Ray Prochaska

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1919–1997)}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Ray Prochaska

| image = Ray_Prochaska.jpg

| caption = Prochaska, circa 1946

| number = 8

| position = End

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|9|8}}

| birth_place = Ulysses, Nebraska, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1997|3|9|1919|9|8}}

| death_place = Orange County, California, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 3

| weight_lb = 200

| high_school = Ulysses (NE)

| college = Nebraska

| draftyear = 1941

| draftround = 7

| draftpick = 54

| pastteams =

Cleveland Rams ({{NFL Year|1941}})

| pastcoaching =

Nebraska (1947–1948, 1950–1954)
Assistant
Edmonton Eskimos (1955–1957)
Assistant
St. Louis Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1958|1961}})
Offensive line
St. Louis Cardinals (1961)
Interim head coach
St. Louis Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1962|1965}})
Offensive line
Los Angeles Rams ({{NFL Year|1966|1970}})
Offensive line
Cleveland Browns ({{NFL Year|1971|1972}})
Offensive line
Los Angeles Rams ({{NFL Year|1973|1976}})
Offensive line
Los Angeles Rams ({{NFL Year|1977}})
Offensive coordinator
Buffalo Bills ({{NFL Year|1978|1982}})
Offensive coordinator
Seattle Seahawks ({{NFL Year|1983|1985}})
Offensive coordinator/Offensive line

| highlights =

First-team All-Big Six (1940)

| statlabel1 = Receptions

| statvalue1 = 4

| statlabel2 = Receiving yards

| statvalue2 = 29

| regular_record = {{Winning percentage|2|0|0|record=y}}

| pfr = P/ProcRa20

| pfrcoach = ProcRa0

}}

Raymond Edward Prochaska ({{IPAc-en|p|r|oʊ|ˈ|h|ɑː|s|k|ə}} {{respell|proh|HAHS|kə}};[https://archive.org/details/cardinals-1962-media-guide-st.-louis-c St. Louis Football Cardinals 1962 Official Guide (scroll to page 7) – Internet Archive.] Retrieved January 20, 2025. August 9, 1919 – March 9, 1997) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He attended the University of Nebraska and played one season in the National Football League (NFL).

Biography

Ray Prochaska was born in Ulysses, Nebraska, to Emil Prochaska and Marie Fredlick, having Czech and Moravian ancestry.{{Cite web|last=Prochaska|date=1997|title=California Death Index, 1940-1997|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP3G-WL6|website=FamilySearch}}{{Cite web|last=Prochaska|date=1920|title=United States Census, 1920|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCVF-CKW|website=FamilySearch}}{{Cite web|last=Prochaska|date=1920|title=United States Census, 1920|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCVF-7QX|website=FamilySearch}} He attended high school in Ulysses before enrolling at the University of Nebraska, where he played college football. Prochaska helped take the Cornhuskers to the 1941 Rose Bowl, where they were defeated by the Stanford Indians, 21 to 13.

Prochaska was drafted by and made his professional debut in the National Football League in 1941 with the Cleveland Rams before leaving football for military service during World War II.{{Cite web |title=1941 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1941/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He served from 1942 to 1946 in the US Army and held the rank of captain when discharged.Eddie McGuire (ed.), Chicago Cardinals: 1951 Press, Radio and Television Guide. Chicago: Chicago Cardinals Football Club, 1951; p. 11.

After leaving the military he joined the coaching staff at his alma mater, where he was assistant coach in charge of ends. In May 1955 he moved to the professional ranks, joining the staff of head coach Pop Ivy of the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). When Ivy was named head coach of the Chicago Cardinals in 1958, Prochaska turned down an offer to take over as head coach of the Eskimos and followed his mentor to the NFL, joining him as an assistant coach on his staff.

After Ivy resigned as coach of the Cards late in the 1961 season, Prochaska joined fellow assistant coaches Chuck Drulis and Ray Willsey in sharing head coaching duties on an interim basis. The trio finished the year with a 2–0 record.

Prochaska went on to be an NFL assistant coach for a number of NFL teams, often serving under Chuck Knox, including the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, and Seattle Seahawks.

Ray Prochaska died March 9, 1997, in Orange County, California. He was 77 years old at the time of his death.