Bobby Orr

The defenceman who revolutionized hockey.

He is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who revolutionized the defenceman position with his skating, scoring, and play-making.^[1]

Quick Facts

Hall of Fame: 1979
Born: 20 March 1948
Birthplace: Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
Position: Defence
Shoots: Left
Played for: Boston Bruins; Chicago Black Hawks

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Orr started organized hockey at age eight as a forward, but his coach Bucko McDonald moved him to defence and encouraged offensive rushes.^[2][3] He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as outstanding rookie in 1966–67 after scoring 13 goals and 28 assists.^[4] In 1969–70, he became the first defenceman to score 100 points, leading the league with 120 points.^[5] After retiring, Orr became a scout and later entered the player agent business in 1996.^[6]

NHL scouts first became aware of Orr due to his performances in Ontario's provincial hockey competitions when he was just twelve years old.^[2] At the age of fourteen, Orr began playing for the Oshawa Generals, and across his four junior seasons there, he was selected as an all-star three times.^[2] On May 10, 1970, Orr netted the goal in overtime that won the Stanley Cup for Boston, marking the franchise's first championship since 1941.^[7]

What the cited sources add

The same article reported that Orr worked one summer as a bellhop at the Belvedere Hotel.^[8] The NHL's 2017 "100 Greatest Players" list stated that Orr changed the face of hockey by himself, according to teammate Phil Esposito.^[9][10] An NHL.com article from 2020 reported that Orr's first NHL hat trick came on December 14, 1968, with each goal set up by Ed Westfall.^[11] The NHL's profile on Orr noted that Toronto Maple Leafs legend Darryl Sittler said Orr "was better on one leg than anybody else was on two".^[9]

References

Wikipedia, "Bobby Orr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "NHL legend Orr honoured in hometown", CBC News, July 18, 2003; Dryden 2000, p. 26–32 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Orr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bobby Orr: 100 Greatest NHL Players", NHL.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Orr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brunt 2006, p. 14 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Orr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brunt 2006, p. 14; MacInnis 1999, p. 48 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Orr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "NHL Stats", NHL.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Orr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Powers, "Wasserman acquires Acme, adds to growing hockey agency division", The Athletic, June 29, 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Orr" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Podnieks 2003, p. 33 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Deford, "Boston's savior Bobby Orr commands respect, high price at 18", October 17, 1966. facts only, no text reused. si.com
"Bobby Orr: 100 Greatest NHL Players", NHL.com. facts only, no text reused. nhl.com
"100 Greatest NHL Players", NHL.com, January 27, 2017. facts only, no text reused. nhl.com
"Dec. 14: Orr gets first NHL hat trick NHL.com", www.nhl.com, December 14, 2020. facts only, no text reused. nhl.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Bobby Orr (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.