The Boston Bruins retire Bobby Orr's iconic No. 4
Bobby Orr retired having scored 270 goals and 645 assists for a total of 915 points in 657 career games. At the time of his retirement, he was the leading defenseman in NHL history in goals, assists and points. The only retired players in league history to have averaged more points per game than Orr are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy (all forwards).
The day was January 9th, 1979, and the Boston Bruins were retiring Bobby Orr's number 4. At the ceremony, the crowd at Boston Garden would not stop applauding, and as a result, most of the evening's program was cancelled at the last second due to the constant cheering. The crowd also didn't allow Orr to say his thank you speech until he put on a Bruins jersey.
The day was proclaimed "Bobby Orr Day" in Boston, and the event raised thousands of dollars for charity. He attended the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives and was given a five-minute standing ovation.
A Cool Story
Boston Celtics basketball superstar Larry Bird said that his pre-game inspiration was that he always looked up at Orr's retired No. 4 in the rafters at Boston Gardens instead of the retired numbers of Celtics stars.
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