(VIDEOS) THE ORIGINAL “O’REILLY FACTOR:" Mr. Joseph James Terrence (“Terry”) O’Reilly

  

Terry O’Reillly was picked up by the Boston Bruins as the 14^th pick in the 1^st round of the 1971 NHL Draft. 

  

O’Reilly is widely considered one of the scrappiest hockey players of all time.  Not afraid to pick a fight if he sensed the need to protect his teammates, he was referred to as the Bruin’s “enforcer.”  As the team’s watchful gaurdian, O’Reilly was no stranger to the penalty box, racking up over a staggering 200 minutes each year in five consecutive full seasons. 

  

The press affectionally referred to him as “Bloody O’Reilly” as he provided Bruin fans with his special brand of toughness, hustle, tenacity, scrappyness, roughhousing, scoring, back checking - all mixed together with the common Donnybrook.

  

Players throughout the league may not have liked O’Reilly, yet they all respected him, and pricey Bruin Stars were safer for to his vigilance.    The ownership loved him.

  

On top of his physical presence, he also had a decent scoring touch for an enforcer, highlighted by his 29-goal, 90-point season in 1977-78. He added to that with a 77 point effort the following campaign. He had 211 and 205 minutes in penalties in those seasons respectively, displaying an excellent balance of grit and scoring that any hockey General Manager would cherish.

  

O’Reilly is also one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet - off ice.  I was introduced to Mr. O’Reilly at a fishing tournament/ fund raiser after his retirement from the game.  He was surrounded by players, including Derek Sanderson (another scrapper), and I was amazed at Terry’s soft-spoken gentle demeaner.  A scarred face, knuckles swollen from combat, a neatly dressed righteous old warrior with a kind Irish heart.  God bless him. 

  

O'Reilly spent his entire career in Boston, serving as the captain of the Bruins team during the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons before his retirement. The Bruins eventually retired his playing number (#24) on October 24, 2002.

  

In an infamous December 26, 1979 incident at Madison Square Garden (see first video), during a post-game scuffle, a New York Rangers fan stole Stan Jonathan's stick and hit him with it. O'Reilly charged into the stands, and his teammates followed when other fans tried to intervene. He was suspended eight games for his part in the brawl.

  

He became the replacement head coach of the Bruins during the 1986-87 NHL season and kept his job until 1989.  In the time, he took the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1988, where they were defeated by the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers.

  

(Terry also was an assistant coach for the Rangers for the two seasons prior to the lockout)

  

Basic Statistics

  

Position:  Right Wing

 

Nicknames:  Terry, Tazmanian Devil, Bloody O’Reilly

 

Height:  6ft., 1in.

 

Weight:  200lbs.

 

Nationality:  Canadian

 

Born:  June 7, 1951  -  Niagra Falls, Ontario

 

Pro Career:  Boston Bruins 1971 – 1985

 

Goals Scored:  204

 

Assists:  402

 

Total Points:  606

 

Plus/minus:  +212 (above average defensive skills for a forward)

  

Career Penalty Minutes:  2,095 minutes  -  or 34 hours, 55 minutes  -  or 1 day (24h), 10 hours, 55 minutes.

  

In the movies:  Happy Gilmore with Adam Sandler,  “Happy” (played by Sandler) referred to O’Reilly as his all time favorite player growing up because of his tough style.