James Francis Prestel (born June 28, 1937) is a former professional
football player, a
defensive lineman in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
in the 1960s.
Selected in the
1959 NFL Draft
The 1959 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 1, 1958, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 21, 1959. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. With the first overall pick in the dr ...
by the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
, he stayed in and joined the team in
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Jan ...
. Prestel was with the expansion
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
for their first five seasons, and then one season each with the
New York Giants and
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
. prior to the
High school and college
Born and raised in
Indianapolis,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, Prestel graduated from its Sacred Heart High School (now
Roncalli) in 1955. He ventured west to play
college football for head coach
Skip Stahley at the
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
,
where he started for the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...
in the
Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) alongside future notable pros
Jerry Kramer,
Wayne Walker, and
Jim Norton.
Prestel was a two-sport star athlete for the Vandals, where he also
lettered
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
as a
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
for head coach
Harlan Hodges, and made honorable mention in the PCC for the
1958–59 season.
[
Selected by the Browns in the sixth round of the ]1959 NFL Draft
The 1959 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 1, 1958, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 21, 1959. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. With the first overall pick in the dr ...
(70th overall), Prestel chose to remain in college; he had missed most of the 1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
season to return to Indianapolis, where his mother was He was granted another year of eligibility and played the 1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
season at Idaho as a fifth-year senior, and was elected captain by his
Prestel broke his left foot in practice prior to the Battle of the Palouse
The Battle of the Palouse refers to an athletic rivalry in the northwest United States, between the Vandals of the University of Idaho and Cougars of Washington State University.
The two land-grant universities are less than apart on the ...
game with Washington State
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
in October 1959, but played the first half of the game anyway. He missed the remainder of the football season (4 games), the East-West Shrine Game
East West (or East and West) may refer to:
*East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture
Arts and entertainment
Books, journals and magazines
*''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...
, and the entire basketball season, but was All-Coast honorable mention in football. Prestel played in the College All-Star Game at Soldier Field
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since ...
in August 1960, against the defending NFL champion
Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...
Retirement
As of 2023, Pretsel resides in Parker, Colorado
Parker is a home rule municipality in Douglas County, Colorado, United States. As a self-declared "town" under the home rule statutes, Parker is the second most populous town in the county; Castle Rock is the most populous (the community of Hi ...
.
References
External links
University of Idaho Athletics Hall of Fame
– Jim Prestel
– Jim Prestel
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prestel, Jim
1937 births
Living people
American football defensive linemen
Cleveland Browns players
Minnesota Vikings players
New York Giants players
Washington Redskins players
Idaho Vandals football players
Idaho Vandals men's basketball players
Players of American football from Indianapolis
American men's basketball players
Centers (basketball)