Johnny and Fred Go Golfing
Photo: Cyclones.com
On a sweltering hot 105-degree day in July 2013, Johnny Orr and Fred Hoiberg set out on the golf course for what would be their final game together.
It was the Iowa Games, and along with Orr and Hoiberg, the four-some was comprised of Jack Pray and Orr's longtime assistant, Jim Hallihan. When the tournament had wrapped up, Hallihan, knowing Orr was tired, turned to Hoiberg. The two were both tired, and Fred agreed he’d take Johnny home.
Not long after their departure, Hallihan learned the group had won the tournament. He called Orr to let him know.
"Hey Coach, how’d we do?" Orr quickly asked.
"We won," Hallihan told him.
"What’d we win?" Orr pressed.
"That was his first thing, 'What’d we win,'" Hallihan said with a laugh last fall. "He's got a million of everything."
"We’ve got 18 golf balls and like a $50 gift certificate to Scheels," Hallihan told Orr. "You know what, when I was here we gave out much better prizes and that’s such a trivial thing, I'll just keep that stuff."
"Oh no, no, no," Orr responded. "I want it. Drop it off, I’ll take it."
Hallihan said his goodbyes and called Hoiberg.
"How'd we do, Coach?" Hoiberg asked.
"We won," Hallihan told him.
"What’d we win?" Hoiberg wondered.
"I mean, it's like the same conversation," Hallihan said last fall. "And I did the same thing to him."
"We won 18 golf balls and a $50 gift certificate to Scheels," Hallihan said. "But you’ve got plenty of stuff and don’t need it, so I’ll just keep it."
"No, no, no," Hoiberg said. "I want it."
"So the guys, even though their personalities are totally different, they’re both really, really smart and just have a lot in common that people wouldn’t think they do," Hallihan said. "But that was really neat that we won that and it might have been the last time [Johnny] ever played golf."
You can find stories on both Johnny Orr and Fred Hoiberg in Sections 2 and 3 of 100 Things Iowa State Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, which is available online now and at bookstores across the state of Iowa.
