Bob Orr, a longtime member of the Cal sports medicine staff who served as head athletic trainer for 24 years and was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017, passed away from multiple myeloma blood cancer Wednesday. He was 80.
 
Orr joined Cal Athletics in 1964 and stayed 30 years before retiring in 1994, impacting generations of Golden Bears and helping thousands of student-athletes during his tenure in Berkeley. He arrived at Cal as an assistant athletic trainer in 1964 and moved into the head position in 1970 following the retirement of Jack Williamson.
 
"Bob was considered a physical therapist, advisor and confidant to student-athletes and coaches … a central player in their success," said Dave Maggard, a track & field student-athlete at Cal in the 1960s before serving as Cal's Director of Athletics for nearly 20 years.
 
Born in the East Texas town of Longview, Orr and his family soon moved west to Odessa in the middle of Texas oil country and the city of Friday Night Lights fame. He first took up an interest in athletic training as a 15-year-old sophomore at Odessa High, and he would remain in his chosen profession for more than 60 years, caring for everyone from elite athletes to weekend warriors of all ages.
 
Orr started his path to working in college athletics when he received an athletic scholarship to be a student athletic trainer at what is now Texas-El Paso before transferring after a year to the University of Wyoming. After graduating in 1962, he returned to Texas as a high school trainer.
 
Just two years later, Orr arrived at Cal and called Berkeley home for the next 30 years. He worked with student-athletes and coaches for nearly all of the Golden Bear teams and became an early adopter of a number of sports medicine techniques and procedures, including the use of ice for post-performance treatment and recovery, hydration, and building custom pads and braces.
 
But it was Orr's impact on people that most endeared him to Golden Bears.
 
"He was not only our trainer, but a person the players looked to for guidance and help with all aspects of their lives," said former Cal linebacker David Ortega.
 
Eddie Hart, who suffered a muscle pull during the 1972 U.S. Championships, credited Orr with helping him return to full health before the 1972 Olympics, where he went on to earn a gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay.
 
"As soon as I got back to Berkeley, I went straight to Bob Orr," Hart said. "And as they say, the rest is history. As a result of his knowledge, I can now say I am an Olympic gold medalist and two-time world record holder."
 
Since retiring from Cal, Bob worked part-time at Alta Bates Medical Center on Telegraph for five years and for about 12 years at Paynton and Paynton Chiropractic in Walnut Creek. He also volunteered at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
 
Donations to honor Bob Orr can be made in his name to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation or to the Cal Athletics Fund.