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Bobby Orr

A Disappointing End



Orr played in Boston (or "Orr Country," as a popular bumper sticker of the time dubbed it) for six more seasons after that first Stanley Cup. He helped bring the Stanley Cup back to the city in 1972, again scoring the winning goal, and he remained a favorite of Bruins fans.



A bizarre twist marred the end of Orr's hockey career for many Bostonians. In 1976 Orr's long-time agent, Alan Eagleson, was negotiating a new contract for him. Orr wanted to remain with the Bruins, and the Bruins desperately wanted to keep him, offering him an 18.5% ownership stake in the team, worth millions, if he would stay. However, Eagleson had unethical ties with Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, who also wanted Orr. Eagleson concealed Boston's offer from Orr and convinced him that Boston didn't want him to stay. Orr signed the deal with Chicago.

Chronology

1948 Born March 20, the third of Doug and Alva Orr's five children
1962 Begins playing for the Oshawa Generals Junior A hockey team
1966 Joins the Boston Bruins at the age of eighteen
1967 Injures knee colliding with a teammate during a charity-benefit exhibition game
1973 Marries Peggy Wood
1976 Signs with the Chicago Blackhawks
1976 Skates for Team Canada in the first Canada Cup
1978 Announces his retirement from hockey November 8
1979 Orr's #4 jersey retired at Boston Garden

Awards and Accomplishments

1967 Wins the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year
1967 NHL Second Team All-Star
1968-75 NHL All-Star Team
1968-75 Wins Norris Trophy for best defenseman the first time
1970 Stanley Cup
1970 Named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year
1970 Won the scoring title with 120 points, twenty-one points above the runner-up; first defenseman ever to win the scoring title
1970 Lou Marsh Trophy for outstanding Canadian male athlete
1970-72 Hart Trophy as League MVP
1970, 1972 Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the playoffs
1970, 1975 Art Ross Trophy
1972 Stanley Cup
1973 Wins the scoring title
1975 Wins Lester B. Pearson Award
1976 Canada Cup All-Star Team
1976 Canada Cup MVP
1979 Lester Patrick Trophy
1979 Inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame

Orr was at that time struggling to play at all. He had suffered from knee problems ever since colliding with a teammate in a charity-benefit game in 1967. By 1976, he had already had multiple operations on his left knee, but in the days before artificial knees there was little that the doctors could do. There was nearly no cartilage remaining in the joint, and the sensation of bone rubbing against bone was excruciatingly painful. After playing only twenty-six games in just over two seasons with Chicago, Orr announced his retirement in a tearful news conference on November 8, 1978. Later that season, he received an eleven-minute standing ovation from the crowd in Boston when his #4 was retired. That same year, 1979, Orr became the youngest player ever to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Orr's troubles with Eagleson did not end with his retirement. Eagleson, who had been representing Orr before he signed his first contract with the Bruins, had mismanaged Orr's finances in a way that left him in deep trouble with both the Canadian and the American tax agencies. Between back taxes and legal bills, Orr was essentially bankrupt by 1980. The full extent of Eagleson's crimes, however, would not become apparent for many more years. In 1992, Eagleson was indicted in the United States on thirty-two counts of racketeering, fraud, and embezzlement related to the time he spent heading the NHL players' league. He eventually served an eighteen month sentence. After Eagleson's conviction, Orr was one of eighteen members of the Hall of Fame who threatened to quit the hall if Eagleson, also in the Hall of Fame, was not removed. (He was.)

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Famous Sports StarsHockeyBobby Orr Biography - The Young Champion, "a Man With Class", A Disappointing End, Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments - SELECTED WRITINGS BY ORR: