Bill Pritula

William Pritula (March 10, 1922 – January 24, 2006) was an American football player. He played college football as the starting right tackle for Fritz Crisler's Michigan Wolverines football teams in 1942, 1946, and 1947. He was one of Michigan's "Seven Oak Posts" line in 1942, made famous for their durability and two-way playing, and was also a key blocker for the 1947 offensive unit known as the "Mad Magicians."

Bill Pritula
Born:(1922-03-10)March 10, 1922
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died:January 24, 2006(2006-01-24) (aged 83)
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Career information
Position(s)Tackle
CollegeMichigan
Career history
As player
1941–1942, 1946–1947Michigan

Pritula was born in 1922 at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but moved with his parents to Detroit as a child. His father, Ivan Prytula, immigrated from Austrian-Hungarian Empire in 1911. Pritula attended Chadsey High School in Detroit.[1] He enrolled at the University of Michigan and played at the right tackle position for the Michigan Wolverines football team from 1941–1942 and 1946–1947. After serving as a backup center in 1941,[1] Pritula started all ten games at right tackle for the 1942 team.[2][3] With the roster depleted due to the war, Pritula was one of several 60-minute men on the 1942 team who played all ten games with little or no substitution.[4][5][6] Michigan's 1942 line, which included Pritula, Julius Franks, Elmer Madar, Merv Pregulman, Albert Wistert, and Robert Kolesar, became known as the "Seven Oak Posts.[4][7] Pritula was the last of the "Seven Oak Posts" to pay at Michigan.[8]

Pritula missed three years at Michigan while serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps engineers during World War II. His service included 18 months in New Guinea and the Philippines.[9] He returned to Michigan in 1946 and resumed his position as the Wolverines starting right tackle.[6][10] As a senior, he started nine of ten games at right tackle for the undefeated 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team.[11] His final game for Michigan was the 1948 Rose Bowl in which Michigan defeated the USC Trojans, 49-0.[12] During his three years as a starter at Michigan, the team compiled a record of 23-5-1 and were ranked No. 9, No. 6 and No. 1 in the AP Polls.[2][10][11] He was selected by the Associated Press as a second-team All-Big Nine Conference player in 1947.[13] He was also invited to play in the 1948 Chicago College All-Star Game against the Chicago Cardinals.[14] Pritula was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Tau Beta Pi national engineering society at Michigan.[15]

In June 1948, Pritula was hired as the line coach at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa.[16] After three years at Morningside, he was hired in 1951 as the line coach on Dutch Clark's staff at the University of Detroit.[9]

Pritula was married in 1942 to Irene Szabla.[17] They had five children: Joyce, Karen, William, Carrie, and Michael.[18]

In 1952, Pritula joined General Motors as an engineer.[19] He worked for GM's Hydra-Matic Division at Willow Run for 27 years.[18] He received a master of arts degree from Michigan in 1967. He died in January 2006 in Ann Arbor.[18]

References
  1. "1941 Football Roster". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Archived from the original on 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  2. "1942 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Archived from the original on 2012-10-06.
  3. "Pritula Newest Wolverine Find". The Battle Creek Enquirer and News. September 21, 1942. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Lyle E. Nelson. "Crisler's '42 Ironmen" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-06.
  5. "From Acorn To Oak Post: Bill Pritula's Play Places Him in Role of Sixty Minute Man". The Michigan Daily. November 7, 1942. p. 3.
  6. "Ole Oak Post: Pritula in Wolverine Line After Three Year Absence". The Michigan Daily. November 15, 1946. p. 3.
  7. Jim Cnockaert (2004). Michigan Where Have You Gone?. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-58261-771-8.
  8. "Pritula's Last Game Ends Era Of Famed 'Seven Oak Posts'". The Michigan Daily. January 1, 1948. p. 2.
  9. "Pritula Rounds Out Football Staff at U-D". Detroit Free Press. March 28, 1951. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "1946 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  11. "1947 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  12. "Records Smashed in 49-to-0 Victory: Michigan, in Bid for National Honors, Gains 491 Yards and Sets Modern Scoring Record; Brieske Kicks 7 Points; Southern California Defense Futile Against Chappuis and Weisenburger". The New York Times. January 2, 1948.
  13. "Four Wolverines, Three Illini Named on All-Conference Team". The New York Times. November 25, 1947.
  14. "10 Michigan Gridders Bid To All-Star Tilt". St. Petersburg Times (AP story). June 15, 1948.
  15. 1947 Michiganensian, pp. 65 and 267.
  16. "Sports in Short". The Milwaukee Journal. June 28, 1948.
  17. "Pritula, Star M Gridder, Is Married". Detroit Free Press. December 28, 1942. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Death Notice". Detroit Free Press. January 29, 2006. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "It'll be golden day for past, present Michigan gridders". The Argus-Pres. November 25, 1997.
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