Aug. 29, 2017
As a high school football player from Miami, Don Orr had plenty of options when it came to his college career.
Orr, a 2017 Vanderbilt Hall of Fame inductee, fielded scholarship offers from the likes of Dartmouth and Northwestern for academics and Florida and Miami to play football. But Orr blended the best of both worlds by arriving at Vanderbilt as a freshman in 1953.
By his junior season, Orr had become the Commodores’ starter at quarterback and safety. That year he helped lead Vanderbilt to an 8-3 season (4-3 SEC) and make history as the program’s first-ever bowl team. The Dores walloped No. 8 Auburn, 25-13, in the Gator Bowl to cap their 8-3 campaign. Dorr earned MVP honors after running for two touchdowns and passing for a third, all with a dislocated elbow.
Orr and the Commodores finished his senior season in 1956 with a 5-5 record, after which Orr graduated from Vanderbilt with a degree in electrical engineering. Despite being drafted by the NFL’s Chicago Bears in the 26th round, Orr opted to joined the army and was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Following his military stint, Orr worked for Nashville Bridge Company and later Nashville Machine Company, retiring from the latter in 2006.
But Orr kept his hand in football by becoming a referee. He began by officiating high school games and, later, SEC football games before being offered an opportunity to referee in the NFL. Orr’s officiating career spanned 25 seasons, over which he helped referee three Super Bowls (XVII, XXIV, XXVIII). He retired from the NFL in 1996.
All 2017 Vanderbilt Hall of Fame inductees will be honored during the Commodores’ home football opener against Alabama A&M on Sept. 9.
