I know Bobby Orr has been the defenseman that changed the game with the rushing defense, but I have heard from a few collectors that they believe Eddie Shore was the one who deserves the credit for it. I know Eddie played so long ago that we cannot relive what he did, but I hardly ever hear his name mentioned when you talk about the all-time greats. He had a hell of an offensive career as a defensive player and no other defensive players get mentioned with these guys other than a few after Orr's retirement (I personaly would put Dit Clapper in their category even though he played different positions throughout his career).
Is Eddie Shore overlooked because of how long ago his playing days were?

Was hockey going through so many changes those days that it just wasn't recognized as it was happening?

I know these are two completely different eras(radio,television), so I think that might be the reason why Shore will always be behind Orr.

I don't want to turn this into a who is better thread, I just wonder how you guys feel about these defensemen and who do you think deserves the credit for the rushing defense. I know it's not a big deal to many, but I think it's worth talking about since it's such a big part of the history of the game.

All Bruins ..different Eras whats that tell you..The Bruins led the talent pool at defence for years..Your right its had to differ because of the different style(era) of hockey

If you go back even further in time, Cyclone Taylor could probably be considered as a precursor. The rover position he played at during part of his career had been abolished by the time Shore played with the Bruins, but from what I understand, it was a good mix of offense and defense... And Taylor was probably the best at that position at the time.

first there was Shore,then Orr,then Bourque.
they where all fantastic in there own time.
IMO though Bobby Orr was the greatest player to ever lace up hockey skates.
i dont think there will ever be another defenceman that will win a scoring title again,Orr won the art ross twice and this is proof enough that he was the ultimate rushing ofensive/defenceman of all time.

in my books Bobby Orr was the best period!!!!!!!

Its my experience that most of the hockey world (including media) ignore professional hockey prior to the 1950's. In other words you rarely hear about the all-time greats like Morenz, Shore, Lalonde, etc.

A recent example was a couple of TSN polls they did for the Habs 100th anniversary. One was: "Who was the best goalies to ever play with the Habs?"

The panels talked a lot about Roy, Dryden, and Plante, but there was nary a mention of Vezina, and nobody mentioned Durnan at all. (and he's deserving of at least that if not more)

Another was about the best players for Montreal and there was no mention of Lalonde or Joliat, and while Morenz was on the poll not one guy on the panel even mention his name. It was all Richard and Lafleur.

Jason, I remember Howie Morenz was voted the best hockey player for the 1st half of the century and Maurice Richard was voted 2nd, but Richard ranks in the top ten in the all-time poll while Morenz ranks way lower on the list. Kind of a head scratcher there.

Orr took the position of offensive defenseman to a new level. While there were other offensive defensemen before him, his arrival on the hockey scene spawned a new wave of defensemen that included among others Brad Park, Larry Robinson, Denis Potvin, Borje Salming, Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey, Brian Leetch etc.

I am not certain pre 1950 players are ignored in player rankings. The Hockey News top 50 players of all-time from a while back included Richard, Shore, Morenz, Schmidt, Lalonde, Apps, Durnan, Conacher, Malone, Clapper, Cook, Hainsworth and Max Bentley. That is a pretty fair representation.

we will never be able to see the old timers play but if you buy a video or go on youtube and plug in the name bobby orr you will see the best player of all time, bar none.he won 2 scoring titles and in those years when they were up by 3 they were resting him and not racking up his points.he is number 1 in my books.

With all due respect to the all the previous defencemen, it's not even close.
Bobby Orr revolutionized the position of the defencemen, skating, and won two scoring titles.....on one and a half legs..... as a defenceman. It's unreal....

And Orr never complained about his injuries, depite the fact that he was a target of numerous cheap hits to his knees because players were too incompetent to keep up the skating pace with him.

Ethan

I hear Phil Esposito sends Bobby Orr and thank you card every year for getting him inducted into the Hall.