Pryor spent four seasons as a minor league pitcher before he started umpiring. In his 21 years as a NL ump, his most unusual play came in Houston on May 15, 1973. The Braves had runners on first and second with one out in the ninth inning when Dave Johnson grounded to third baseman Doug Rader, who tossed to Tommy Helms at second. Helms relayed to first baseman Lee May for an apparent inning-ending double play. May flipped the ball to Pryor. But the second base umpire ruled that Helms had missed the base and the runner was safe. As soon as he saw that call, Pryor dropped the ball, which was still in play. Before May could pick it up, the Braves runner who had started on second raced home from third to score.
