"Orr, My Story" Review
"Orr, My Story" is an autobiography written by Bobby Orr himself. It took some teeth-pulling to get this low profile, extremely humble "hockey great" to agree to writing this... but I'm extremely glad that someone got him to do so as the stories are nothing short of amazing.
Readers will gain insight to Orr's classy, down to earth personality very quickly. In fact, one of the first things he addresses is the infamous picture from the 1970 cup game - you know the one - where he is diving in front of the opposing goal in celebration of having just scored the Stanley Cup winning goal against St. Louis. He said, "Perhaps the better representation would have been to capture the moment a few seconds after my leap - when my teammates piled on me and the rest of the Bruins poured over the boards to join in and celebrate the victory. It wasn't really just my goal, and it wasn't just my celebration, either. There was a mob on the ice, guys in Bruins black and gold, but also the coaches and trainers. The Garden was roaring. It wasn't just one happy guy, flying through the air by himself. But for whatever reason, there was always that famous photo, plucking that one moment out of time." For someone as freakishly talented as Orr, his modest approach and "we" orientedness just makes you respect him more.
Another thing I loved about this book was that it was filled with these anecdotes about the players he played with and against like Eddie Johnston (B's goalie), and Yvan Cournoyer (Montreal). This book goes several levels beyond just the X's and O's, and encapsulates this sport and the culture within it so accurately.
Orr's depiction of his life playing hockey was what I expected it to be - insightful and interesting. But one of the parts of the book I most appreciated was how Orr addressed the problems with the sport as it is right now head-on... everything from the pressure that psycho parents put on kids, to defending the need to keep fighting in pro-level hockey (and out of minor leagues). In my opinion, his recommendations and observations were spot on.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves hockey that has at least fundamental knowledge of the sport. And since there are so many stories within the story, it's a book you can easily read a few times and pick up different tidbits.
