Bobby Orr

Original Artwork (Mind Meister)

I chose the book Orr, My Story. It's an auto-biography and is 290 pages long. I chose this book because my grandfather read the book and he gave it to me as he thought I would like it as I am a defensemen. The span of time of the book is from around 1955 to 2013. Orr, My Story was written in 2013. Did you know that Bobby Orr was the youngest living player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame at 31 years old? He also still holds the record for the most points as a defensemen. He still remains the only defensemen to win the Art Ross Trophy twice.

A portrait of Bobby Orr (Original Artwork)

Bobby Orr was born and raised in Parry Sound Ontario. He remembers being a little boy and waking up and going out to play hockey on the bay. Doug Orr was his father and Arva Steele/Orr was his mother. He had 4 siblings; Patricia, Ronnie, Penny and Doug Jr. Bobby was a middle child. He remembers his sister Penny standing up for him when someone criticized him. Bobby Orr went to school at Victory Elementary and when he went to play for the Oshawa Generals he went to school at O'Neill Collegiate and Vocational Institute and then not long after transferred to R. S. McLaughlin Collegiate. When he wasn't at school he was on the water all seasons. He enjoyed water skiing, hockey and swimming. During the summer he would most likely be found at grandma Orr's lakeside cabin. Something that he and his grandma had in common were their bad knees. Like many other kids in the summer, he could also be found at the baseball diamond. One thing that happened when he was little was that he and his friend came across a pack of cigarettes and smoked them under a bridge. A shopkeeper saw them and phoned Arva. He claims that there could have been smoke coming out of her ears. Like most Canadian kids, he dreamed of making the NHL. The first year he played organized minor hockey he was moved up to the elite team almost immediately. In bantam his team won the Provincial Championships. When he was around thirteen scouts and agents were checking him out. One man, named Wren Blair was working as a Bruins scout. He signed Bobby up for a C form which means that the player is signed to that team. A player has to be eighteen to sign the C form but his parents could sign on his behalf when he was fourteen. Arva was really hesitant about Bobby going away when he hadn't even finished grade eight. Doug suggested he spend the weekdays in Parry Sound and on the weekends go wherever the Generals were playing.

"The Goal" (An orignal artwork)

Bobby Orr has had a big knee problem as a player that eventually forced him to retire. He had many surgeries removing cartilage and his meniscus. He had a knee replacement years after his career was over. Bobby Orr had an agent named Alan Eagleson who he and his parents trusted since the time when he came to their house when Bobby was 16. Alan had a quality of getting what he wanted. Bobby let Alan control all the numbers financially. Alan was convicted of fraud and embezzlement. Bobby Orr was almost broke when he retired. Bobby Orr played for the Boston Bruins from 1966 to 1976. For his last two seasons he played for the Chicago Blackhawks. He only played twenty-six games in two seasons. The Blackhawks felt bad for him and tried to get him on the team, but Bobby felt uncomfortable around the team after he felt he let them down. Eddie Johnston was the GM for the Hartford Whalers and he thought they might capture some old magic if they put their heads together. Once again he felt the same pain of being in the dressing room because of him not playing the game he loved. He also had a job of being a colour commentator for Hockey Night in Canada. One time the other colour commentator wasn't there and he almost had a heart attack because he was so nervous. Then in 1991 he joined Woolf Associates to help recruit players. With some partners he bought the company in 1996. In 2002, He separated the operation from the rest of the firm, and that was the beginning of Orr Hockey Group. His parents had always had a big influence in his life. They taught him values and how to be a good person before his hockey life. They also did not treat him differently than his siblings. Another intriguing person was Wilfred Kennedy "Bucko" McDonald. He was a Leafs player and for twelve years a member of Parliament for Parry Sound-Muskoka. Bucko was usually a chauffeur for anyone who couldn't get a ride. Bucko taught Bobby to trust his first instinct and to skate with the puck. Bobby Orr had many qualities, some from his parents and some were natural. He was a good-willed person, humble and athletic. One weakness which he eventually got over has his shyness of cameras and microphones . His knee was a weakness since the start and eventually forced him to retire when he would have been in his prime years even after all the surgeries. Bobby Orr had many awards and recognition over the years. He won and received the Stanley cup twice, the Canada Cup Championships and the James Norris trophy 8 times. He was also an All-Star Selections, a Member of Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979. He received the Order of Canada, the Ted Lindsay award, and the Lester Patrick Trophy.Other honours include the Bobby Orr elementary school, the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame in Parry Sound, "The Goal" statue in Boston, Number retirement for the Boston Bruins and Oshawa General. He was also an Olympic flag-bearer.

Bobby Orr was a outstanding person to read about. I never knew much about him other than he was a great hockey player. He is humble, generous and many other things. I learned tons about him such as his hockey career ended because of his knee. I knew nothing about Alan Eagleson who took so much away from him. A question I would ask him would be "What were you feeling when you learned that Alan Eagleson basically robbed you?" another question would be " What was it like to win your first Stanley Cup?" or another question would be " How do you think different parents/coaches affect you?" I would like to be this persons child because he seems really nice and kind even though there probably were hard times.I found the book Orr, My Story a really interesting story because it didn't just highlight his career but he told his story from the start to the end. I found one chapter about Alan Eagleson a little dull maybe it's because I'm a kid. From the book I learned a lot of things I never knew. You can learn almost anything from his life in this book. From Bobby Orr you can learn that you have to love and be passionate about something to achieve it. You have to stick with it even at times when it it's looking bad you have to keep trying. I'm happy to learn about him, because I'm a pretty big hockey guy. I'm also a defensemen and I never knew a lot about him besides he was one of the best defenseman around. I think most kids would consider him a hockey a hero, but he is not just that he is a role model because he never did anything super bad. He tried hard, loved what he did and stuck with hockey throughout his life.

The book I read and got my information from. (Google Images ( Viking Canada))