Former Star writer makes Canadian motorsport hall
Orr was ‘a terrible driver,’ but enjoyed writing about the really good ones
Former Toronto Star sportswriter Frank Orr is among 16 new inductees into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.
Orr, who died in February at age 84, was best known as a hockey writer for the Star, inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989. But he had a similar impact covering motorsports, including Canada’s first Formula One race in 1967 and the Can-Am series, which became the leading North American road racing championship in the 1960s.
Back then, sold-out crowds packed Mosport (now Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) near Bowmanville, Ont., home of one of the most challenging road courses in the world. Orr wrote about several other series, and chronicled the careers of drivers such as Paul Tracy, Greg Moore, Ron Fellows and Jacques Villeneuve — all of whom went on to become Canadian Motorsport Hall of Famers.
At over six feet three with a distinctive voice and writing style, Orr stood out in the sportswriting fraternity, nurturing dozens of young journalists along the way.
He covered IndyCar racing when Toronto debuted on the circuit in 1986, as well as the Indy 500 and Daytona 500, and was as comfortable talking to Gordie Howe or Dave Keon as he was around Jackie Stewart and Scott Goodyear.
With Canada entering something of a golden era in auto racing in the 1990s, Orr’s writing became a fixture in the Star’s Wheels section, launched by the late Dennis Morgan.
Among the more than 30 books Orr wrote are three on motorsports, including a definitive look at the early career of Hall of Fame driver George Eaton (“Five Minutes to Green”).
“I’d always say to him: Frank, you’re writing about car racing and you don’t know the difference between a sparkplug and a muffler,” Orr’s brother, Jim, said with a laugh over the phone from his home in Canmore, Alta. “You know, he was a terrible driver. He used to scare the heck out of me when he drove. But Frank wanted to promote the drivers and the people first.
“He always said there’s good people in motorsports, and he wanted to write about them.”
He has come full circle now, a newly nominated member of the Canadian hall, who wrote about the inaugural class of inductees in 1984.