This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/5/2023
Offered for this lot is a fresh to the hobby Bobby Orr shirt with period inscription.
Style: Black Road shirt with white and yellow trim, yellow ribbed collar with lace up front. Full sleeve with yellow “4” on each sleeve. White on yellow tackle twill “4” on reverse. Bruin’s logo on front. Although designed to be laced at the neck, it is a known trait for Orr to not use the laces, and this shirt does not have them.
ORR was removed from the back of the shirt. Also, the 4 is lower, which was purposedly done to allow for the addition of the name.
Manufacturer (Wilson): Shirt was supplied by Wilson and is correct for the Bruins during the era.
Dating 1972-1974: We date this shirt to have been worn sometime between 1972 and 1974. The lace up front, sleeve numbering, and number on back were consistent for the time period. Available images with names on back were most often associated with the 1973-1974 season. MEARS could not find a style shirt with name on back with the lace up front. Period images we examined show Orr sporting the yellow V neck version with name added.
1973-1974 season, the Bruins were known to have worn shirts with names on the back for televised games. Examples of shirts with remaining names on back have entered the hobby, along with examples similar to this shirt that was spaced for names, but the name was since removed. This documents that the 1973-1974 shirts did have names on the back.
Provenance: This shirt was gifted to a neighbor of Orr. He in turn gifted to another Bruins fan and added the inscription on the right shoulder, “To Bob, this is Bob Orr’s jersey that he wore in 1972 (unreadable) Playoffs.” The inscription is faded, worn, and appears to be period.
Shirt shows even, tremendous game wear with some apparent blood on the right shoulder.
MEARS has graded this shirt an A8. All of the physical traits of the shirt appeared on 1972-1974 Boston Bruins game worn shirts, MEARS was not able to find a combination of photos to support the name on back with the lace up front. But, after months of research, the pool of available images is very small. Our declaration of authenticity is based on the correct manufacture, period provenance, heavy game wear, and manufacturer traits which were supported as being worn by the team during the era in the majority of the correct combination. JSA has verified the inscription from Harry Sinden. Harry James Sinden (born September 14, 1932) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He served as a coach, general manager, and team president for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was the coach of Team Canada during the 1972 Summit Series. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders category. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in its inaugural class of 1997.