Good Player; Good Coach & Good Laugh

Johnny Orr died December 31, 2013; he was 86-years old. Orr spent a lifetime on the basketball courts. He played on the Taylorville high school 1944 basketball team, which was the first ever undefeated IHSA State Champions with a 45-0 record. Orr later played at Beloit College and played professional basketball. Most of his basketball years found Johnny Orr on the sidelines 'coaching.' He had tenure stints at UMASS, University of Michigan and Iowa State, which totaled 27 head coaching years.

I first met Johnny Orr in the late 1970's. I was coaching basketball at Jacksonville high school and I conducted a Saturday morning 30-minute Sport Show on WLDS radio (Jacksonville). I often taped interviews with sport personalities for later play on my program. Orr was speaking at the annual 7-UP Basketball Coaches Clinic in St. Louis; I was in attendance and picked a time to interview Orr. Stating the obvious, Johnny Orr was a most colorful individual. He was engaging, charismatic, edgy with his humor and a good guy.

Before I began my Orr-interview, Johnny shared with me that his family lived in Jacksonville for a time before moving back to Taylorville.  It was an interesting story and it hinted about what might have been had the Orr family remained in Jacksonville. Johnny recalled fondly one teacher from South Jacksonville grade school.

Before beginning the interview-taping with Michigan Coach Orr, I checked the volume levels on my cassette recorder. The recorder had microphone and cord that plugged into a connection jacket on the recorder. This connection was 'problematic;' the plug often fell out of the recorder's receptacle hole. I thought I was all set up and began my 'introduction' saying, "I am delighted to have the opportunity to visit with Illinois basketball legend and current coach of the Michigan Wolverines; a gentleman with Jacksonville connections, Johnny Orr." Johnny said, "It's a pleasure to visit with you Mel but before we continue, is the end of that microphone cord suppose to be in my ass or yours?"

Many years later, my wife and attended ceremonies at Taylorville high school when that school retired Johnny Orr's uniform number. Johnny and I visited that night and had another laugh about the interview line he delivered some thirty years earlier.

Thanks for the memories, Johnny; rest in peace.