Jimmy Orr obit

Super Bowl Champion Jimmy Orr Dies at 85; Played for Steelers, Colts

 

He was not on the list.

Jimmy Orr, a former NFL wide receiver who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Colts from 1958 to 1970, died at the age of 85 on Tuesday evening.

Per the Associated Press' David Ginsburg, Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home in Brunswick, Georgia, confirmed Orr's death on Wednesday.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay offered his condolences:

Jim Irsay @JimIrsay

Rest in peace to another NFL legend, JIMMY ORR. Jimmy led the NFL in yards per reception three times during his 13 years in the league, and "Orr's Corner" in the south endzone at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium was sacred ground. Our condolences to Jimmy's family. https://t.co/d3OtDEd8t7

Orr spoke about that end-zone corner in an interview with Mike Klingaman of the Baltimore Sun in 2009.

"I must have caught 45 or 50 touchdowns in that right corner," Orr said. "It was sloped some, a little downhill, which helped me, speed-wise. I wasn't all that fast."

Former Georgia Tech, Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia State football coach Bill Curry, who played with Orr on the Colts during his 10-year NFL playing career, provided a few words as well:

Bill Curry @coachbillcurry

My wonderful friend/teammate Jimmy Orr died last night. He was one of those few men who could find the good when the rest of us could not. As a WR no one could cover him-He quietly put up incredible numbers, and didn’t know it! Thanks Jimmy, Love you Man https://t.co/aBlQivNIMF


Orr was a fan favorite, as Klingaman noted: "Fans loved the tough, cigar-smoking flanker with the Southern drawl, who played and partied hard."

The wideout led the league in yards per reception in 1958, 1964 and 1968. He caught 400 passes for 7,914 yards and 66 touchdowns during his career, including season highs of 55 catches for 974 yards and 11 scores in 1962. He played with Pittsburgh from 1958 to 1960 before spending the rest of his career with Baltimore.

The 13-year NFL veteran made two Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team. The Colts earned four playoff berths during his career and won Super Bowl V to cap his final season in 1970.

The Colts never had a losing record during Orr's 10 years in Baltimore, going 97-38-5 during that span. Orr led the Colts in receiving in 1962, 1964, 1965 and 1968.

Orr played college football at the University of Georgia and was chosen UPI NFL Rookie of the Year in 1958 in a season in which he had 33 receptions for 910 yards and seven touchdowns and also punted. His 910 yards stood as a franchise rookie record until 2017 when it was surpassed by JuJu Smith-Schuster. Orr's three touchdowns and 205 yards in the season finale against the Chicago Cardinals remain Steelers rookie records. He played his first three seasons in Pittsburgh and his final 10 in Baltimore.

Orr retired in 1970 with exactly 400 career receptions for 7,914 receiving yards and 66 touchdowns.

Orr is known for his part in a play in Super Bowl III against the New York Jets. On the last play of the first half, Colt quarterback Earl Morrall handed off to Tom Matte, who threw a lateral back to Morrall in a flea-flicker play. Orr was wide open at the 20 yard line with an open lane to the end zone, but Morrall did not see him (perhaps because Orr was camouflaged by a backdrop of uniformed band members outlining the end zone). Videos of the play reveal that on an otherwise overcast day, the sun mysteriously came out just before the play, and shone directly into Morrall's face, while Orr was downfield in the shadows. Morrall threw instead to fullback Jerry Hill, but the ball was intercepted by New York Jets safety Jim Hudson.