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Your Best Johnny Orr Stories here.

I was flying through Chicago coming back from intern training in Chapel Hill. Saw him and Romie in the terminal in O'Hare and struck up a conversation. I have no idea what we talked about, but I can assure you I was blessed to be there. On the approach into DSM it was really foggy and I was very nervous. He was in the aisle seat one row ahead and to the right of me. I think he knew I was a nervous flyer and made sure to keep looking back and smiling at me. I'll never forget that calming influence coming from such a high energy guy. He's a saint in my book.

Two weeks ago I was at the Centennial BB game against Waterloo I think. I spotted a guy across the floor that looked just like Johnny, but I thought he lived in Florida. I came to find out the next day that he lived in Ankeny and his grandson is on the BB team here. I am so disappointed that I never went over to tell him about how I remember his presence during that flight. I just assumed I would catch him at the next game to tell him. guess not...

Love ya Coach!
 
Coach bought me a beer when I worked at Ames Golf & CC. It wasn't his home course but every time he showed up it was an event! He was profane, kind, hilarious and smart.
 
I attended several funders for spinal cord injuries where coach was speaking informally. He talked about being brought out to calm down the drinking students during the Veisha that got out of hand. He said one kid had climbed up a light pole and hollered to his buddies to toss him a beer. The guy caught it with one hand, popped the top and chugged it while hanging on to the pole with the other hand. When the chuckles died down Johnny deadpanned "A hawk could never do that" and of course the audience went crazy. We met at several events like that and a few times playing golf and each time he shook my hand and called me "coach" I got the impression that he remembered me but of course that was doubtful.
 
First time I saw/met him was in Gladbrook. He was flipping bugers on the beef producer's float during the corn carnival parade. I was star struck.
 
Prone2Clone said:
I've posted these before, but...

He came to speak at a speech comm class I had. I don't remember what he started off talking about but he was pretty clearly unprepared and was just going to rely on his ability to riff to get him through his 20 minutes at the podium. He kind of ran out of material at one point and there was a pause. Then he says, "I love them Hawkeyes. I love them Hawkeyes, boy." Everybody was thinking, "What?!?!?" Johnny follows that with, "I love to beat the **** out of them!" And then bellows out that hilarious cackle. I was on the floor.
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I remember one time we were talking, and Johnny starts going on about the Hawkeyes. Now, my mom was a big Hawk fan (and had shortly before passed away), but I didn't say anything, just listened as he went on and on. He was commenting about how cocky Hawk fans can be (I'm abbreviating things here), then he starts talking about how satisfying it was to beat the Hawks. He finally stops to take a breath, and just when I think he's finished, he wraps up with, "I loved beating Iowa even when I was at Michigan!"
 
I remember when Johnny first got here and some reporter asked him if he could win at Iowa State and Johnny replied "I don't know but I'm gonna find out coach!"

The spirit of Johnny Orr and Hilton Magic will never die!!!!
 
Met him at the Independence Bowl in 2001 at his sponsored tailgate. Drank a couple of beers with him, took a picture and on a whim, he just signed the bill of my ISU BBall hat I had on at the time. The base of the conversation was what he meant to the program and how great it was he was still a part of ISU.

Amazing what a nice guy he was and how willing he was to talk to ISU fans.
 
Photographed him at an Ellwell party a few years back with his wife. Got to listen to some awesome stories from the two of them. The man is a gem as is his wife.
 
Aclone said:
Johnny had lots of off-the-record stories. I'll be darned if I'm going to post any of them on a public message board after he's gone, but catch me over coffee or a cold drink sometime. I think the one about a certain player who mysteriously disappeared from the roster (and Ames, and ISU) is probably my favorite.
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I'd love to have a tailgate or some sort of event to hear all these "can't tell" stories.
 
I have a couple.

1-At the first Veisha "riot" in '87? the police called Johnny down to Welch Ave. to try and get the students to go home at about 4 AM. Johnny came out and with a bullhorn told everyone that enough fun had been had and it was time to go home, and that's what we did.

2-I had friends who lived across the street from Johnny in the late 80's, on Phoenix. They invited Johnny and his wife over for dinner and they came over to their crappy duplex and ate a spaghetti dinner with my friends, took photos and couldn't have been nicer.

3-
 
Was meeting some friends to play golf at Timberline outside of Dubuque. Was later in the day and my buddies were on the first tee already, place was packed with cars but zero people on the course. I asked what the hell was going on, my friends says, don't even bother paying, there isn't a cashier and Johnny Orr has a microphone and is telling stories. So we listened for a bit, and a couple guys wanted to play nine real quick, so we did. We got back in and Johnny STILL had the microphone and was telling stories in the clubhouse. Keep in mind this was 95% Iowa fans, and everyone was dying. Johnny must have had 20 beers, he was feeling it but man he had that room rolling.

One I remember..."Loved George Raveling, really missed him when he left, friend of mine you know...good guy, but man he was a **** coach." Room exploded with laughter, all Iowa fans. Amazing man, truly amazing.
 
Just got home and heard the News. My former employer was Bob Zimmerman, of Bob Zimmerman Ford in Cedar Rapids. We were at a Cyclone function at the Cedar Rapids Country Club in 1991. Of course Johnnie was there and in usual form, God love him. Bob Zimmerman and Johnnie Orr were room mates at Illionis. Their son Mark was Herky the Hawk at EIU. They furnish all kind of Fords for coaching staffs at Iowa.
Mrs. Zimmerman was the most proper woman I ever knew. she suggested Bob and I go buy Johnnie a drink? No could he had them backed up on the bar. we got back to the table and Mrs Zimmerman asked " How is F...king Johnnie". I was speechless after hearing that from this lady. She explained that was his language even in college.
 
SouthJerseyCy said:
One of my favorite quotes was from the year we recruited Hoiberg, Meyer & Beechum. Coach was asked about the talent in the state that year and replied something to the effect, 'there were five players in the state...we got 3...one went JuCo and one went to Iowa...which is about the same thing.'
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Sig... \/\/\/
 
I think the next time someone brings up how slamming Iowa makes you "little brother" on CF I'm going to bring up this thread. Johnny got a dig in to Iowa at every opportunity and no one mistook him for a little brother.
 
Beyerball said:
Many of you were likely not around for the Sam Mack era. He was a tremendous talent, got in bad trouble and Johnny testified as a character witness for him in court. It was an armed robbery attempt of Burger King on Lincoln way with a couple of fball players. Mack claimed he was forced to do it and was acquitted. Mack later transfered to Arizona St. and then played many years in the NBA. Had that not happened ISU might have had a great team that next season. Any way, that's the kind of person Johnny was, he would stand up for you and fight for you if he believed in you. Tremendous human being.

Side note, I was at the video store "that's entertainment" right next to the burger king when the incident was occurring watching out the window. Wild night.
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Who were the football players?
 
Johnny came up to a benefit golf tournament for a boy in Waterloo that is slowly dying due to a rare neurological disease in 2011.

The boy isn't a huge sports fan, but absolutely loves Batman. Johnny sat with him for i bet 45 minutes just talking about Batman and The Joker. In that moment Johnny wasn't a famous basketball coach, he was simply a kind, kind soul spending time with a kid going through absolute hell. A 9 year old kid losing his sight, losing all short term memory, and having awful seizures that can't be treated because they are simply happening because his brain is deteriorating.

Those moments told me more about Johnny than any basketball story or any other aspect of him every could.

RIP Coach
 
He thought Wayne Morgan was one of the worst basketball coaches off all time, to put it politely.
 
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B.L. said:
I remember seeing him at Jessies Embers West one night leaned over to my wife said that's Johnny Orr over there looked right up from his meal and said how you doing coach! I remember watching one of the games on TV at Hilton and they made the mistake of pointing the camera in the huddle for a time out (big mistake) Johnny looks right at Elmer Robinson says " and God Damn it Elmer wake up!!!! RIP Johnny
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Overtime game vs Colorado. I too, saw this on tv. The ESPN crew said something like, "let's listen in to what Johnny is saying." Their timing couldn't have been more perfect. My college buddies and I had a big laugh over that one.
 
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