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Bobby Orr was born on
March 20, 1948, in the town of Parry
Sound, Ontario, Canada. He first
caught the eye of a Boston Bruin
scout in 1960 as a 12 year old
defenseman playing in a bantam
tournament. At age 14 the Bruins had
already signed him to a junior
contract that saw him begin play
with the Oshawa Generals. Orr would
go on to set a new record for points
by a defenseman in the Ontario
League. He played in Oshawa until he
was 18, when he signed with the
Bruins to play in the National
Hockey League. Orr's first season
saw him score 41 points, win the
Calder trophy and be named as a
Second Team All-Star...Book
Bobby Orr for Your Event
Bobby Orr had an
enormous impact on the game of
hockey, pioneering the "mobile" or
"rushing defenseman". His blazing
speed, quickness, and a knack for
scoring changed the face of hockey
by bringing offense from the
defenseman. Orr would win the Norris
Trophy as best defenseman for eight
straight years, and added two Art
Ross trophies for scoring titles.
His first Art Ross was in 1970 as he
became the only defenseman to lead
the league in scoring, and he would
repeat the feat in 1975. Orr also
led the Boston Bruins to their first
Stanley Cup in 29 years when they
won the championship in 1970. The
following season saw him score 33
goals and 102 assists for 139
points, one of six seasons where the
Bruin defenseman scored over 100
points. His record for goals by a
defenseman stood until 198x when
Paul Coffey scored 48 goals with the
1985-86 Edmonton Oilers.
Knee injuries which began soon after
Bobby Orr entered the NHL would
force him to miss numerous games,
require several surgeries, and a
severely shortened career. He would
undergo five knee operations between
1968 and 1975 before leaving the
Bruins for the Chicago Blackhawks.
But even with his bad knees, Orr was
by far the best Canadian player in
the 1976 Canada Cup series. Even at
Chicago, he only played 20 games in
1976-77 and missed the entire
1977-78 season. His final NHL season
was in Chicago in 1978-79 where
Bobby Orr played in just 6 games
before retiring at the young age of
31.
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Bobby Orr for Your Event
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