:format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/initiatives/santa_claus_fund/2022/12/30/frank-orr-was-the-king-of-one-liners-and-always-had-time-for-young-journalists/frank_orr_signing.jpg)
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/columnist_logos/Ho_Patricknew.jpg)
The subject line of the email caught my eye as I was purging my inbox on a July afternoon.
“Frank Orr’s celebration of life.”
Frank was one of the giants in Canadian sports journalism who worked at the Toronto Star, along with the likes of Milt Dunnell, Jim Proudfoot, Randy Starkman and so many more I just don’t have enough space to name.
I was fortunate enough to work with those four early in my career. That’s the great thing about working at the Star. There’s so much history and tradition — not too many media outlets in Canada are still publishing after more than 130 years.
Just this week, we pulled our archives to find a 1971 Star front page showing Pelé on Front Street, in front of Union Station, for an obituary on the soccer icon.
One tradition we have is the Northern Star Award — formerly known as the Lou Marsh Award — given out annually to the top Canadian athlete. It’s arguably the most prestigious sports award in the country because of its history.
Another tradition is Proudfoot Corner, the sports department’s contribution to the Star Santa Claus Fund, which provides gift boxes to 50,000 underprivileged children at Christmas.
When I was growing up, it was called the Sportsmen’s Corner and I always looked forward to seeing my name in bold face along with all the other donors in a Proudfoot column near the end of the year. When Proudfoot died in 2001, Dave Perkins continued the tradition and renamed the Corner in his honour.
So back to Frank (it just doesn’t feel right to call him Orr, as per newspaper convention). I was a little surprised I got an invitation to his celebration. Not everyone in the department got one, and there’s no way his family knew how kind Frank was to me.
I still have a vivid memory of Frank coming up to my desk one day to tell me that he liked the story I had in the paper, and that I was starting “to find my voice” in my writing. What a thrill — and a confidence boost — it was for a struggling kid just starting out to hear those words of praise from a legendary hockey journalist. It took just a few seconds of his day, something I’m sure he instantly forgot, but it made a lasting mark on me.
Frank died Feb. 13 of last year. At the memorial, held two months ago on Oct. 15 at the majestic Hockey Hall of Fame, I learned I wasn’t the only young journalist he helped. It was quite a common theme, as a matter of fact: his generosity to people coming up in the business.
No night, or story, honouring Frank would be complete without repeating some of the classic one-liners that all of us there had heard dozens of time, yet laughed heartily all the same.
“I don’t want to say this restaurant is owned by the mob, but one of the entrees is broken leg of lamb.”
“I don’t want to say the Leafs are playing lousy, but can you tell me if the word (expletive) is hyphenated.”
Two lines I didn’t hear that night, that he shared with me:
“It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you’re surrounded by turkeys.”
“Which one of the butchers on the copy desk is the head cleaver tonight?”
So, this is my chance to give my belated thanks to the Orr family (Zoie and Lisa) for including me on that wonderful October night — just like Frank made me feel welcome and a part of the storied Star sports department three decades ago.
On the Corner
Wrapping up for the year, we have some tributes to legendary contributor Mort Greenberg in the form of $200 from Paul Carson and $25 from Cliff Tustin and Ann-Marie Neville. A hundred each came from Gwen Gauthier in memory of son Marc Gauthier; Kazuo Nishimura in memory of wife Alyee; Lary Kreutzwiser in memory of Steven O’Connor; Ernest Dubkowski in memory of Mom, Peal, Dad, John and brother Jack; Carol Creber in memory of Bill Creber; Cecil Bechamp in memory of son Andre Bechamp; Derek and Helen Mackesy in memory of Jason Bionda; and Alan Christie in memory of Mike Meredith, with the aforementioned all repeat guests on the Corner. A hundred more apiece came from John Lott in memory of son and Vancouver hockey writer Jason Botchford; Deborah Boguski in memory of Aunty Gladys; and Gale Gingrich in memory of Dennis Gingrich.
Jason Moroz returns with $245 in memory of Peter Smeaton, Leafs official scorer for 50 years, as does Stephanie Noble with $200 in memory of P. Ray Noble, “who played and loved all sports,” and Stephan Laykish “who never had the opportunity to play, but loved all sports.” Allan Perkins returns as well in memory of William Hanna with $105. That same amount came from Lillian Newbery in memory of husband Ray Timson; David Campbell in memory of Donald and Dave Campbell; PCV Records in memory of Star alums Peter Gorrie and Cos DeGiusti; and Jack Heath in memory of Len Heath, former treasurer of the Maple Leafs in the ’60s; Wilf Neidhardt in memory of Peter; Pat Jordan in memory of David and Wendy; Brian and Nancy Shaver in memory of Gerald, Annette, Bob and Kaye; and Andrew Drake in memory of Thomas Drake.
Remembering loved ones with a hearty $200 donation are Steve Anderson in memory of Miriam Hamilton; Jacqueline and Stan Sokol in memory of Joan Schmidt; John Hoffman in memory of Mary Roddy; and Cliff Dobson in memory of Len Steciuk. Bob Burt remembers B. Henderson, B. Harper and W. Braun with his $150. Brian Boyd sent $50 in memory of Bud and Nancy Boyd, while $70 comes from Larry Joyce in memory of wife Sharon, and Kenneth Close kicked in $25 in memory of Dorothy Close. A symbolic $56 came from regulars Niles and Leslie Koski, which is the age figure skating lover Blair Koski-Klein would have been this year; $175 came from Eileen Markwick in memory of the Star’s beloved Randy Starkman; and a great big $350 was contributed by Dave Paskar in memory of Len Butcher.
Franco Fascia contributed twice in honour of family members: $50 for Carolina Fascia, and $105 honouring Mike and Carmen Fascia. Carole Marshall threw in $100 in honour of John Spence, recent inductee to the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame. A nice $600 came from Yuri Kula to honour Dave Perkins, who ran this Corner after Proudfoot, and another big $500 arrived from Brian McGarry for grandchildren Yale, Kenzie and Dean.
We have even more donations of $105 from Michelle Head, Roger and Susan Passmore, Jack and Rhena Fleming, Brian and Lynne Ferguson, Tony Gabriel, Mateo Abbona, Justin Graham, Brian Mann, Bill and Mary Ann Bennett and Ken Harlock. We got $250 from former Star staffer Alf Hilton, and $200 each from Bernie and Dawn Rivait; Larry, Paula and Brian of the Klochko family; Mike and Laurie Fraser; and Dorothy and Ron Whiteside. Regulars Norma McDade and Ken Opper each contributed $100, and horse racing fan David Aziz sent $55. There was $50 apiece from repeat contributors Robert Nicholls, Michael Gonneau and Patrick McMahon. We have $200 from D.M. Castro, while $35 each came from Kevin Koster and Rodney Minden, with $25 more from David Gladstone.
Sneaking in under the wire, we have $105 each from Taras Kulish in memory of Kenny Denardo and Geoff Massingberd in memory of John Arthur Massingberd.
To close it out, we have a handful of anonymous donations worthy of mention. From Toronto donors we received $25, $105, $150, $350 and a whopping $750. Chalk up another $105 from Scarborough, $200 from Vaughan and $350 from Cobourg to bring another great campaign to a close for 2022. Thanks to all and see you next year!