Bobby Orr ESPN SportsCentury
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- čas přidán 25. 01. 2023
- This video is the ESPN SportsCentury on Bobby Orr, the Hall of Fame Boston Bruins defenseman, considered by many the greatest hockey player of all-time.
The extremely well-done documentary, which aired on ESPN Classic and is narrated by Chris Fowler, has been out there on CZcams. But I wanted a copy without commercials, and once I had that, figured, 'Why not post it?'.
Anyway, copyright ESPN. I don't claim the rights to, and don't profit from, this video. I just posted it for historical and educational purposes, and for those who will enjoy it as much as I did.
There will NEVER be another Orr...
no need theres been gretz
No doubt about that. When have you ever seen another player who could do everything, with excellent, on both sides of the ice??
I only saw Bobby Orr at the tail end of his career in the 1976 Canada Cup. With all the great players on those teams, Canada, Soviets, Czechs, Bobby was so far above everyone else. That included Guy Lafleur, Bobby Clarke, Bobby Hall, Phil Esposito, the great Russian players nobody was even close to Bobby Orr.
Absolutely!!
January 9th 1979 I was there in a body cast from the waist up from two back surgeries. My father was a truck driver and delivered at the Boston garden he had gotten tickets from the shipping manager. One of the greatest nights of my life.
You’re a hockey player, Dennis!
The greatest ever
I agree the greatest ever...until he took a full page ad in a major US newspaper endorsing donald trump...HERO TO ZERO!!!
the grteatest at supporting donuld drumpf for president ... theres no forgiveness for that .... FK ORR
That is is an incredibly utterly ignorant statement...unbelievable. What has one got to do with the other?@@user-uy7sz2mu2i
Oh and Biden did a better job? You better start voting for the good of the country rather than your uneducated view of President Donald Trump. He is the best thing to happen to this country in 50 years. You must be a demarat 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸. We are a republic not a democracy that GOD! Wake up!!!!
Inappropriate comment, doesn't belong here. Politics have nothing to do with how great Orr was as a hockey player.
Bobby Orr was the greatest player of all time. As a kid growing up in the sixties he was a real life sports hero more. A great example of how a person should treat others who are less fortunate and need help. He is only better at one thing than hockey, and that is being a human being. Lou Gherig, Walter Payton, and Bobby Orr All should be in a special Sports Hall of Fame.
I had the great fortune to watch him play when I was a teen. When we played we all wanted to be Bobby Orr! In my mind he is the greatest player that ever lived. I never watched hockey again when he retired. We love you Bobby O! 😎
Same for me...I grew up in Fitchburg Mass in the 60's and 70's and watched ever game he played. What a privilege and those who did not have that privilege, just don't know.
Great Video. Thoroughly enjoyed watching this.
Glad you liked, Roadie!
I literally grew up watching Wayne Gretzky. Dad had WHA Oilers season's tickets. I saw Gordie Howe playing for the Houston Aeros against Gretzky's Oilers, and with Gretzky against the Russians in an exhibition. I was there on Gretzky's 18th birthday when he had his first legal glass of champagne upon signing the famous 21-year, $1M/year personal services contract with Peter Pocklington at a pre-game ceremony at centre ice. I was there when he hoisted his last Stanley Cup in 1988 (kudos to my ex-wife, who lined up for tickets for game 4, or 4A, or 4.5, or 4/5, depending on how you want to look at it after the power went out at the old Gahden in the ultimately officially unplayed game four).
I was juuuust too young to have appreciated full-throttle Orr, but this statistic is the one that blows me away: Career plus-minus. I know the advanced statheads aren't great fans of +/-, but it's still a pretty meaningful stat, espacially when totted up for an entire career. When you were on the ice, your team was good for X more goals per game than whoever you were playing over the course of years. Hard to imagine anything more meaningful than that, really; but even if you don't buy it, you HAVE to admit this stat is so mind-blowing in its obvious differentiation of one player above everyone else that it cannot be argued away.
Career plus-minus. All the usual suspects are there at the top of the list. Robinson, Orr, Gretzky, Potvin, Trottier, Lafleur (who I had the immense privilege to meet, once, at an airport while we were both just sitting there waiting for planes, and let me tell you, HE WAS SO COOL AND NICE AND MAN AM I GLAD THAT HAPPENED).
But I digress. The stat I'm specifically talking about is career per-game plus-minus. Your total +/- over your career, divided by how many games you played. For example, the career total +/- leader is Larry Robinson, with a total of +722. (I mean, obviously it's a plus. Do I have to denote that with a "+"? No, I think I should not.)
Bobby Orr is second, with a career total of 582. Then Ray Bourque at 527, Gretzky at 520, and closer and closer together on down the line. The difference between first and second on this list is greater than the difference between third and fourteenth, which is typical of this kind of stat in a lot of sports.
So, Larry Robinson was REALLY good, and his number is also very high because he played for a REALLY long time. 1,384 games, in fact. And you'll find this is the case for pretty much everyone near the top of the list. The first player you'll see on that list with fewer than 1,000 games is Mark Howe, and he's exactly plus-400. (OK, I do now realize that when I'm throwing around a buncha numbers it probably doesn't hurt to make sure everybody's clear on what numbers are what, so I should use "plus" or "+" as is probably appropriate.)
Anyway... The number I'm talking about isn't Big Bird's 140-point lead over Orr in second place. No, the number (and numbers) I want to get into is: AVERAGE career plus-minus. Your per-game stats.
For exanple, the aforementioned Mark Howe achieved his aforementioned plus-400 over 929 games, for a VERY impressive average of 0.43 goals per game. Perhaps an easier way to understand it is: over the course of an average ten games throughout his career, Mark Howe's teams were four goals better than whoever Mark Howe was playing against when Mark Howe was on the ice.
I mean... Damn. Mark Howe was a BEAST.
But if we look at the next player below him on the list, Scott Stevens at plus-395, we see The Headhunter played 1,635 games; that's 706 more than Howe, and 875 more than Eric Lindros.
Stevens, of course, is also a defenseman, and as I note that, I also note that the top of list, where I'm looking, is broken down pretty evenly between defense and forwards, illustrating the almost-equal value between them (if anything, the defensemen come out ahead), so why aren't more defensemen winning Hart trophies?
Regardless, the number that jumps out on the per-game list is: 0.89. As in, over the course of 10 games, your team is 9 goals better than all the other teams when you are on the ice. The reason that number jumps out is what comes in second: 0.52, belonging to Larry Robinson (told you he was good). Next is Mike Bossy at 0.51, Jim Watson (yeah, like you saw that coming, either) at 0.48, Serge Savard and Bobby Clarke at 0.44, and the list largely clumps from there the same way the career totals one does, just in a different order; which I believe some smart-ass said was typical of this kind of stat in a lot of sports.
Point being, the holder of that 0.89 record number is (you probably guessed) Bobby Orr. And, yes, I lied earlier when I said the first player on the list with fewer than 1,000 games played was Mark Howe with 929; it was Orr with SIX HUNDRED FIFTY-SEVEN! I was just holding out hope for some kind of suspense.
Number two on the career TOTAL plus-minus list; not even in the top 1,000 in games played. Nearly a goal a game. That, folks, is impact.
P.S. I have heard the reasonable argument that with so few games played, Orr never had the lengthy "decline phase" players like Robinson or Gretzky did. My counter-argument is that, given his injuries, almost his entire career was a "decline phase", and we can only marvel at what might have been.
WOW!
As a young Canadian kid, at that time, I can tell you we ALL wanted to be Bobby Orr. He was, absolutely, the hero of every young Canadian kid playing hockey. We played in the street, on the lake and at the arena. Every day, all day. And Bobby was the one we all imitated.
It’s also when we learned about the heartache of learning heroes are also human. I remember my father explaining knee injury to me, as I watched Bobby lose his abilities and retire young. It happened over night it seemed. We were broken hearted.
Then Gretzky arrived and we learned that when one great one leaves, eventually another one appears.
Well said!
So, didn't every kid in Boston!
He will always be the most popular player in Boston sports history
The greatest player ever to lace up a pair of skates.
"Life In A Northern Town" at 7:30 ... what an appropriate, awesome song for this.
I saw this when it aired and I legit got chills over that.
In the early 70's u had Orr then Secretariat, nothing has ever come closer to perfection ever, since that.
Excellent comparison!
@@petegoodwinboston4825 well i grew up in those times,but i've seen them all since then,and nothing has come close to getting me of my seat if I was sitting,than those two individual sports icons.
@@petegoodwinboston4825 thank u pete,we were blessed in the late 60's earlly 70's watching these Titans,only thing was ,we did'nt know it then.
Orr is the GOAT. Revolutionized the defenseman position. No one played at his level. Led the league in scoring???
Growing up, we ALL wanted to wear #4, no matter what the sport. Actually, if we were playing checkers, we wanted to wear a #4 shirt! The greatest hockey player of all time and to this day, an even better person.
True story , The Great Bobby Hull called my mum from the Suttun place Hotel (Toronto) asked me if l was going to the Team Canada game that Saturday night against Chezhlelovakia , l said no tickets , Bobby Hull who was playing too said have your father bring you 1 hour before the game go to the front desk tell em Bobby Hull sent you , father took me that night seen the Great Bobby Orr and the Great Bobby Hull and the rest play that game together , Thanks Mum , Thanks Bobby Hull .........
Wow! Talk about a thrill!
It funny hearing Bobby Clarke saying complementary comments about Orr as they were both fierce competitors who frequently smashed the crap out of each other on the ice.
I thought the same thing! But I've gotta admit I don't hate him as much as I did, because he's telling it like it was!
@@petegoodwinboston4825 Clarke could carve players up like a chicken but one thing that was never in doubt was his talent and to motivate those great Philadelphia teams. Clarke’s goal in game 2 of the 74 finals will always sting. DuPont’s lucky shot to toe the game with a little over a minute May sting more…
@@Bradydog-in7ut To me OT is a coin flip. Over 60 minutes the best team that night should win; that's why I'd say Dupont's goal s*cked worse.
When THe Bruins played The Flyers at Fenway Park in The Winter Classic a few years ago and Bobby Clarke said you only got The Puck, if Bobby Orr allowed you to get the Puck, that spoke Volumes. Bobby Orr made me an Ice Hockey and NHL Fan because of the way he played the game. I drove my parents up the wall raving about him. Without Bobby Orr, The Offensive Defensemen we have seen playing in THe NHL the last 50 Years would not have existed.
@@JuliusC1973 I seen many of games Orr played in so you can trust me when I tell you there was a lot to rave about….and what most people who never seen him play will never know, he was just as impressive on the defensive end as on the offensive. He block so many shots and broke up so many odd man rushes….he really was the complete player. I remember late in the game Boston pulled the goaltender and the opposition had a 2 on 1 break away and Orr stopped the puck going in the net. True story.
6 months in jail should have been 6 years what a disgrace
Potvin 3 Norris, Bourge 5 Norriss = 1/2 of Orrs bad leg.
Eight straight best defenseman awards combined with two league scoring titles...this makes no sense at all. Was never done before and has not been done since.
Talk about Joe DiMaggio's record or any other record in sports...what Bobby did in his short career will never be duplicated. The best that ever was, and the best that ever will be.
Right on, Ms. Smith!
...AND HE SUPPORTED DONULD DRUMPF FOR PRESIDENT WITH A FULL PAGE ADD IN THE BOSTON gLOBE ... FK ORR
Against other great professional players, he made the game look easy.@@petegoodwinboston4825
look at that kid from parry sound......its superman///////////bobby orr the goons of hockey was bobby orrs kyrptnyte//////////ill never forgive the monekeys of hockey who went after bobbys knees.crippling the greatest hockey player ever//////////just look at bobby orr skating is the most beautiful thing i ever saw in sports/////
Bobby says he carried the puck a lot, so he knew he was going to get hit.
An old Bruins fan died and went to heaven As St Peter was showing him around they came to a large Hockey rink. At center ice there was a lone figure in flowing white robes skating with a hockey stick and the fan asked St.Peter who it was. Oh, said St. Peter that' s God he thinks he is Bobby Orr!!!!
Bobby Orr prented l was him too with road hockey lol Bobby could do it all and more....WoW
Caaaaarrr!!!!!
What’s the music at the start of the documentary when they are first showing the Canadian flag?
I don't know; sorry!
@@petegoodwinboston4825 NP - thanks for posting this, as it’s an awesome documentary 👍👍👍👍
the goons of hockey destroyed the most wonderful hockey player ever born his name bobby orr///////doctors butchered his knees on top of it all///////than eagleson stole his money//////////and boston had the gall to send bobby to chicago////////the way hockey and all of itscowards treated this one in a life time hockey star is truly disgusting//// bobby orr is a gem /////the brightest shinning star i ever seen in all of sports///////// you can not teach what bobby orr had ..he was born with it////////////bobby orr didnt need to go to any hockey program to learn how to skate..........he already knew how to be the best hockey player in the world without even having stepped on a ice pond ....the very first time/bobby orr put on skates i dont know how old he was but as soon as he stepped on the ice god said there he goes ...........god already knew/////////////////millions of hockey players around the world for some reason gazed up at the sun the very first time bobby orr put on skates//you gonna ask yourself why was i lookin up at the sun that day ///////////
Impressive diatribe on those who mistreated the greatest hockey player who ever lived, Barry!
Bobby Orr was not sent to the Blackhawks by the Boston bruins. Bobby Orr agent Alan eagleson manipulated Orr into signing with Chicago. He told Barbara the contracts to bruins offered wasn't enough. The bruins had actually offered Orr more money than the Blackhawks and 5 percent ownership of the Boston bruins.
Being desperate serves no purpose.
Orr endorsed Trump in 2020.
He's entitled to his opinion. I've forgiven it.
I would too if he'd just own up to it.@@petegoodwinboston4825
Politics have ZERO to do with how great any athlete can or should be measured.
The athlete's accomplishments are not diminished. His accomplishments as a man are. @@4orrcountry
I'm back now.
But endorse anyone other than that orange turd.
Regardless of your idealogys.
Why be a talent and and support a talentless bully?
Ted was driven by his son because he was in poor health.