This story, by Leo Monahan, first appeared in The Sporting News dated May 9, 1970, as the Boston Bruins were marching to their first Stanley Cup since 1941. Leading the way: Bobby Orr, 22, in a remarkable fourth season with the team in which he won the Hart (regular-season MVP), Norris (top defenseman), Ross (most points) and Smythe (playoff MVP) trophies.
BOSTON, Mass. — “This is a helluva statement to make, and I'm sure I'll get a lot of flak over it, but he may be the greatest athlete who ever lived," said Boston Bruins Coach Harry Sinden.
"The kid did it all in six games. If we had him, no one ever would touch us. What a player!" said New York Ranger General Manager Emile Francis after his team had been eliminated by Boston in six games of the Stanley Cup quarterfinals.
"We'd give a whole team for him," said Sid Abel, general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.
"It was futile," said Chicago Coach Billy Reay. "We'd shoot it in. He'd bring it out. That's another part of the game he has spoiled for everybody."
Who could win this kind of applause? Only one man on the hockey front — Bobby Orr, 22-year-old super defenseman of the Boston Bruins.
Orr would be the first person to say pshaw, what-the-heck, forget-all-the-valentines routine. That's his style. Unlike teammate Derek Sanderson, who comes on like the Indianapolis 500, Orr is quiet, unassuming.
He is, however, one great hockey player and Sinden may not be too far off the mark when he claims Orr could be the greatest athlete of all time.
"All athletes have their limitations, right, eh?" said the Boston coach. “Take Bill Russell. Great. No question. But he wasn't a shooter, was he? Look over all the guys in all the other sports and show me who put it together better than Bobby."
He's Good With a Gun, Too
"Look," Sinden continued, "we went hunting last fall. Bobby hadn't used a gun for five or six years. The dog flushed a bird and it sure was a tough shot. Bobby zeroed in on it quickly and brought it down. I'm convinced he can do anything he sets his mind to do."
The primary thing Orr has in mind at the moment is playing hockey. And he is making money hand over fist.
Orr and Toronto attorney Alan Eagleson became involved early in his career. Orr now lets Eagleson handle his multiple interests, and Bobby merely goes about the business of playing hockey, a business, incidentally, in which he led the NHL in scoring this season with 124 points.
Leading the league in scoring is one thing. A defenseman leading the league in scoring is something else. He became the first defenseman to score 100-plus points, the first defenseman to top the league and to win the Art Ross (scoring) trophy.
Furthermore, he has revolutionized the game. Previously, defensemen were the unheralded creatures of the NHL Their job was to prevent goals, block shots and feed passes to breaking forwards.
Orr changed all that. He still plays a good game on defense, but more often than not he sets sail down the middle of the rink and moves right on the goalkeeper. A defenseman who stepped much beyond the opponent's blue line was a rarity in days past.
His outstanding ability, his clean-cut good looks and his business acumen lead to the general assumption that Bobby Orr will be a millionaire, perhaps a couple times over, before he's 30.
For one thing, Orr now is on the second season of a three-year contract. He gets about $75,000 a season, and bonus clauses hike his earnings.
When Orr's contract expires, rumors have it that Eagleson will go to the Boston management with a longterm deal in mind-possibly $2 million for a 10-year pact or $1 million for a five-year deal.
A Bonanza for Bruins
The Boston management has made nothing but money since Orr arrived on the scene. He's the difference between a few Stanley Cup championships and another succession of zilch. Whatever he asks, management is bound to pay.
Orr has several business interests at the moment and more are on the horizon.
Right now, Bobby has a piece of a car wash in Toronto. He operates a highly successful boys' hockey school in Orilla, Ont., during the offseason. Toronto's Mike Walton is his partner, among others, in this venture. He also owns a condominium apartment in Florida in partnership with goalkeeper Eddie Johnston.
"The day is not far away,” said Bobby Haggart, former Toronto Maple Leaf trainer who now is involved in a number of Orr's enterprises, "when Bobby's off-ice earnings will be greater than what he makes playing."
This, indeed, is a possibility. Orr has appeal to the young set. He swings, to an extent. He's young, 22, a bachelor, a public figure, makes the TV tube on any occasions. Furthermore, he drive a Cadillac, wears custom-made suits and has a bankroll. What more could a gal want, or a guy admire?
Orr's outside interests, of course, are contingent on what he does on the hockey rink. No player ever has played the game like he has. The noble art of defense, let's face it, has changed forever.
Take Emile (Cat) Francis. His beloved Rangers had just been beaten in six games by the Bruins. He wasn’t in a very good mood. He was tired. Still, he was honest. Asked about Orr, Francis' replied:
"I knew he was going to be a super star. I knew it when he was only coming along. But I never thought it would be this early. At 27, yes. But he's only 22 and he's the greatest performer in the game, ever.
"Take anybody in any sport and no one has done what this kid has done. Do you know what he did to us in this series? Only seven goals. It's a record. It has to be. And for a defenseman! Without that kid, it's an even series."
‘Bobby Ruined Us’
"Hockey," said Rod Gilbert, a member of the Rangers, "is supposed to be a team game. Everybody does his bit. But Bobby Orr, he runs the game. He ruined us."
Billy Reay, coach of the Chicago Black Hawks, was next to get the Orr playoff treatment.
In an early game in the series, Orr made an end-to-end rush. He swept past Stan Mikita en route and bore down on the Hawk defense of Bill White and Paul Smyre, a rookie. Orr then made a lateral pass to Fred Stanfield.
The defense shifted to Stanfield. Orr stepped through the open defense, took Stanfield's return pass and zeroed in to score on goalkeeper Tony Esposito.
Game No. 3 was even more an example of Orr's skills.
Once again he made an end-to-end rush. This time he had no chance to cut in for a shot on goal, so he swept around in back of the Chicago net. The Black Hawks were shorthanded at the time with Keith Magnuson in the penalty box
Three Chicago defenders chased Orr behind the net. That left one Chicago defender to take care of four Boston attackers. So what happened?
Orr flicked a pass to Phil Esposito, who tossed a pass to John Bucyk, who slid the puck into the net. School was out. Thank you, Bobby Orr.
What makes a player so great as Bobby Orr? First, the things that God has given him: A strong body, good reflexes, peripheral vision, a great anticipation when it comes to hockey or a sporting challenge.
Perhaps the most important thing for Orr was his background. He has two brothers and if a reporter calls his home in Parry Sound, Ont., and his mother answers, the reporter usually asks: "Is your son home?"
"Which one?" replies Mrs. Orr, "I have three."
Through all the worship and folderol, Orr hasn't changed. He's a little older and stronger and richer and better dressed than he was as a teen-ager, but he's still the same type as when he started out.