Tuesday, December 3, 2019

How Worcester's Dick Lamby ended up in Bobby Orr's final NHL fight

Following the 1978 NCAA Championship with BU, Worcester's Dick Lamby got his shot at pro hockey with St. Louis. He dressed and took a regular shift in the Blues final exhibition game with Chicago in the 1978-79 season, playing at old Chicago Stadium on West Madison.

Desperate to get noticed, Lamby picked a fight with undersized Darcy Rota after getting smacked in the face with an errant glove. 

"I'm just firing away," said Lamby, "all I know is that I got a little guy on the ice, I'm going to hit him as many times as I could to make an impression with the Blues." Little did he know that his childhood idol Bobby Orr was dressed for the hometown Hawks. Orr was making a final comeback bid after missing the better part of three straight seasons.

"I got tackled," said Lamby, "and I turn around to throw a punch, and it's Bobby Orr! I looked up and genuflected. I thought I was in heaven—I saw Jesus Christ."

excerpted from Jack Parker's Wiseguys (2018 University Press of New England)


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