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Jimmy Orr has passed


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Very underrated. Loved watching him catch those high spiral passes that Johnny U would drop from the sky. He was not very big or particularly fast. He was a great route runner & always found a way to get open. Specially in the end zone.

 

                                      RIP Jimmy Orr

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5 hours ago, Smonroe said:

I can still see him waving “I’m open!” In the end zone at SB3,  while Morrall was throwing the game.  
 

RIP Jimmy.  

 

I thought I was the only one old enough to have seen those games ?

 

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I remember him when I first became a Colt fan and dream season enroute to the SB III nightmare loss to the Joe Namath and the Jets.  Colts were huge 17 point favorites after blasting the Browns 34-0 in the NFC Championship.  The Browns was the team that handed the Colts the only loss 31-21, in their 13-1 season, when the started Johnny Unitas, coming off his elbow surgery as he threw 3 ints.  He road the bench until SB III when Morrai was messing up and almost brought the Colts back but the loss was NFL destiny and was a factor in the NFL/AFL merger as the AFL KC Chiefs beat the Vikings in SB IV, the merger occurred after that. 

 

Orr was a solid dependable receiver and I too remember his waving his arms, being wide open for a sure TD on the flea flicker, but Morral threw the ball to the middle of the field to RB Jerry Hill which was intercepted.

IMO the Colts drafted WR Ray Perkins #1 to replace Orr, similar style of play.   Perkins caught the long TD against the Raiders, from Unitas when we beat them in the AFC Championship enroute to SB V win over the Cowboys, 16-13.

 

Jimmy Orr, rest in peace.  Colt memories forever.

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Not to derail the thread, but until my dying day I'll believe the fix was in for that game.

 

As @Caffrey said, the Colts were 17 or 18 point favorites.  They were 13-1 and avenged their only regular season loss to the Browns in convincing fashion in the NFL championship game.  Whipped them 34-0.

 

I believe Morrall (MVP that year) was paid to keep the game under the spread.  Not to lose it, just to keep it close.  There was a lot of money riding on that game.  He did his job too well.  Three timely interceptions.

 

Getting back to Jimmy Orr.  The play where he was waving his hands in the end zone was the same flea flicker that they ran earlier in the season for a TD.  Same exact play.  Morrall claims he didn't see Orr because the band was getting ready to come on the field.  That's the best excuse he could come up with.

 

BTW, that was actually the first time the game was called The Super Bowl.

 

Rest in peace Jimmy Orr.  You deserved that Super Bowl.

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5 hours ago, coltsfansince65 said:

Very underrated. Loved watching him catch those high spiral passes that Johnny U would drop from the sky. He was not very big or particularly fast. He was a great route runner & always found a way to get open. Specially in the end zone.

 

                                      RIP Jimmy Orr

 I think there might have been 2 or 3 seasons where he averaged over 20 yd per catch.

  RIP Mr Orr

 

 Does anyone know if his corner was away from the blacktop? For those who don’t know, there was a field gymnastics track around the field and a few feet at one or two corners were that track (I think it was blacktop or clay.

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1 hour ago, Smonroe said:

 

Nope, I was young and innocent back then. 

 

Well, I was young...

 

I'm so old that I'm goofy and was thinking this was played in 1960. Got my time frame mixed up. I was like 11 in 1960 when we won the greatest game ever played. 

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17 minutes ago, dw49 said:

 

I'm so old that I'm goofy and was thinking this was played in 1960. Got my time frame mixed up. I was like 11 in 1960 when we won the greatest game ever played. 

 

Well, you have me by a few years.  I was a kid for SB3 and the GGEP was before my time.  I did watch the color version they put together on ESPN a few years ago.

 

And, of course, I knew the key answer from the movie Diner!  (The millennials have no idea what we're talking about)

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Another great Baltimore Colt has passed. There was a very nice article in the Baltimore Sun about Jimmy’s passing. 
I’m glad Jimmy was able to retire as a Super Bowl Champion in 1970, but as some of you have pointed out , Orr is best remembered for the pass that wasn’t , in Super Bowl 3. He was a great receiver , who had great chemistry with Unitas. The Super Bowl 3 loss should have never happened with that 15-1 team. One of the best teams of all time had the worst day , mainly because Morrall was just awful that particular day. 
I’m not sure Jim Irsay remembered Orrsville , as his dad didn’t own the team until 1972, but it was a nice tribute. I guess he sees himself as the steward of Baltimore Colts history. 

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4 minutes ago, The Old Crow said:

Another great Baltimore Colt has passed. There was a very nice article in the Baltimore Sun about Jimmy’s passing. 
I’m glad Jimmy was able to retire as a Super Bowl Champion in 1970, but as some of you have pointed out , Orr is best remembered for the pass that wasn’t , in Super Bowl 3. He was a great receiver , who had great chemistry with Unitas. The Super Bowl 3 loss should have never happened with that 15-1 team. One of the best teams of all time had the worst day , mainly because Morrall was just awful that particular day. 
I’m not sure Jim Irsay remembered Orrsville , as his dad didn’t own the team until 1972, but it was a nice tribute. I guess he sees himself as the steward of Baltimore Colts history. 

He must definitely does and he’s educated himself on the parts he wasn’t there for.  I can understand why people in Baltimore don’t like the Irsays but make no mistake Jim is not his father and takes his role in making sure the whole history is remembered very seriously.  Rest assured as long as Jim’s around the Baltimore Colts will never been forgotten.  In way they get celebrated twice because Jim will honor them as Colts and the Ravens will honor them as part of the football history in Baltimore.  

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5 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

He must definitely does and he’s educated himself on the parts he wasn’t there for.  I can understand why people in Baltimore don’t like the Irsays but make no mistake Jim is not his father and takes his role in making sure the whole history is remembered very seriously.  Rest assured as long as Jim’s around the Baltimore Colts will never been forgotten.  In way they get celebrated twice because Jim will honor them as Colts and the Ravens will honor them as part of the football history in Baltimore.  


I have no problem with it as it was a nice tribute. I can also appreciate a guy that likes NFL history , particularly the old Baltimore Colts. Even though the franchise is no longer located in Baltimore , there were great memories and history made there. The old Baltimore Colts of that era were as iconic as the Brooklyn Dodgers. A lot of great football history went down between 1958-1971. 
I wish Irsay and Bisciotti would get together and hang those old Championship banners in Baltimore and Indy. It would be a nice tribute to those old players who are left, or even their kids or grandkids. 
The weird thing is because of the aftermath of the move, the franchise history is in Indy , the Super Bowl 5 trophy is in Baltimore , and the banners are nowhere to be seen. Long overdue to change the latter. 

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Just now, The Old Crow said:


I have no problem with it as it was a nice tribute. I can also appreciate a guy that likes NFL history , particularly the old Baltimore Colts. Even though the franchise is no longer located in Baltimore , there were great memories and history made there. The old Baltimore Colts of that era were as iconic as the Brooklyn Dodgers. A lot of great football history went down between 1958-1971. 
I wish Irsay and Bisciotti would get together and hang those old Championship banners in Baltimore and Indy. It would be a nice tribute to those old players who are left, or even their kids or grandkids. 
The weird thing is because of the aftermath of the move, the franchise history is in Indy , the Super Bowl 5 trophy is in Baltimore , and the banners are nowhere to be seen. Long overdue to change the latter. 

I would have no problem with that.  That’s the problem when two sides both love something sometime neither get as much as they should.  

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2 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

I would have no problem with that.  That’s the problem when two sides both love something sometime neither get as much as they should.  


That is true. I will tell you everyone in Baltimore has also enjoyed the more recent Raven’s history. As painful as the Colt’s leaving was at the time, I think in the long run it worked out for both cities. 
I guess because I was very young in those old days , those old Baltimore Colts guys were my greatest hero’s. Johnny U and Brooks Robinson will be forever icons in Baltimore. 
I just wish those banners were hung somewhere. Those wins, and even some of the losses like Super Bowl 3, were quite historic. 
 

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Just now, The Old Crow said:


That is true. I will tell you everyone in Baltimore has also enjoyed the more recent Raven’s history. As painful as the Colt’s leaving was at the time, I think in the long run it worked out for both cities. 
I guess because I was very young in those old days , those old Baltimore Colts guys were my greatest hero’s. Johnny U and Brooks Robinson will be forever icons in Baltimore. 
I just wish those banners were hung somewhere. Those wins, and even some of the losses like Super Bowl 3, were quite historic. 
 

Yeah. You always remember the heroes of your youth differently.  I wish they were hung too.  I don’t think irsay wants to rub salt in the wound so to speak of the people of Baltimore and I think the Ravens want their own identity which is understandable and frankly they should be proud of what they have built there.  They are one on the most well run organizations in sports.  
 

Still it does seem like some of the Baltimore days aren’t as celebrated as they should be.  Irsay does recognize the retired numbers and records set in Baltimore.  In more recent history he’s been recognizing some of the players from then more publicly.  I hope that’s a trend that continues.  I would have loved to see Berry, Orr, Harrison, and Wayne all recognized at a game together.

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2 hours ago, coltsfeva said:

Does anyone know if his corner was away from the blacktop? For those who don’t know, there was a field gymnastics track around the field and a few feet at one or two corners were that track (I think it was blacktop or clay.

Orr's Corner was the right side of the south endzone. The south endzone was the one with grandstands surrounding it. The south endzone is on the left side of this b/w photo. (photographer was facing west when the photo was taken). This is also where home plate was for baseball games. The color photo clearly shows the track you mentioned, and Orr's Corner would be at the top right of this photo.

Note: I have no idea when either photo was taken, nor which photo is older.

 

 

memstad.jpg

memstad2.jpg

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Jimmy Orr had to share the spotlight with the great Raymond Berry for several years in Baltimore. Unitas and Berry spent a lot of off time getting their timing down like Harrison and Manning did and they were a deadly and legendary combination. RIP Mr. Orr I was a big fan. I still am a Baltimore Colts fan but we change with the changes.

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57 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

Yeah. You always remember the heroes of your youth differently.  I wish they were hung too.  I don’t think irsay wants to rub salt in the wound so to speak of the people of Baltimore and I think the Ravens want their own identity which is understandable and frankly they should be proud of what they have built there.  They are one on the most well run organizations in sports.  
 

Still it does seem like some of the Baltimore days aren’t as celebrated as they should be.  Irsay does recognize the retired numbers and records set in Baltimore.  In more recent history he’s been recognizing some of the players from then more publicly.  I hope that’s a trend that continues.  I would have loved to see Berry, Orr, Harrison, and Wayne all recognized at a game together.

 
I have noticed Jim has posted regularly when any Baltimore Colt has passed away, the last couple of years. To know about Orrsville, he must really be studying on the history of the Colts. 
Besides the banners , the other split history is Baltimore having the old Baltimore Colts numbers in their Ring of Honor at Raven’s stadium , while they are not in Indy. Indy doesn’t generally give out those retired Baltimore Colt numbers to current Indy Colts , but oddly gave John Mackey’s number to Marvin Harrison. That is no knock on Marvin , as he wore #88 in fine fashion as did Mackey. Just some interesting tidbits. 

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58 minutes ago, King Colt said:

Jimmy Orr had to share the spotlight with the great Raymond Berry for several years in Baltimore. Unitas and Berry spent a lot of off time getting their timing down like Harrison and Manning did and they were a deadly and legendary combination. RIP Mr. Orr I was a big fan. I still am a Baltimore Colts fan but we change with the changes.

I’m a Ravens fan, but still also a Baltimore Colt fan. I had to change with the times also, but the Indy Colts is a fine organization, with their own great history. There are plenty of other things to mutually dislike like Pittsburgh and New England. KC may soon be joining that list. 

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3 hours ago, dw49 said:

 

I'm so old that I'm goofy and was thinking this was played in 1960. Got my time frame mixed up. I was like 11 in 1960 when we won the greatest game ever played. 

You're still goofy. The "greatest game ever played," was the 1958 championship. ;)  

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53 minutes ago, Hammer said:

You're still goofy. The "greatest game ever played," was the 1958 championship. ;)  

 

I didn't say I wasn't still goofy. 1960 was the year my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates won the WS vs the Yankees . Your right .. the Colts won in 58 and 59.

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8 hours ago, dw49 said:

 

I thought I was the only one old enough to have seen those games ?

 

I was born in Baltimore Women’s Hospital in 1954.  The 58 game was on my parents 9” black and white tv in what must have been a 5’ console. I was in high school in Southern York Co Pa as the Colts, Orioles, and Bullets were successful.  Colts were World Champs in 71, after losing SB III in 68. Orioles won World Series in 66 and 70, and League Champs or Division Champs in 69, 70, 71, 73, and 74.  I watched Johnny U’s last TD pass in a Colts uniform in person.

 

 In that area at age 15-20, were great times!   I’ve got a brick from Memorial Stadium as a souvenir.  I moved to Indy in 1980,  (kept up by getting the Baltimore News American Sports Page) and the Colts eventually followed. 

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6 minutes ago, King Colt said:

Ameche up the middle! Great photo. I watched that game on a 27" Zenith tv.

27" Zenith? That was a huge TV for those days. 

We had a black and white 23 inch floor model and thought it was huge. 

Our first color TV was a 19 inch table model around 1965 or so. 

This is what the first TV looked like that I can remember.

image.thumb.png.73c483f578b127c587a94cd6ee292ae5.png

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25 minutes ago, jimmy g said:

I was born in Baltimore Women’s Hospital in 1954.  The 58 game was on my parents 9” black and white tv in what must have been a 5’ console. I was in high school in Southern York Co Pa as the Colts, Orioles, and Bullets were successful.  Colts were World Champs in 71, after losing SB III in 68. Orioles won World Series in 66 and 70, and League Champs or Division Champs in 69, 70, 71, 73, and 74.  I watched Johnny U’s last TD pass in a Colts uniform in person.

 

 In that area at age 15-20, were great times!   I’ve got a brick from Memorial Stadium as a souvenir.  I moved to Indy in 1980,  (kept up by getting the Baltimore News American Sports Page) and the Colts eventually followed. 


I used to be a paper boy for the old Baltimore News American featuring the late , great sports columnist John Steadman. 
 

I followed all the above teams including the old AHL Baltimore Clippers hockey team. I’m not much of an NBA fan anymore , but I followed the Bullets to DC where they became the Capitol Bullets originally , then the Washington Bullets. By the time they became the Wizards, I was pretty much done with the NBA. 
 

Following the Colts to Indy was a bridge to far for me as a Baltimore guy. Nothing against Indiana, I like it and been there many times, but I’m not an Indiana native. I think most Colt fans that followed them from Baltimore to Indy were non Baltimore people, or people like you that moved to Indy. The worst people were the Baltimore Colt fans that went on to follow the Steelers. I was one of many who waited in the wilderness to get a team after 12 years. The only regret was how we got the Browns, when we should have been awarded an expansion franchise over Jacksonville and Charlotte. Jack Kent Cooke and Taglibue put the fix in on that one. I think the karma for that is playing out on the Washington Football Team. 

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37 minutes ago, The Old Crow said:


I used to be a paper boy for the old Baltimore News American featuring the late , great sports columnist John Steadman. 
 

I followed all the above teams including the old AHL Baltimore Clippers hockey team. I’m not much of an NBA fan anymore , but I followed the Bullets to DC where they became the Capitol Bullets originally , then the Washington Bullets. By the time they became the Wizards, I was pretty much done with the NBA. 
 

Following the Colts to Indy was a bridge to far for me as a Baltimore guy. Nothing against Indiana, I like it and been there many times, but I’m not an Indiana native. I think most Colt fans that followed them from Baltimore to Indy were non Baltimore people, or people like you that moved to Indy. The worst people were the Baltimore Colt fans that went on to follow the Steelers. I was one of many who waited in the wilderness to get a team after 12 years. The only regret was how we got the Browns, when we should have been awarded an expansion franchise over Jacksonville and Charlotte. Jack Kent Cooke and Taglibue put the fix in on that one. I think the karma for that is playing out on the Washington Football Team. 

Charlotte has been a really good market but it’s a joke Jacksonville got a team over Baltimore.

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44 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

Charlotte has been a really good market but it’s a joke Jacksonville got a team over Baltimore.

The whole deal was Taglibue wanted Jack Kent Cooke to have the whole Maryland market, plus the southern PA area which was traditionally a Colts and Orioles market. 
 

I also get Charlotte, but Baltimore has been a proven  football market for two franchises. Really, the only bad attendance years were during the Bob Irsay era, 72-83, and even  some of those years , 74,75,76 had great attendance. When Taglibue told us to use the stadium money to build a museum after jipping us out on expansion, that’s when the Maryland Stadium Authority was forced to carpetbag another NFL team, or have the city permanently out of the NFL. As St Louis and Oakland also know, not a fun prospect.  

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On 10/29/2020 at 8:30 AM, Smonroe said:

I can still see him waving “I’m open!” In the end zone at SB3,  while Morrall was throwing the game.  
 

RIP Jimmy.  

A play used earlier that 68 season where he was wide open for a catch, a play designed for him as the primary receiver which left many scratching their heads as to how Earl could not have seen him open.

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7 hours ago, Robert Johnson said:

I was in 4th grade when this happened,i didn't want to go to school the next day after bragging on the Colts the whole week before.I learned my lesson.

 

That game was truely a nightmare . 

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