Bobby Orr

Born Robert Gordon Orr on March 20, 1948 in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, his hockey talents were evident at a very early age. As a 14-year-old he played for the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Junior A League, competing again mostly 19-and 20-year-olds. National Hockey League rules meant he could only join the Boston Bruins as an eighteen-year-old. In his first season he won the Calder Trophy as outstanding rookie and began a turnaround for the perpetual last place Bruins that culminated on May 10, 1970 when he scored one of the most acrobatic goals in hockey history to give Boston its first Stanley Cup in 29 years.

A defenseman, Bobby Orr revolutionized the game of hockey, creating a new breed of defenseman with his offensive role. His speed, most notably a rapid acceleration, and his open ice artistry electrified fans as he set almost every conceivable record for a defenseman. Despite being limited by knee injuries which would later force him to retire early, he dominated the National Hockey League during his career.

He is the only defenseman to ever win the league scoring championship, accomplishing this feat twice. Orr's 139 points in the 1970-1971 season remain a record for the National Hockey League defensemen. He won the Hart Trophy as the league’s Most Valuable Player three times, from 1969-1970 through 1971-1972. He captured the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's best defenseman a record eight consecutive seasons, from 1967 to 1975.

In 1976, despite several knee operations that left him playing in severe pain, Bobby Orr was named the most valuable player in the Canada Cup international competition.

In the late 1970s, Bobby Orr was voted the greatest athlete in Boston history in the Boston Globe newspaper’s poll of New Englanders, beating out Ted Williams, Bill Russell, Carl Yastrzemski and Bob Cousy.

Forced to retire after more than a dozen knee operations, the mandatory waiting period for the was waived and in 1979 he was enshrined in Hockey Hall of Fame at age 31, the youngest player to be inducted.

Bobby Orr is considered one of the greatest to ever play the game of hockey.