Sport: Farewell to a Golden Trio

Rare combinations of character and consummate skill

No one who saw them in their halcyon days would ever forget them: Gene Tunney, the perfectly controlled ring tactician; Bobby Hull, hockey's most explosive scorer; Bobby Orr, the greatest defenseman, graceful and creative, in hockey history. Tunney died last week at 81, and Orr retired at 30, just seven days after Hull quit at 39. They were three of sport's heroic figures. Consummate athletes, they came to be respected as much for their character as for their skills.

In the rough-and-ready world of prizefighting, Gene Tunney...

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