My Bobby Orr "Stuff"

[AGuinness]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

With all due respect... I find it beyond improbable that Ortiz would be more popular in Boston than Ted Williams... ever, and under ANY circumstance.
You do make good points about Brady though...

Except the "GOAT" part, which is more a slight on that corny, completely overused and abused acronym than it is regarding Brady's accomplishments or skill level.

I still believe Orr would be the most popular Beantown athlete though...

GOAT is corny, abused and completely cliche, no doubt, although I'd never outright claim any player deserves it outright - it's always "in the discussion" because I think discussion is more fun. Brady is for sure in that discussion.

And I'm not saying anybody being the most popular is "right" or anything, I just know that a lot of people today seem to be fickle enough that they focus on what is new or most recent, especially if they never got to watch Orr or Williams or some of the greats from the past. I wouldn't be surprised if more people in a large cross-section of Boston sports fans could identify Rob Gronkowski than Bobby Orr. Hence popularity or famous, but this includes a wide swath of fans from the general public. And that doesn't mean I'd rank Gronk over Orr, just the opposite on my list, but I'm talking about the overall Boston fandom population today.

[Huysmans]

Originally Posted by AGuinness

GOAT is corny, abused and completely cliche, no doubt, although I'd never outright claim any player deserves it outright - it's always "in the discussion" because I think discussion is more fun. Brady is for sure in that discussion.

And I'm not saying anybody being the most popular is "right" or anything, I just know that a lot of people today seem to be fickle enough that they focus on what is new or most recent, especially if they never got to watch Orr or Williams or some of the greats from the past. I wouldn't be surprised if more people in a large cross-section of Boston sports fans could identify Rob Gronkowski than Bobby Orr. Hence popularity or famous, but this includes a wide swath of fans from the general public. And that doesn't mean I'd rank Gronk over Orr, just the opposite on my list, but I'm talking about the overall Boston fandom population today.

I get what you're claiming...
I went to both Boston Sports Collectors shows last year at the Shriners in Wilmington, and while that is no measurement for the general Boston sports fan, I can honestly say that I don't remember seeing ONE Gronk item... I saw a lot of Orr stuff (probably the most for a single player), a lot of Red Sox and Williams items (obviously) and a lot of Brady and Patriot items. Very little Ortiz. To be fair though, I'm probably somewhat biased in what I saw, as I'm much more of a hockey fan. I can also say that the most popular jersey I saw rocked by attendees at the show WASN'T Orr... or Williams .... or Ortiz....
It was definitely Brady. That I remember.

[FourStrikes]

JMO, but I'd put BIRD and Russell up there with Teddy Ballgame, Brady and Orr!

regardless of sport, icons all...

again, JMO.

[jb217676]

Another addition to my Orr collection...

[jb217676]

Here's a real nice 1966 J.D. McCarthy Bobby Orr

[jb217676]

1971 Bobby Orr Autographed Linen Calendar Order Form. A tough Orr piece to locate, happy to find this one on ebay a couple of weeks ago!

[kid4hof03]

I'm not a hockey collector or even fan for that matter, but I really love this thread and seeing your collection. My collection is made up mostly of a few in depth player collections, I really appreciate how diverse and in depth your collection goes. Thanks for sharing it!