| Born: | March 20, 1948 | Draft: | Signed with the Bruins in 1966 |
| Hometown: | Parry Sound, ON, CAN | Position: | Defense |
| Known For: | The Goal | Shoots: | Left |
| National Team: | Canada |
Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948 in Parry Sound, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his ice skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the position of defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 12 seasons, starting with 10 with the Boston Bruins followed by two with the Chicago Black Hawks. Orr remains the only defenceman to have won the league scoring title with two Art Ross Trophies. He holds the record for most points and assists in a single season by a defenceman. Orr won a record eight consecutive Norris Trophies as the NHL’s best defenceman and three consecutive Hart Trophies as the league’s most valuable player (MVP).
Orr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979 at age 31, the youngest to be inducted at that time. In 2017 Orr was named by the National Hockey League as one of the “100 Greatest NHL Players” in history. After his hockey career, he became a well-known scout for many professional teams. He also spends time talking to and mentoring young skaters. Orr entered the player agent business in 1996 and today is president of the Orr Hockey Group agency.
Bobby Orr Statistics
Deeper Dive
- 7 NHL Superstar Careers Cut Short by Injury
- The Best NHL Players of All-Time, by Decade
- The Best NHL Defensemen Ever
- NHL’s Most Exciting Players All-Time: From ‘Rocket’ Richard to McDavid
- 10 NHL Oddities We’ll Never See Again
- Top 12 Fastest Skaters Ever in the NHL
- Bobby Orr’s Flying Goal
- Bobby Orr’s Landmark Season
- Bobby Orr Caps Off Hall-of-Fame Career
Achievements
- OHA First All-Star Team – 1964, 1965, 1966
- Awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy (rookie of the year) in 1967, the youngest ever to win the award, and the youngest ever to win a major NHL award up to that time
- Named to the Second All-Star Team in 1966–67 (his only full season when he did not make the First Team, as a rookie)
- Named to the NHL First All-Star Team eight times consecutively (1968-1975)
- Awarded the James Norris Trophy eight times (from 1968 to 1975, his last full season)
- Played in the NHL All-Star Game eight times (from 1968 to 1975)
- Won the Art Ross Trophy in 1969–70 and 1974–75
- NHL Plus/Minus leader in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974 and 1975, the most in history
- Awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy three times consecutively (1970–1972)
- Awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1970 and 1972, the first two-time winner of the playoff MVP award
- Stanley Cup winner in 1970 and 1972
- Won Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian athlete of the year in 1970
- NHL All-Star Game MVP in 1972
- Received Sports Illustrated magazine’s “Sportsman of the Year” award in 1970
- Voted the greatest athlete in Boston history in the Boston Globe newspaper’s poll of New Englanders in 1975, beating out baseball and basketball stars such as Ted Williams, Bill Russell, Carl Yastrzemski and Bob Cousy
- Awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1975
- Named the Canada Cup Tournament MVP in 1976
- Awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1979
- Skates used by Orr during the 1970’s, at the Orr exhibit of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Orr was inducted into the Hall in 1979.
- Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979, with the mandatory three-year waiting period waived, making him the youngest inductee at 31 years of age
- Voted the second greatest hockey player of all time by an expert committee in 1997 by The Hockey News. Orr is behind only Wayne Gretzky and ahead of Gordie Howe as well as being named the top defenceman of all time. Gretzky said he’d have voted for Orr, or for his hero, Gordie Howe.
- Ranked 31 in ESPN’s SportsCentury: 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century in 1999
- Named the top defenceman of all time in 2010 by The Hockey News
- Most points in one NHL season by a defenceman (139; 1970–71)
- Most assists in one NHL season by a defenceman (102; 1970–71).
- Most 100-point seasons by a defenceman (1969-70 – 1974-75).
- Highest plus/minus in one NHL season (+124; 1970–71)
- Most assists in one NHL game by a defenceman (6; tied with Babe Pratt, Pat Stapleton, Ron Stackhouse, Paul Coffey and Gary Suter)
- One of two players to win four major NHL awards in one season (Hart, Norris, Art Ross, and Conn Smythe in 1970), as well as the only player to win the Norris and Art Ross in the same season.
- Fastest goal from start of overtime to clinch the Stanley Cup (0:40; 1970, game 4)
- First and only defenceman to score nine hat tricks
- First defenceman to score 30 goals (1969–70) and 40 goals (1974–75) in a season.
- First player to record 100 assists in a season (1970–71)
- Only defenceman to win the Art Ross Trophy as league leader in scoring (1969–70, 1974–75)
- Only defenceman to win the Lester B Pearson Award
- Highest single season plus-minus rating, +124 in 1970–71
- Second all-time in career plus-minus rating (+597; retired as the overall leader)
- Never finished a full season less than +30 since +/- became a statistic (beginning with the 1968–69 season)
- Fourth in league history in career point-per-game average, all-time, (1.393) (highest among defensemen, minimum 500 career points)
- Sixty-sixth overall in league history in career assists and tied for 109th in career points