Happy 65th Bobby Orr, the greatest hockey player ever

CBS Boston puts together some nice clips of a guy whose career ended at 29.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/03/20/a-celebration-of-bobby-orrs-65th-birthday/

He's about a year and a half older than me and I remember watching him play junior as a 14 year old with the Oshawa Generals .
They used to show Marlies/St. Mike's Sunday afternoon games on TV and the first time I saw him I thought, "Well, so much for me playing junior hockey".

You see him now and it looks like he's never aged.

What a player.

 

I still disagree that he's better than Gretzky, but he was such a joy to watch.

There's five players that I was very fortunate to watch and those are:

-Maurice Richard
-Gordie Howe
-Jean Beliveau
-Wayne Gretzky
-Bobby Orr

Made the game look so simple.

 

Saw all of them as well and I still maintain that he's the best ever. Gretzky had uncanny vision but Orr was a better skater, had a better shot and if he hadn't been derailed by those damn knees, who would know what records he would have set .

Love Gretzky but Orr was the ultimate skill player---and also one tough SOB. No one fought him because they knew he'd clean their clock.

 

No one fought Wayne Gretzky, either.

 

It's called Dave Semenko.

The best hockey players include Orr, Gretzky, Lemieux and Howe. It's a subjective thing.

Orr completely changed the game in terms of what defensemen could do. Only D-Man to win the Art Ross and probably no other will.

I could also argue Gretzky is the best ever but I won't

 

I have a guy in my office, who grew up in the deep South and never seen hockey until he went to college in the early 1970s in Boston. Became a Bruins fan and mostly an Orr fan. When he graduated, he came back South and immediately bought Atlanta Flames season tickets just so he could get to see Orr play live (something he never did in Boston because games were always sold out). I asked if he still watched hockey now and he said no because he lost interested after Orr.

 

What ifs don't count...his knees went out on him...end of story. Greatest blueliner? sure.
Best "ever" at everything?

They call him Mr. Hockey for a reason.

 

They call him "The Great One" because there aren't two.

 

Now that is trolling.

 

Yes, best ever at everything.

Gordie and Wayne, as good as they were, didn't come close to Orr's skating ability, his incomparable change of speed, his shot , defensive awareness, hitting or toughness.

He was more than just the greatest defenseman in history. That's just one aspect of his legacy.

In the '76 Canada Cup he played on one knee and was MVP of the tournament.

Gretzky may be the "Great One" but Bobby was "The One".