John Paul Pryor (July 10, 1927 – December 15, 1995) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

who worked in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

from 1961 to 1981. Pryor wore uniform number 13 for most of his career. Pryor umpired 3,094 major league games in his 21-year career. He umpired in three

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

(

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

), four

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, ...

(1970, 1974, 1977 and 1981) and three All-Star Games (

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

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Playing and coaching career

Pryor was a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

from 1945 to 1948 in the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Dodgers organizations. Not long after graduating from High Point College, Pryor came to

Denton, North Carolina Denton is a town in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,494. Geography Denton is located in southern Davidson County southeast of Lexington, North Carolina, Lexington, the coun ...

as a high school football and baseball coach. Pryor umpired in the Winter Leagues in Puerto Rico for two seasons early in his major league career. He later moved to

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

in order to be able to commute between Chicago and Milwaukee when he was assigned to work Cubs and Braves games. He took offseason teaching and coaching positions at St. Lucy's Parochial School and Dominican College respectively. Mr Pryor was also a gym teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School in Racine.

Umpiring career

Early career

Pryor's minor league umpiring experience included time in the

Georgia State League The Georgia State League was an American Class D minor league in professional baseball that existed in 1906, 1914, 1920–1921 and 1948–1956. During its last incarnation, it existed alongside two nearby Class D circuits, the Georgia–Florida Le ...

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, SALLY League (South Atlantic League) and American Association. He was promoted to the major leagues in September 1961. Pryor suffered broken teeth in 1965 when a

Willie Stargell Wilver Dornell Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" later in his career, was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1962– 1982 ...

foul ball smashed into his mask.

Later career

Pryor and umpire Ted Hendry signed new major league contracts just prior to the 1979 season, so they began to umpire that year when other umpires were striking. After two games, Pryor felt pressured to join the striking umpires, but the league quickly ordered him back to work citing a mandatory ten-day notice period. Pryor umpired until he was able to join the strike on April 16. Pryor and the league's other umpires returned to the field when the strike was settled the next month. In his last major league season, Pryor ejected

César Cedeño César Cedeño Encarnación (born February 25, 1951) is a Dominican former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1970 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros whe ...

after Cedeno had to be separated from a heckling fan. Pryor retired from umpiring in 1981 after struggling with foot problems. His last series was the League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Montreal Expos in 1981 in which the Dodgers prevailed in five games. He recorded only thirty ejections in 21 seasons in the majors, including a stretch of nearly five years (1972 - 1977) without an ejection.

Paul Pryor Travel Bags

In the 1970s, Paul designed a duffel bag for umpire equipment. Within a few years, Paul Pryor Travel Bags was founded. At one time, the company had accounts with the NCAA in all sports, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the Canadian Football League as well as numerous local schools and businesses. In 1992, the company was purchased by Bob Milleman, who remains majority shareholder and president.

Personal life

In addition to teaching and umpiring, Pryor worked stints as a car salesman and a referee for the Central States Football League. He also worked in sales for Schaeffer Beer, Strohs Beer. He was also in demand as a public speaker. Pryor maintained his teaching and coaching position in Wisconsin during the baseball offseasons, with an arrangement to leave that job early for the start of the major league season. He was married to the late Carleen Hammond of Hendersonville, N.C. They had four children and two grandchildren.

References

External links

The Sporting News umpire card
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryor, Paul 1927 births 1995 deaths Major League Baseball umpires National League umpires Sportspeople from Providence County, Rhode Island People from Woonsocket, Rhode Island Dominican College of Racine faculty North Wilkesboro Flashers players