from Parry Sound.  Young Mr. Orr had played 58 out of 60
minutes in the game (the other two minutes he was in the penalty box).  The
Boston Management (Milt Schmidt, Wren Blair, Lynn Patrick, and Weston Adams)
were seated in stunned silence. Milt Schmidt finally turned to Lynn Patrick
and said, "There's a kid on that Parry Sound team and either my eyes are
going bad or something, but he looks like something out of the norm".
Patrick turned and replied, "You mean that little #2?  Isn't he something?"
The race to sign the "wonder boy" had begun.

Wren Blair, Oshawa Coach and future mentor to Orr, spent many days in Parry
Sound building up a rapport with the Orr family.  Blair knew that Arva
didn't want her son to leave home at such a young age, so he offered to let
Bobby stay at home and commute 150 miles three times a week to the games.
At the age of thirteen, Doug and Arva permitted Bobby to sign a Junior A
contract card with Boston, to play for the Oshawa Generals.  Bobby was
still attending elementary school.

The early days in Oswaha were tough ones for the Parry Sound youngster.
Many of the older players initially resented the 14-year-old star.  Bobby
found a friend (and second father figure) in the club's trainer, Stan
Waylett.  A large man, Waylett would be rough and tough on the exterior
with the boys, but beneath the surface he was a warm and caring man.

Bobby Orr is recognized today as the most dominating Junior hockey player
in history.  At 14 years old, he played hockey against 19 and 20 year old
players, and he was a star.  Orr had four all-star seasons in Oshawa, but
never won the Memorial Cup.

In 1966, Orr played his most memorable Junior game against the touring
Russian National Team at Maple Leaf Gardens.  Although the Russians won,
4-2, the best player on the ice was Bobby Orr.  He continuously intercepted
the precision Russian attack and accelerated with dazzling rushes up ice.

Bobby was the first NHL player to hire a lawyer to negotiate a contract.
The contract was signed aboard the 42-foot cabin cruiser, Barbara Lynn,
which was owned by Boston GM Hap Emms.  Orr got $50,000 for two years and a
$25,000 signing bonus.  By today's standards this does not seem significant,
but at the time, that deal changed the NHL pay structure forever.

Bobby was a little anxious entering his first NHL camp in London, Ontario.
His mega-contract and the hype that preceeded his arrival had him worrying
about the reaction of the veteran Boston players.  During one of the first
practice sessions in London, Boston's veteran defensive leader, Ted Green,
skated over to the young Orr and said, "Kid, I don't know what you're
getting, but it isn't enough."

Young Mr. Orr experienced all the usual rookie initiations, including
"The Shave"; a head to toe shaving by the team whiling being held down.
Orr did not complain about his teammates rough horse play, and because of
this attitude his teammates accepted him that much quicker.

Orr's first NHL game was against the Detroit Red Wings.  He was so excited
to be playing against "Mr. Howe", that he arrived at the Garden at 1:00 pm
for a 7:30 pm game.  Early in the game, young Bobby put some lumber to the
back of Gordie's neck.  Later in the game, Detroit's #9 caught Orr with his
head down and smashed him to the ice.  Bobby remembers it like this, "He
hit me a good one, I saw birds for awhile".  Gordie's account of the check,
"All of the Boston players were skating over and the young kid got up and
told them: 'take it easy gentlemen, I deserved that!'".

The talent and grace of this young phenom was apparent from the first moment
he stepped on the garden ice.  The rest of the league quickly tested his
toughness and found out that it was on par with his skills.  Early in his
rookie season, Orr fought Montreal's tough veteran Ted Harris.  Harris hit
the ice twice from punches landed by number 4.

His first goal came against the arch-rival Montreal club at the Boston
Garden.  The Canadians goalie, Gump Worsley, had made three saves in a row
during a mad scramble in front of the Montreal net.  The puck bounced back
to the point after the third save.  Bobby wasted no time and drilled a
bullet past Worsely and the roar of the Garden faithful has deafening.
Montreal coach Toe Blake said, "I've never heard anything like it!" 

Bobby's true greatness was elevated beyond any place that ice skates could
have taken him, to a place where honest humanity and compassion carried him.
Young Mr. Orr took the time to answer his fan mail and make the person on
the street feel they were part of his team.  He is so much more than just
the greatest hockey player ever; he is a great human being. Orr's trademark
humility may have come from his hometown's attitude.  He always kept his
head down after scoring a goal, not wanting to further shame a fellow
professional.

Following a 1968 game at the Boston Garden, a fan's car was stuck in a
snowdrift in the rear parking lot.  A young man stopped by, while the snow
continued to fall, and said, "you steer, I'll push."  After twenty minutes
of pushing back and forth, the car was freed.  The fan got out to thank the
soaked young man and discovered that his helper was Bobby Orr.

Bobby was assigned #27 when he first signed with Boston, but he quickly
switched to the legendary #4.  Bobby won the Calder Trophy (top rookie) in
1966-67 and beginning in 1967-68 won the James Norris Trophy, as the NHL's
top defenseman, for the next eight years in a row. Bobby became a perrenial
fixture on the NHL All-Star Team.  I will not list the rest of his numerous
awards and staggering statistics in this section; to view them use the
buttons at the bottom of this page.

To understand Orr you have to realize that he honestly is a shy guy who was
never interested in individual awards.  The most meaningful awards to Bobby
are the 2 Stanley Cups that his teams won.

The Bruins team began to come together with some young players like Calder
Trophy winner Derek "Turk" Sanderson in 1967-68. Then the big trade with
Chicago to get Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, and Fred Stanfield really put the
wheels in motion for building a dynasty in Boston.

The main cog in the Big Bad Bruin wheel was clearly the young Bobby Orr.
Coach Harry Sinden knew that he had something very special, and Harry used
his superstar's incredible stamina to the Bruins advantage.  In 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.  Sports Illustrated
named him "Sportsman of the Year" in 1970.

When Bobby arrived in Boston, the leader in the locker room was Ted Green.
In a game versus St. Louis, early in Orr's career, the infamous pole-axing
of Ted Green took place.  A rookie forward named Wayne Maki took his stick
to Green's head.  As Green lay motionless on the ice, Bobby Orr flew over
the boards and pummeled Maki to the ice.  Orr then turned to his teammate,
where he quickly realized that something was seriously wrong.  Green's
life was in danger after being diagnosised with a fractured skull, a blood
clot, and partial paralysis.  Green recovered and returned to the Bruins,
but was never the same player.  The Bruins needed a new leader and they 
soon realized it would be #4.

Looking solely at the numbers that Bobby put up, one would be led into
believing that his defense suffered.  That couldn't be further from the
truth.  Orr's unparalleled speed allowed him to get back into position, on
the rare occasion when he would lose the puck in the offensive zone.  The
Bruins allowed twice as many goals with Orr on the bench.

Bobby played the game with reckless abandon.  During the 1970s many fans
questioned why such a superstar would sacrifice his body, by diving head
first to block a shot.  What they didn't understand was that if Bobby Orr
had pulled up, even a little, he wouldn't have been Bobby Orr.  The single
most important thing that separates Orr from history's other greats was
that he possessed toughness in addition to grace, skill, and speed.
  
Bobby Orr went on to lead the Boston Bruins to their first Stanley Cup in
29 years.  The famous picture of him soaring through the air is considered
by most people to be the single most defining image in NHL history.  "The
Goal" occured in overtime of the fourth game of the Stanley Cup Finals on
May 10, 1970.  Orr was refeed the puck on a give-and-go with Derek
Sanderson.  Blues' defender Noel Picard tripped Orr in frustration, after
the puck had slid under Goalie Glenn Hall.  The Boston Garden went
berserk!  The savior of the Boston Bruins had finally arrived.

Orr and the Bruins were upset by a star rookie goaltender named Ken Dryden
and a hungry Montreal team, in the 1970-71 season.  A season that Bobby
considers to be the best Bruins team ever.  "In my opinion we beat them in
every phase of the game, except that Dryden stood on his head and we
couldn't get the puck past him", Orr said.

The 1971-72 hockey season began and #4 was more focused and determined than
ever to win back what he believed belonged to the Bruins.  After a great
six game series with the N.Y. Rangers, in the finals, the cup once again
belonged to Boston.  Orr won the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) for the
second time and remarkably, for a defenseman, had scored his second Stanley
Cup clinching goal.

Brad Park, a very good defenseman for the New York Rangers, had to live in
the shadow of Bobby during the early 1970s.  He was forever being compared
to #4, an "honor" that was not quite fair to Brad or any other player.
Luckily for Bruin fans, Orr and Park did get to play on the same team for
a short while.  Probably the best blue line duo, for any given moment, in
hockey history.

Think about this fact for a moment: Bobby Orr twice won the NHL scoring
crown (1970 and 1975).  That feat may be the most incredible accomplishment
in sports history.  A defenseman winning two scoring titles seems much more
mind-boggling to me, than someone hitting in 56 straight baseball games or
even a basketball player scoring 100 points in a game. 

During a six year run from 1969 to 1975, Bobby Orr scored 734 points as a
defenseman.  An average of 122 points per season.  Considering that he had
a number of knee surgeries during this time, those numbers are beyond
remarkable.  Bobby Orr had changed hockey forever!

One of my favorite stories of #4, that shows why he was such a gift to us,
took place in Oakland, California.  In a 1975 game against the Golden Seals,
Orr took control of the puck while killing a penalty. He circled a couple
of times then rushed up the right side and shot.  The Goalie, Gary Smith,
made the save and the puck popped in the air.  While the puck floated in
mid-air about chest level, Orr flicked his blade and the red light went on.
For the first time in major sports history, BOTH teams stood and applauded.
That is the type of respect that #4 commanded. 

The other NHL teams realized that the only way to stop Orr was to try and
punish his weak knee.  Many teams began running people at him and these
hits started to take their toll.

In 1976 Bobby got to fulfill a life long dream by playing for his country
in the Canada Cup series against the Soviets.  Bobby won the "Outstanding
Player" award as Team Canada defeated the Soviets.  Despite not being able
to practice and having to wear six and seven ice packs after each game, Orr
drew upon his immense courage and played through extreme pain to lead his
country to victory.

Boston management offered Bobby part ownership of the team in 1976.  Orr's
agent (whose name will not appear on any tribute I'm writing) did not
inform him of the offer, so in 1976 Orr signed with Chicago for 3 million
dollars over 5 years.  Bobby played only 26 games for the Blackhawks.
Another display of his character was the fact that Orr returned the few
paychecks he received from Chicago, saying that he hadn't earned them.

Orr has said that he needed to go to Chicago to prove to himself that he
could still play.  After two injury filled years he knew that his knees
could no longer take it.  At a tearful news conference on November 8th,
1978, the greatest hockey player of all-time hung up his skates.  Recently
Bobby talked about his retirement, "It was frightening to be 30 years old
and not know what I was going to do next."

On January 9, 1979 the Boston Bruins held "Bobby Orr Night".  When Bobby
was finally introduced, the Boston Garden crowd stood and cheered for eleven
solid minutes and would not let Mr. Orr speak.  Finally the noise subsided
and the #4 was lifted to the rafters while Bobby and his family looked on.

In 1979 the Hockey Hall of Fame elected Robert Gordon Orr to be enshrined
into it's hallowed halls.  Bobby was, and still is, the youngest player ever
to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.  He was 31 years old!

In a Boston newspaper poll in 1989, the readers of New England were asked
what athlete best represents Boston Sports.  Ted Williams didn't win.
Larry Bird didn't win.  The Winner was old #4, Bobby Orr. Even the great
players of today, like Ray Bourque, have tremendous respect for #4 and his
legacy.

Legendary basketball star Larry Bird was seen during every home game
standing isolated and staring up while the national anthem played.  When
asked what this ritual was all about, Bird said, "I look at Bobby Orr's
banner for inspiration."

Arva and Doug Orr's son, Robert, is a person who enjoys life now, as he has
throughout his remarkable life.  His generosity, humble demeanor, and
love of life have overspilled onto his family, friends, and fans.

Bobby spends much of his post-playing days with his loving family: Wife
Peggy and sons Darren and Brent.  His love of hockey has kept him involved
in sports; he now works as a sports agent.  In his free time, Bobby plays a
lot of golf near his home on Cape Cod.  He still spends a lot of time on
charity work throughout New England.

He continually declines to take advantage of his name.  He is offered
thousands of dollars to appear at memorabilia shows, but always respectfully
rejects such proposals.  "I just don't feel comfortable doing that.  I'm not
criticizing others for doing it, but it just isn't right for me.", Orr says.

Bobby Orr is as great a human being as he was a hockey player, and folks...
it just doesn't get any better than that!

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