Ray Prochaska was born in
Ulysses, Nebraska, to Emil Prochaska and Marie Fredlick, having
Czech and
Moravian ancestry. He attended high school in Ulysses before enrolling at the
University of Nebraska, where he played college football. Prochaska helped take the Cornhuskers to the
1941 Rose Bowl, where they were defeated by the
Stanford Indians, 21 to 13. Prochaska was drafted by and made his professional debut in the
National Football League in
1941 with the
Cleveland Rams before leaving football for military service during World War II. He served from 1942 to 1946 in the
US Army and held the rank of captain when discharged. After leaving the military he joined the coaching staff at his alma mater, where he was assistant coach in charge of
ends. In May 1955 he moved to the professional ranks, joining the staff of head coach
Pop Ivy of the
Edmonton Eskimos of the
Canadian Football League (CFL). When Ivy was named head coach of the
Chicago Cardinals in 1958, Prochaska turned down an offer to take over as head coach of the Eskimos and followed his mentor to the NFL, joining him as an assistant coach on his staff. After Ivy resigned as coach of the Cards late in the 1961 season, Prochaska joined fellow assistant coaches
Chuck Drulis and
Ray Willsey in sharing head coaching duties on an interim basis. The trio finished the year with a 2–0 record. Prochaska went on to be an NFL assistant coach for a number of NFL teams, often serving under
Chuck Knox, including the
Los Angeles Rams,
Buffalo Bills, and
Seattle Seahawks. Ray Prochaska died March 9, 1997, in
Orange County, California. He was 77 years old at the time of his death. ==References==