Bill Pritula

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Bill Pritula
Tackle
US collegeMichigan
Career history
As player
1941–1942, 1946–1947Michigan
Career highlights and awards

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."

Pritula was born in 1922 at

Albert Wistert, and Robert Kolesar, became known as the "Seven Oak Posts.[4][7] Pritula was the last of the "Seven Oak Posts" to play at Michigan.[8]

Pritula missed three years at Michigan while serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps engineers during

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

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. ^ a b "1941 Football Roster". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Archived from the original on 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  2. ^ a b "1942 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Archived from the original on 2012-09-26.
  3. Newspapers.com
    .
  4. ^ a b Lyle E. Nelson. "Crisler's '42 Ironmen" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-14.
  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. ^ a b "Ole Oak Post: Pritula in Wolverine Line After Three Year Absence". The Michigan Daily. November 15, 1946. p. 3.
  7. 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. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  10. ^ a b "1946 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  11. ^ a b "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. Newspapers.com
    .
  18. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  19. ^ "It'll be golden day for past, present Michigan gridders". The Argus-Pres. November 25, 1997.
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