With no fanfare, Orr signed his first professional contract to play junior hockey for the Oshawa Generals, while still only an 8th-grader. Arva Orr, Bobby’s mother, didn’t want him moving away from home, so a contract was negotiated that called for Bobby to travel from home to the Generals’ games, mostly played on weekend within driving distance. The handwritten contract, drafted by scout Wren Blair on Brunswick Motor Hotel stationery, is still in Orr’s possession and represents a kitchen-table era in signing players. Among other stipulations, it called for stuccoing the Orr’s family house, providing his dad with a used car, and making sure Bobby got a new suit. He’d never owned a suit and felt like “the coolest dude in town” when he tried it on.
AP
