Irving Rudolph Pray (December 25, 1886 – August 27, 1948) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

Northfield, Vermont Northfield is a New England town, town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The town lies in a valley within the Green Mountains and has been home to Norwich University since 1866. It contains the Northfield (CDP), Vermont, village of No ...

from 1913 to 1914 and

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

(LSU) for part of the 1916 season and for full seasons in 1919 and 1922, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coaching record of 11–20. Pray was a graduate of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. He was born in

Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

and died in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

. Pray was the head football coach at Natick High School, in hometown in 1911. In 1915, he appointed head football coach at Salem High School in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, succeeding

Harold McDevitt Harry Sullivan McDevitt (June 5, 1885 – January 30, 1962) was an American college football and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at the Catholic University of America in 1912 and Colgate University in 1917. He coached baseb ...

Head coaching record

College football

*First 5 games of season were coached by E. T. MacDonnell and the last 3 by

Dana X. Bible Dana Xenophon Bible (October 8, 1891 – January 19, 1980) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi College (1913–1 ...

References

1886 births 1948 deaths LSU Tigers football coaches Norwich Cadets football coaches High school baseball coaches in the United States High school football coaches in Massachusetts Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni People from Natick, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Baseball coaches from Massachusetts {{1910s-collegefootball-coach-stub

Head coaching record

College football

See also

References