Why Is Bobby Orr Important

Bobby Orr

When we think of the qualities that make a person “iconic,” what are some of the things that we think about? I believe that for a person to be considered iconic, he or she needs to possess the following traits: courage, high levels of persistence/perseverance, creativity, and finally a high level of humility. It also helps if this individual has done something of historical significance. It is my belief that Bobby Orr possesses each and every one of those qualities. I will go in depth about how Robert Gordon Orr represents a high level of each of those qualities. Bobby Orr symbolizes the qualities that our society values most and this, along with his great achievements as a hockey player, has earned him the status of an icon.

He left his Parry Sound home at the age of 14 when he was granted exceptional status as an underage player in the OHL. He would eventually attain captaincy of his team, the Oshawa Generals. Now, think about that; being the captain of an OHL team, when you are younger than most of your teammates. That was only the beginning of his journey. When Orr was 18 he joined the Boston Bruins in the NHL. Bobby Orr definitely had persistence. A well-known fact about Bobby Orr is that he accomplished most of the feats in his amazing hockey career while playing through unbearable knee pain, due to injuries he sustained throughout his career. However as hard as it was, Bobby was a warrior and tried not to put much focus on the knee pain that was pulling him down. His book Orr: My Story talks in depth about the effect that his knee injuries had on his career and how he battled through this obstacle to achieve

Maslow’s pyramid and how Bobby Orr allowed his perceivers to experience him on that level as well. Two areas underlined in that section of the pyramid are creativity and problem solving. Bobby Orr was the most creative individual in the game of hockey. It can be said that Bobby Orr created the “Offensive defenseman.” Orr created space on the ice where seemed as though there was none. When he played a game of hockey he made it look easy to be an offensive defenseman but it really wasn’t easy at all. Next, Bobby Orr is all about respecting and giving credit to others. Prejudice is not a word in his vocabulary. However, Bobby Orr was a victim of prejudice from the Toronto Maple Leafs who decided he was too small to be a great player. Boy did Bobby Orr prove them wrong by having an outstanding career with the Boston Bruins!! Other than that, prejudice never affected Bobby Orr. Bobby Orr in his book Orr: My Story often talks about how he was taught by his mom and dad, the difference between right and wrong. His parents were humble and insisted that Bobby never feel better than the rest. Bobby Orr was very humble and had demonstrates a high level of