Don Orr

American football player and official
Don Orr
Vanderbilt Commodores – No. 10
PositionQuarterback
ClassGraduate
Career history
CollegeVanderbilt (1955)
Bowl games
  • Gator Bowl (1955)
Career highlights and awards
  • Vanderbilt's first bowl victory

Donald C. Orr was an American football player and official.[1] He was born in Miami, Florida.[2]

Vanderbilt University

Orr was a prominent quarterback for the Vanderbilt Commodores football teams of Vanderbilt University.[1]

1955

Orr led Vanderbilt to its first bowl victory by defeating Auburn 25 to 13 in the 1955 Gator Bowl. He was selected Vanderbilt's MVP of the game, and received a standing ovation upon getting the award.[3][4] Vandy's first two scores were a pass Orr to Joe Stephenson and a run by Orr respectively.[5]

NFL draft

He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 26th round of the 1956 NFL Draft; but he never talked to the team.[1]

Official

Orr was a prominent National Football League (NFL) official for 25 seasons, from 1971 through 1995,[4] and a field judge in three Super Bowls.[1] He wore uniform number 77 for the majority of his NFL career. As a side judge in the 1979 AFC Championship Game between the Houston Oilers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Orr made a controversial incomplete pass call denying Oilers receiver Mike Renfro an apparent game-tying touchdown late in the third quarter.[6] The Oilers subsequently settled for a field goal and went on to lose 27–13.[6] The controversy prompted calls for the NFL to institute replay review.[7]

Contracting

Though officially retired in 2006, Orr is chairman of the board of Nashville Machine Co., a mechanical contracting company.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Traughber, Bill (2011-11-09). "Don Orr: Vandy QB to NFL official". Vanderbilt University Athletics. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  2. ^ "Don Orr: Vandy QB to NFL official". Vanderbilt University Commodores. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  3. ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records: Most Valuable Players in Former Major Bowls" (PDF). 2011 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. p. 96. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Bill Traughber (2011). Vanderbilt Football:Tales Of Commodore Gridiron History. p. 128. ISBN 9781609494230.
  5. ^ "December 31st, 1955" (PDF).
  6. ^ a b Grimsley, Will (January 8, 1980). "NFL backing official". The Daily Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. Associated Press. p. 11.
  7. ^ Wolf, Mark (January 11, 1980). "An NFL Coverup on Renfro Call? Refs' Mistakes Part of Game". The Charlotte Observer. p. 3B.
  8. ^ "Where Are They Now?".
  • v
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Vanderbilt Commodores starting quarterbacks
  • Pat Estes (1890)
  • William E. Beard (1892)
  • W. J. Keller (1893–1894)
  • Myles P. O'Connor (1895–1896)
  • Joe Goodson (1897–1898)
  • Frank Godchaux Sr. (1899–1900)
  • Fred Hume (1901)
  • Frank Kyle (1902–1905)
  • Jimmy R. Haygood (1904–1905)
  • Sam Costen (1906–1907)
  • Ray Morrison (1908–1911)
  • Zach Curlin (1912–1913)
  • Hord Boensch (1913)
  • Irby Curry (1914–1916)
  • Sam Wilhite (1917)
  • Dooch Sherman (1918)
  • Swayne Latham (1919–1920)
  • Frank Godchaux Jr. (1921)
  • Oliver Kuhn (1921–1923)
  • E. M. Waller (1924)
  • Neil Cargile (1924–1925)
  • Bill Spears (1925–1927)
  • Jimmy Armistead (1928)
  • Benny Parker (1929–1930)
  • Tommy Henderson (1930–1932)
  • Rand Dixon (1933–1935)
  • Lunny Huggins (1936–1937)
  • Bert Marshall (1937–1938)
  • Junius Plunkett (1939)
  • Charlton Davis (1940)
  • Jack Jenkins (1941–1942)
  • Jack Kaley (1943)
  • John Rich (1945)
  • Jamie Wade (1946–1947, 1949)
  • Bobby Berry (1948)
  • Bill Wade (1950–1951)
  • Bill Krietemeyer (1952)
  • Jim Looney (1953–1954)
  • Don Orr (1955)
  • Boyce Smith (1956–1958)
  • Russ Morris (1959)
  • Hank Lesesne (1960–1962)
  • Jon Cleveland (1963)
  • David Waller (1964)
  • Bob Kerr (1965)
  • Gary Davis (1966)
  • Roger May (1967)
  • John Miller (1968)
  • Watson Brown (1969)
  • Denny Painter (1970)
  • Steve Burger (1971)
  • Steve Lainhart (1972)
  • Fred Fisher (1973–1975)
  • David Lee (1974)
  • Randy Hampton (1976)
  • Mike Wright (1977)
  • Van Heflin (1978–1979)
  • Whit Taylor (1980–1982)
  • Kurt Page (1983–1984)
  • John Gromos (1985; 1989)
  • Mark Wracher (1986)
  • Eric Jones (1987–1988)
  • Mike Healy (1990)
  • Marcus Wilson (1991–1992)
  • Ronnie Gordon (1993–1994)
  • Damian Allen (1995–1997)
  • Greg Zolman (1998–2001)
  • Jay Cutler (2002–2005)
  • Chris Nickson (2006–2008)
  • Mackenzi Adams (2007–2009)
  • Larry Smith (2008–2011)
  • Jared Funk (2010)
  • Jordan Rodgers (2011–2012)
  • Austyn Carta-Samuels (2012–2013)
  • Patton Robinette (2013–2014)
  • Stephen Rivers (2014)
  • Wade Freebeck (2014)
  • Johnny McCrary (2014–2015)
  • Kyle Shurmur (2015–2018)
  • Riley Neal (2019)
  • Deuce Wallace (2019)
  • Ken Seals (2020–2021, 2023)
  • Mike Wright (2021–2022)
  • AJ Swann (2022–2023)
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Chicago Bears 1956 NFL draft selections
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