One of the greatest sports figures of all time at last breaks his
silence in a memoir as unique as the man himself. Number 4. It is
just about the most common number in hockey, but invoke that number
and you can only be talking about one player -- the man often referred
to as the greatest ever to play the game: Bobby Orr. From 1966 through
the mid-70s he could change a game just by stepping on the ice. Orr
could do things that others simply couldn’t, and while teammates and
opponents alike scrambled to keep up, at times they could do little
more than stop and watch. Many of his records still stand today and he
remains the gold standard by which all other players are judged.
Mention his name to any hockey fan – or to anyone in New England
– and a look of awe will appear. But skill on the ice is only a part
of his story. All of the trophies, records, and press clippings leave
unsaid as much about the man as they reveal. They tell us what Orr
did, but don’t tell us what inspired him, who taught him, or what he
learned along the way. They don’t tell what it was like for a shy
small-town kid to become one of the most celebrated athletes in the
history of the game, all the while in the full glare of the media.
They don’t tell us what it was like when the agent he regarded as
his brother betrayed him and left him in financial ruin, at the same
time his battered knee left him unable to play the game he himself had
redefined only a few seasons earlier. They don’t tell about the
players and people he learned to most admire along the way. They
don’t tell what he thinks of the game of hockey today. Orr himself
has never put all this into words, until now. After decades of
refusing to speak of his past in articles or “authorized”
biographies, he finally tells his story, because he has something to
share: “I am a parent and a grandparent and I believe that I have
lessons worth passing along.” In the end, this is not just a book
about hockey. The most meaningful biographies and memoirs rise above
the careers out of which they grew. Bobby Orr’s life goes far deeper
than Stanley Cup rings, trophies and recognitions. His story is not
only about the game, but also the age in which it was played. It’s
the story of a small-town kid who came to define its highs and lows,
and inevitably it is a story of the lessons he learned along the way.
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My Story in Pictures
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780735236196
Publisert
2018
Utgiver
Penguin US
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter