Memorabilia

Item Description

This iconic photo captures Bobby Orr hovering over the ice after making the winning goal in the 1970 Stanley Cup finals. This famous framed photo is signed by Bobby Orr himself. A must have for the true Boston Bruins fan!!!
Size: 11 X 14

The number of truly iconic hockey pictures is surprisingly small. The sport is notoriously difficult to photograph, thanks to the fast-paced action, the elusive puck, and some unique space, proximity, and lighting restrictions. But one image looms above the rest: Ray Lussier’s photograph of Bobby Orr immediately after he scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of the 1970 Finals. The black-and-white image shows Orr in mid-air, hovering above the ice, as all of Boston Garden—all of New England—erupts. The beloved Bruins had not lifted the Stanley Cup since 1941. They’d missed the playoffs eight straight years, from 1959 to 1967, despite the fact that there were only six teams in the NHL and, of those, only two did not qualify for the postseason. In the fall of 1966, Bobby Orr was 18, hailed from Parry Sound, Ontario, and arrived with a godawful buzz cut. On May 10, 1970 Record American sports editor Sam Cohen sent Lussier and a small squadron of photographers and reporters to Boston Garden for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the St. Louis Blues. The teams traded goals and were deadlocked at 2-2 after two periods. The Blues regained the lead 19 seconds into the third before John Bucyk knotted the score with about six minutes left. Regulation ended in a 3-3 draw, bringing on sudden-death overtime.
Lussier, with his Nikon F with a 35mm lens, was stationed at the east end of the arena, near the goal that Cheevers was preparing to defend. But he “just knew the Bruins were going to win the thing in OT,” he later told Russ Conway, so he decided to venture toward the other net, where the stakes were higher. While the Zamboni resurfaced the ice, Lussier snuck in through the door at the opposite end of the building. He saw an empty “shooting hole” cut into the protective glass near the Blues’ goal and nabbed it. This space was assigned to a Globe photographer, who’d apparently vacated the spot to slake his thirst with a soda or a beer (depending on which account you believe). Lussier was now perfectly positioned for a Bruins attack. His instincts proved correct. Boston coach Harry Sinden sent out the checking line of Sanderson-Westfall-Carleton to start the overtime, as well as Orr and fellow defenseman Don Awrey, and they dominated from the faceoff. Under attack, the Blues tried to clear the zone. Orr anticipated the play from the right point and, pinching in, gained control of the puck near the face-off circle to the left of goalie Glenn Hall.
In a series of moves almost too rapid for CBS’s cameras to track, Orr fed Derek Sanderson behind the net, darted toward the goal between two opponents, corralled the return pass by the goalmouth, re-directed the puck between Hall’s legs, began to raise his stick in his celebration, and then found himself airborne after Blues defenseman Noel Picard’s stick caught him around the left ankle. “I looked back,” Orr said, “and I saw it go in, so I jumped.” Orr’s expression was one of pure glee as he levitated three feet above the ice, arms outstretched, After he landed and slid to a halt, Wayne Carleton jumped on top of him, followed by the rest of the Bruins. Lussier kept shooting as the play unfolded, using his motor drive to snap several pictures in sequence. “I thought I had something good,” he later admitted. With the arena shaking in ecstasy, the wayward Globe photographer returned to find Lussier in his place. “What are you doing here?” he said. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Lussier replied. “I got what I needed. It’s all yours.”

Generously donated by David Shecther