Bobby Orr

Robert Gordon Orr (b. March 28th 1948 in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada) is a retired professional defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Black Hawks. He is widely considered as one of the best hockey players ever.

Playing Career
Orr displayed very high skills at a very young age. He was signed by the Boston Bruins as a twelve years old; he reached the Ontario Hockey Association two years later, playing against players who were 18, 19 and 20 and did just as fine as them. He led the Oshawa Generals to the OHA championship; the following year, his final as a junior (NHL rules stated that players had to be 18 to join the league), Orr averaged an incredible 2 points-per-game, which is especially special since he was a defenceman.

Orr won the Calder Memorial Trophy in his first season in the league, the 1966-67 season and was a Second Team All Star. While playing in an August 1967 charity game in Winnipeg, Manitoba to raise funds for the Manitoba Hockey Players Benevolent Association, Orr hurt his right knee. Surgery was not required but Orr wore a cast for five weeks. The knee healed in time for the regular season and Orr never had trouble with the right knee again.

The November 6, 1967 match versus Toronto saw a bench clearing brawl at 5:28 of the second period. With the Bruins leading 1-0 on an Orr Power play goal, Leafs Brian Conacher was killing a penalty and dumped the puck into the Bruins zone as Orr approached him. Conacher's stick came up and broke Orr's nose. John McKenzie starting pummelling Conacher, who fell to the ice. Orr then joined in on beating Conacher, which resulted in the Leafs bench clearing, followed by the Bruins. It was the first bench clearing brawl in the league since December 6, 1963. The game ended in a 2-2 tie.

In the 1967-68 season, he'd win the first of eight straight Norris Trophies, despite only playing 46 games, mainly due to a broken collarbone and the first surgery on his left knee. In 1969-70, he doubled his point production from previous season and finished atop the league's scorers. He became the first, and to date only, defenceman to be awarded the Art Ross Trophy given to the league's top scorer. That season, besides that trophy and the Norris, he also clinched his first of three straight Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP, and the Conn Smythe Trophy at the end of the playoffs to mark his outstanding play - he is the only player to have won four major trophies in one season in the NHL. In 1970-71, he finished second in league's scoring, while playing for the stars-loaded Bruins, he established still unbroken records for points in a season by a defenceman and for the best plus/minus ratio for any position (+124). The next season, he would win a second Stanley Cup, as well as another Conn Smythe.

The 1972–73 season saw upheaval for the Bruins. Former head coach Sinden returned to the club as the general manager. Bruins players Gerry Cheevers, Derek Sanderson and Johnny McKenzie joined the upstart World Hockey Association. Coach Tom Johnson was fired fifty-two games into the season, replaced by Bep Guidolin, who had once coached Orr. The Adams family, which had owned the team since its founding in the 1920s, sold it to Storer Broadcasting. The Bruins' season came to a premature end in a first-round loss in the 1973 Stanley Cup playoffs, losing Esposito to injury in Game 2 in that first round. Orr amassed 101 points during the regular season (he only played 63 games due to injury) but had only two points in the playoff loss. In the 1973–74 season, Orr led the Bruins to another first-place finish. His point total rebounded to 122 with 32 goals and 90 assists. That season, Orr set the record (since surpassed) for the most points in a game by a defenceman, scoring 3 goals and 4 assists in a November 15, 1973 game against the New York Rangers. One goal, a shot from the blue line, broke the stick Rangers' defenceman Rod Seiling.

The Bruins made it to the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals, but lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. In game one, late in the third period tied at 2–2, Orr blocked the open Boston net with his leg to keep out a Flyers' shot on goal, then took the puck up the ice and scored on a slapshot past goaltender Bernie Parent with a little over a minute remaining in regulation time to propel the Bruins to a 3–2 win. In game five, Orr assisted on Boston's first goal with shorthanded rush, and scored the next two goals himself as the Bruins won 5-1. In the deciding game six, Orr was in the penalty box after a scuffle with the Flyers' Bobby Clarke and during the ensuring power play the Flyers scored (which turned out to be the Cup-winning goal), but with 4 seconds left and the Bruins trailing 1-0 Orr took a face-off and sent a desperation length of the ice shot that went just wide of the Flyers' net (goaltender Parent admitted "If his shot is on net, it's a goal").

In the 1974–75 season, Orr broke his own previous record for goals by a defenceman, scoring 46 goals to go with 89 assists for his sixth straight 100 point season. His record for goals by a defenceman stood until Paul Coffey totalled 48 in 1985-86. He won the league scoring title and the Art Ross Trophy for the second time. 1974–75 was his last full season and his last season playing with Esposito. The Bruins placed second in the Adams Division, and lost to the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round of the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs, two games to one. Orr had tallied 100 points in six straight seasons, a record for any player of any position, forward, or defencemen (since broken), although his teammate Esposito that season also achieved his sixth (and last) 100 point season, although only five of those were consecutive. There are only eight other seasons in history of defencemen scoring 100 points or more (Paul Coffey with five, Denis Potvin, Al MacInnis and Brian Leetch, with one each).

In 1976, the Bruins offered Orr one of the most lucrative contracts ever, a deal that included 18% ownership of the Bruins. However, his agent, Alan Eagleson, falsely told him that the Chicago Black Hawks had made him an even better offer; he also voluntarily omitted to mention to Orr about the ownership parts the Bruins offered. Thinking he was choosing the better side, Orr signed with Chicago. The lie was made public years later; it has been showed that Eagleson, who was also executive director of the NHLPA, frequently colluded with owners he favoured, in an effort to keep player salaries down. In this case, Eagleson had good relations with the Black Hawks owner, Bill Wirtz, and cheated in his advantage. It didn't pay off however for Wirtz and the Black Hawks as Orr, terribly diminished by the serious knee injuries he had to live with, only played 26 games as a Black Hawk over the course of three seasons, following which he retired in 1979.

After his retirement, the NHL waived the three year mandatory waiting period for him and he was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He later helped exposing the crimes of Eagleson, for which the later was sentenced to 18 months in jail (but only served 6).

Awards

 * OHA First All-Star Team – 1964, 1965, 1966.
 * Awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy (rookie of the year) in 1967, the youngest ever to win the award, and the youngest ever to win a major NHL award up to that time.
 * Named to the Second All-Star Team in 1966–67 (his only full season when he did not make the First Team, as a rookie).
 * Named to the NHL First All-Star Team eight times consecutively (1968-1975).
 * Awarded the James Norris Trophy eight times (from 1968 to 1975, his last full season).
 * Played in the NHL All-Star Game eight times (from 1968 to 1975).
 * Won the Art Ross Trophy in 1969–70 and 1974–75.
 * NHL Plus/Minus leader in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974 and 1975, the most in history.
 * Awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy three times consecutively (1970–1972).
 * Awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1970 and 1972, the first two-time winner of the playoff MVP award.
 * Stanley Cup winner in 1970 and 1972.
 * Won Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian athlete of the year in 1970.
 * NHL All-Star Game MVP in 1972.
 * Received Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award in 1970.
 * Voted the greatest athlete in Boston history in the Boston Globe newspaper's poll of New Englanders in 1975, beating out baseball and basketball stars such as Ted Williams, Bill Russell, Carl Yastrzemski and Bob Cousy.
 * Awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1975.
 * Named the 1976 Canada Cup Tournament MVP.
 * Awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1979.
 * Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979, with the mandatory three-year waiting period waived, making him the youngest inductee at 31 years of age
 * Voted the second greatest hockey player of all time by an expert committee in 1997 by The Hockey News. Orr is behind only Wayne Gretzky and ahead of Gordie Howe as well as being named the top defenceman of all time. Gretzky said he'd have voted for Orr, or for his hero, Gordie Howe.
 * Ranked 31 in ESPN's SportsCentury: 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century in 1999.

Records and Former Records Held

 * Most Career Goals by a Defenseman- 270 surpassed by Denis Potvin and currently held by Ray Bourque- 410


 * Most Career Assists by a Defenseman- 645 surpassed by Brad Park and currently held by Ray Bourque- 1169


 * Most Career Points by a Defenseman- 915 surpassed by Denis Potvin and currently held by Ray Bourque- 1579
 * Most Career Goals by a Defenseman (including playoffs)- 296 (270 Regular Season & 26 Playoffs), surpassed by Denis Potvin and currently held by Paul Coffey- 455 (396 Regular Season & 59 Playoffs)
 * Most Career Assists by a Defenseman (including playoffs)- 711 (645 Regular Season & 66 Playoffs), surpassed by Brad Park and currently held by Ray Bourque- 1308 (1169 Regular Season & 139 Playoffs)
 * Most Career Points by a Defenseman (including playoffs)- 1007 (915 Regular Season & 92 Playoffs), surpassed by Denis Potvin and currently held by Ray Bourque- 1759 (1579 Regular Season & 180 Playoffs)


 * Most Goals by a Defenseman in a Season- 46 in 1974-75 surpassed by Paul Coffey (48 in 1985-86)


 * Most Assists in a Season- 102 in 1970-71 surpassed by Wayne Gretzky in 1980-81 record currently held by Gretzky (163 in 1985-86)


 * Most Assists in a Season by a Defenseman- 102 in 1970-71


 * Most Points in a Season by a Defenseman- 139 in 1970-71


 * Highest Plus-Minus in a Season- +124 in 1970-71
 * Highest Career Plus-Minus- +597 surpassed and currently held by Larry Robinson- +730
 * Most Goals in a Season by a Defenseman (including playoffs)- 47 (46 Regular Season & 1 Playoff) in 1974-75 surpassed and currently held by Paul Coffey, 49 (37 Regular Season & 12 Playoff) in 1984-85 and (48 Regular Season & 1 Playoff) in 1985-86
 * Most Assists in a Season by a Defenseman (including playoffs)- 109 (102 Regular Season and 7 Playoff) in 1970-71 tied with Paul Coffey, 109 (84 Regular Season & 25 Playoff) in 1984-85
 * Most Points in a Season by a Defenseman (including playoffs)- 151, (139 Regular Season and 12 Playoff) in 1970-71 surpassed and currently held by Paul Coffey, 158 (121 Regular Season and 37 Playoff) in 1984-85


 * Highest Points Per Game in a Career- 1.393 (915 Points in 657 Games) currently held by Wayne Gretzky- 1.921 (2857 Points in 1487 Games)


 * Highest Assists Per Game in a Career- 0.982 (645 Assists in 657 Games) currently held by Wayne Gretzky- 1.320 (1963 Assists in 1487 Games)
 * Fastest player to reach 400 Points- 333 GP, surpassed by Bryan Trottier (296 GP) and currently held by Wayne Gretzky (197 GP)
 * Fastest player to reach 500 Points- 396 GP, surpassed by Bryan Trottier (362 GP) and currently held by Wayne Gretzky (234 GP)
 * Fastest player to reach 600 Points- 461 GP, surpassed by Bryan Trottier (435 GP) and currently held by Wayne Gretzky (274 GP)
 * Fastest player to reach 700 Points- 518 GP, surpassed by Bryan Trottier- (506 GP) and currently held by Wayne Gretzky (317 GP)
 * Fastest player to reach 800 Points- 575 GP, surpassed and currently held by Wayne Gretzky (352 GP)
 * Fastest player to reach 900 Points- 638 GP, surpassed and currently held by Wayne Gretzky (385 GP)
 * Fastest player to reach 300 Assists- 346 GP, surpassed by Bryan Trottier (343 GP) and currently held by Wayne Gretzky (229 GP)
 * Fastest player to reach 400 Assists- 437 GP, surpassed and currently held by Wayne Gretzky (290 GP)
 * Fastest player to reach 500 Assists- 522 GP, surpassed and currently held by Wayne Gretzky (352 GP)
 * Fastest player to reach 600 Assists- 608 GP, surpassed and currently held by Wayne Gretzky (416 GP)
 * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 200 points (21 years, 304 days) until he was surpassed by Pierre Larouche (21 years, 32 days).
 * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 300 points (22 years, 268 days) until he was surpassed by Pierre Larouche (22 years, 133 days).
 * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 400 points (23 years, 214 days) until he was surpassed by Bryan Trottier (22 years, 239 days).
 * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 500 points (23 years, 357 days) until he was surpassed by Bryan Trottier (23 years, 208 days).
 * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 600 points (24 years, 363 days) until he was surpassed by Bryan Trottier (24 years, 187 days).
 * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 700 points (25 years, 333 days) until he was surpassed by Bryan Trottier (25 years, 190 days).
 * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 800 points (26 years, 277 days) until he was surpassed by Bryan Trottier (26 years, 162 days).
 * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 900 points (26 years, 218 days) until he was surpassed by Guy Lafleur (28 years, 121 days).

Trivia

 * The Toronto Marlboros played an exhibition game against the Russian National Team on December 14, 1965. The Marlboros were augmented with junior stars from other teams including Bobby Orr, Serge Savard, Jean Pronovost, Derek Sanderson and Don Marcotte.