Robert Gordon Bobby" Orr is a retired Canadian ice hockey defenseman, and is considered to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time. He played for the NHL teams Boston Bruins and Chicago Black Hawks. After more than a dozen knee operations forced Orr's early retirement in 1979, the NHL waived the mandatory three-year waiting period for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and he was enshrined at age 31 — the youngest player ever to be inducted, and one of only ten players to get in without having to wait three years. "Losing Bobby," said Gordie Howe, "was the greatest blow the National Hockey League has ever suffered." One of Orr's lasting legacies is that his popularity helped to cement the expansion of the NHL in America and his 4 jersey - which was retired by the Bruins in January, 1979 - was popular with fans there. He has been honored with his name recorded on Canada's Walk of Fame. A museum exists in his honor in his home town of Parry Sound called the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame. In 1979 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Orr later played a role in the exposure of Eagleson's misconduct over the years. He'd once considered Eagleson a "big brother," but broke with him after suspecting that Eagleson wasn't being truthful with him. In addition to misleading his clients about contract terms, Eagleson used the NHLPA pension fund to enrich himself. Eventually, Eagleson was convicted in American and Canadian courts and sentenced to 18 months in Canadian prison, of which he served six months. Orr was one of 19 former players who threatened to resign from the Hall of Fame if Eagleson wasn't removed. Facing certain expulsion, Eagleson resigned from the Hall soon after his conviction in 1998. Subsequent to his playing career, Orr served briefly as an assistant coach for Chicago, and as a consultant to the NHL and the Hartford Whalers, spending the bulk of his retirement years as a Boston-area bank executive. He is currently a player agent in Boston. For a number of years, Orr coached a team of top Canadian Hockey League players against a similar team coached by Don Cherry in the CHL Top Prospects Game."
