Raymond Edward Prochaska (August 9, 1919 – March 9, 1997) was an American

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

player and coach. Prochaska was born in

Ulysses, Nebraska Ulysses is a village in Butler County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 171 at the 2010 census. History The first post office in Ulysses was established in 1869. The village is named for Ulysses S. Grant. Geography Ulysses is located ...

, to Emil Prochaska and Marie Fredlick, having

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

and Moravian ancestry. He attended the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

and played one season 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 ...

(NFL). Prochaska was drafted by and made his professional debut in the NFL in 1941 with the

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 194 ...

before leaving football for military service during World War II. Prochaska went on to be an assistant coach, often serving under Chuck Knox with multiple NFL teams, and in 1961 briefly served as interim head coach of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. He coached under Knox with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. After

Pop Ivy Lee Frank "Pop" Ivy (January 25, 1916 – May 17, 2003) was a football player and coach who was the only person to serve as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL), the American Football League (AFL) and the Western Interprovincial ...

resigned late in the season, Prochaska shared head coaching duties with fellow assistant coaches

Chuck Drulis Charles John Drulis (March 8, 1918 – August 23, 1972) was an American football player and coach born in Girardville, Pennsylvania. He attended Temple University and played seven seasons in the National Football League. Drulis, along with his ...

and

Ray Willsey Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

. Under the trio's guidance, the team won its last two games.

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* 1919 births 1997 deaths American football ends Buffalo Bills coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches Edmonton Elks coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) coaches St. Louis Cardinals (football) head coaches Seattle Seahawks coaches American military personnel of World War II People from Butler County, Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska {{amfoot-coach-stub American people of Czech descent