Voice of Sea Kings passes away

Deirdre Newman

Doug Orr personified the heart and soul of an athlete who did not let

his physical limitations deter him from pursuing his passion.

Orr, 50, a lifelong Corona del Mar resident who graduated from the

high school in 1970, died of heart failure on Wednesday.

Orr had been the voice of the Sea Kings for the past four years. His

unwavering commitment to the school will be missed, said Jerry Jelnick,

athletic director.

“His interest was a love of the school and the athletic teams and all

the coaches and players,” Jelnick said. “Whenever he showed up, he just

fit in with everyone. Everyone always enjoyed seeing him.”

Orr, who was described by his sister Diane as a “warmhearted, sweet

spirit”, was one of the first 50 babies born at Hoag Hospital in 1952.

His interest in sports seemed inevitable considering that his two

older brothers, Dave and Daniel, would drag him to their practices. When

Doug didn’t display the same physical ability, he compensated with sheer

determination.

While he received low grades in physical education in junior high

school, he would show up in the gym everyday and offer to clean the

students’ shoes and socks, Dave Orr said.

At Corona del Mar High School, he discovered an adaptive physical

education class for those who couldn’t compete at the same level as the

other students. The class was taught by football coach Dave Holland, who

was quickly impressed by Doug’s resolve, his brother said.

“Coach Holland would just say, ‘This is the type of kid I want and

gave him an ‘A’ in P.E. It just turned his life around,” Dave Orr said.

After a few years, Holland was so taken with Orr that he invited him

to be on the football team. He only made one appearance -- in the final

game of his senior year -- but he made an important contribution, Dave

Orr recounted.

“In the last few seconds, it was one of those classic plays where the

quarterback went to throw a pass. Doug was 6-feet-4 and he reached up to

block it and got a hand on it. Whether we won or lost, I don’t know,” he

said.

For his passion and perseverance, Doug Orr was honored with an award

created especially for him -- the Athletic Director’s Award.

“It was probably the crowning moment of his life and so deserved and

everybody stood up and gave him a standing ovation,” Dave Orr said.

Orr eventually transformed his love for sports and his loyalty to

Corona del Mar into an announcing gig for several Sea Kings sports.

“It seemed like he just got better every year,” Jelnick said. “It

seemed like he would just listen to what other people did and add

something new.”

He even took it upon himself to write a letter to the son of a friend

who didn’t get a chance to play in one of the school’s football games he

was announcing, telling him not to give up, his brother said.

Orr is survived by brothers Daniel, 53, Dave, 51, sister Diane Carson,

45, and half-brother Jaime Panyaqua.