In Memoriam: Cecil Pryor, DE, 1968-1969

Cecil Pryor, one of the mainstays of the defense of Bo's first team in 1969, passed away 11 months ago on September 13, 2005. He played Defensive End and started all 11 games during the 1969 season. One thing I'll always remember about Cecil is the story that his teammate Jim Brandstatter recounted in the book he authored, "Tales from Michigan Stadium." Brandstatter recounted that as Michigan prepared for the 1970 Rose Bowl that the NBC television network came to campus to tape the player introductions. Back then the starters were taped at their home campus and they would stand in front of the camera and state their name, year in school, hometown, and major area of study. When it was Cecil's turn in front of the camera, Brandstatter recounted that Cecil looked directly into the camera and with a serious look said, "Cecil Pryor, defensive end, Corpus Christi, Texas, senior, majoring in nuclear physics." The thing is Cecil was not a nuclear physics major nor had he ever been to the physics building during his four years in Ann Arbor. The team did not find out about the joke that Cecil had pulled until they had returned from Pasadena after the game had been played. After graduation, Cecil went on to co-own a Ford dealership in southeast Michigan. One of his three daughters followed him athletically as a Wolverine as she was an outside hitter on the Michigan volleyball team in 1997 and 1998. Cecil's memorial service was held at the U of M Golf Course in October, 2005. He was 58 years old at the time of his death. Go Blue.