Yesterday's entry in our Spotlight Series highlighted the career of Scott Peters, currently set to start his first season as offensive line coach with the Cincinnati Bengals. Sticking with players who went on to success in the NFL with the Bengals, we flip back to the defense and honor Arizona State's first consensus All-American, Ron Pritchard.
Coming to Tempe from Antioch High School, Pritchard's resume spoke for itself. He finished his high school career as nearly All-Everything football related for the state of California, highlighted by being named a high school Honorable Mention All-America selection and the East Bay Football Player of the Year. Early career starters were not a hallmark of teams during the Frank Kush era, but Ron's pedigree made his presence on the field an absolute necessity.
He made his impact known immediately in his first season in 1966, earning First Team All-WAC honors as well as being named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press. He would go on to repeat those honors in 1967 as the Sun Devils went 8-2 on the season, capped off by a 47-7 win in the Territorial Cup game, tied for the 8th-highest margin of victory in the series.
1968 was Pritchard's shining moment. The Devils rolled to another 8-2 finish, and Ron earned First Team All-WAC honors for the third straight season, finishing second on the Sun Devils with three interceptions. However, that was only the beginning. Ron would go on to become the first consensus All-American in program history, playing in every postseason senior showcase game offered by the NCAA. Ron would even be named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the 1968 East-West Shrine Game.
Turning pro in 1969, Ron was selected 15th overall by the Houston Oilers in the AFL-NFL Common Draft. He would go on to play 9 seasons in the NFL with the Oilers and Cincinnati Bengals, appearing in 106 games (80 starts) and recording 16.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and three interceptions.
During his first season with the Oilers, Ron explored the world of professional wrestling. Only wrestling in the offseason, Ron began his career with a match against the legendary Stu Hart, and would go on to wrestle against other well-known combatants such as Ray "Blond Bomber" Stevens and Superstar Billy Graham.
After retiring from football and wrestling, Ron still found his way back to the gridiron, this time in a coaching capacity, serving on the coaching staff at Valley Christian High School in Chandler, and most recently with Scottsdale Christian Academy.
In honor of his high level of play at the college level, Ron was inducted into the Sun Devil Hall of Fame in 1978, and was named to the 2003 class of the College Football Hall of Fame.
His name may not be all over the Sun Devil record books, but Ron Pritchard was the standard bearer for high quality play as Arizona State was headed for a transitionary period in the 1970's, and for that he is today's honoree for our Spotlight Series.