Cards: Topps 1990, Fleer 1990
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 1/25 Received: 2/2 (8 days)
Among the names I love talking to online is Orson Mobley. Not to go all Madden on people, but his name sounds like a big tight end name or somebody who could light you up with a perfectly executed block right underneath the chin. I’ve been following ‘Big O’ (as I affectionately call him), for the past few months on SotL. He’s one of the more engaging NFL alumni on the site and is quite networked on Facebook as well.
Orson was drafted in the 6th round of the 1986 draft from Salem by the Denver Broncos. A bruising TE/H-back, Mobley stood at 6-5, 256 and fit in well with the Broncos play-action passing offense. With pretty decent hands and a nice pop, Orson quickly developed a rapport with starting quarterback John Elway with 23 receptions for 332 yards and his first TD reception in the season finale against the Seattle Seahawks. He’d start 3 games his rookie season. In 1987, Mobley started 6 games and make 16 receptions and a touchdown. 1988 marked career highs in games started for Orson with 9. He’d lodge 21 receptions for 218 yards and 2 tds as a sneaky option inside the redzone. The NFL hastily in 1989 instituted a new drug policy and Orson, along with Leroy Irvin and 11 other players would be suspended 3 games. Mobley only started 5 games that season, but still managed 17 receptions for 200 yards.
Big O had a great run with the Broncos, but it’d all come to an end as prolific rookie receiver Shannon Sharpe was moved to tight end in 1991. Pacific would make one more card of Orson in 1991, and the back photo featured him doing stretches and yawning right at the camera- which to me sort of sums him up as sort of a genial, personable guy. Mobley over his career would appear in 3 SuperBowls for the Broncos during the 1980s, recording 2 catches for 17 yards against the Giants during SuperBowl XXI in 1986.
Big O lives in the Jacksonville area. Among his more humorous moments, was how Orson won the emergency punter position. At Salem, Mobley had developed quite a reputation for booming kicks. When he arrived at the Broncos, John Elway wanted to have a punt off with him for the job, so after Mobley fired off a couple of huge punts, Elway took a football and threw it instead.
G/Gs 61/31 Rec 84 Yds 1019 Avg 12.1 Td 4 Lg 36