If you’ve ever had occasion to take U.S. Highway 12 through Webster, South Dakota you no doubt noticed or, perhaps, even stopped to eat at the A & W Restaurant as you came into town from the east. From 1980 until 2006 that restaurant was owned and operated by Wally Pribyl, his wife Kathy, and their three sons Steve, Todd and Sam. I grew up with Wally back in the 1950’s and 60’s in our home town of Heron Lake, Minnesota. Wally, who was a winner in so many ways, lost his final battle to cancer last week. He died peacefully, with his family at his side at 1 p.m. on March 24, 2014. Wally was my friend and teammate during those marvelous days of our youth and I’d like to share some memories of him with you here.
I'm a year older so I was one year ahead of Wally in school, but starting in elementary school we began to play all the organized sports together. I only played football my junior year, but in basketball, baseball and track, Wally and I were teammates in all of those grade school, Jr. High and High School years.
In track, Wally was the star because he was the premier pole vaulter in southern Minnesota. His dad, Bernard “Bernie” Pribyl was a pharmacist and owned Pribyl’s Rexall Drug store in Heron Lake in those days. Bernie had been quite an athlete in his day and had held the District 7 pole vault record of 11’ 2” since 1933. When Wally was old enough, Bernie began to groom him as a pole vaulter and, eventually, in 1964 Wally, then a sophomore in high school, soared 11‘6“ to break Bernie‘s 31 year old record. Wally went on to make quite a name for himself as a pole vaulter over the next two years, bettering his own records, time and again, in the process.
I was Wally’s pole catcher at many of our track meets. I also ran the quarter mile & half mile and long jumped, but that's another story and not much of a one at that. But one of Wally's track highlights that I remember most wasn't a pole vaulting highlight. In most meets Wally only competed in the pole vault. If I remember correctly it was because, Bernie wanted him to be focused just on vaulting and not expend his energy, or risk injury, running. One time, however, in the District 7 track meet Wally's senior year ( I had graduated, but was there as a spectator that day), Bernie consented to let him anchor the half-mile relay. When Wally got the baton he was in 4th or 5th place, and a good distance behind the leader. You could tell that was just motivation for him and when he got the stick the look on his face was pure determination. I had no idea he was that fast, and to this day I still don't think that he was, but he was just such a competitor and so darned determined to win that he blew by everybody and won the race by 20 feet. That was Wally.
In baseball, I was the center fielder and Wally was in left field all through our high school and legion baseball years. We both had enough speed and athleticism that we never let anything get in that gap between us. We ran down every fly ball or line drive hit our way. He had the most powerful arm of anyone I've ever played with or against. Runners had no chance to take an extra base against that arm, and he was terror on the base paths.
I was the point guard on the basketball team and Wally was a forward. Basketball wasn’t Wally’s his best sport. He wasn't a great shooter, but he was a good defender and outstanding rebounder and just a great, inspirational teammate. Always positive, always motivated.
Football was Wally’s game. A tough, hard hitting, strong and powerful athlete, Wally was the starting quarterback for the Heron Lake Falcons for three seasons. I didn’t play football until my junior year. My parents, my dad especially, just thought I was too small and would get hurt and then wouldn’t be able to play basketball, the sport that my dad was very passionate about. So it wasn’t until a new football coach arrived and came out to our farm to "twist" dad's arm a little before my junior year that Dad finally consented to let me give it a try. My most vivid memory of that season was a play that involved both Wally and me. It was a home game at Memorial Field in Heron Lake (I don’t remember the opponent). I was lined up as a receiver, wide to the left, and for some inexplicable reason, I was left completely uncovered. We were around mid-field, as I recall, and I remember feeling a rush of anticipation thinking that, as wide open as I was, I was surely about to score on a long TD pass. However, when the ball was snapped to Wally he anticipated, and rightly so, that since I was so wide open I would abandon my route and just head all alone down the sideline, catch his pass in stride and score easily. Not so. Being the inexperienced novice that I was, I thought I still needed to run my route so I went five yards down field and cut sharply toward the middle of the field as Wally’s pass whistled over my head just as I made my cut. The next season my dad convinced me that, instead of football I should stay after school and practice basketball in the gym until football practice ended, then he would come to town and pick me up. I accepted the offer and I think it was a good decision.
After high school Wally followed his dream and went on to the University of Minnesota to play football for the Golden Gophers. Wally was a part of Minnesota’s last Big Ten Championship team in 1967. As a sophomore that year, he was the back up punter and defensive back. In the fall of 1968 the University of Southern California (USC), led by O.J. Simpson, would open the season against the Gophers at Memorial Stadium on the U of M campus. I was reading the Twin Cities paper’s sports sections daily to keep up with the Gophers and to find out if Wally would be playing a significant role in the season’s opener. A few days before the big game, Wally was featured in Sid Hartman’s column in the Minneapolis Tribune. He would be starting in the defensive backfield against USC and also would handle the punting duties for the Golden Gophers. Back home on the farm north of Heron Lake, I was ecstatic!
Early in that game Wally recovered a fumble by O.J. at the USC 15 yard line that led to a Minnesota touchdown, putting the Gophers ahead 7 to 0. However, late in the first half, Wally separated his shoulder making a tackle and had to leave the game. USC eventually won 29-20. Wally missed a few games but came back to have a solid career as a punter and defensive back. He had fulfilled his dream, and in the process, inspired the youth of a small southwest Minnesota community.
You see, I remember so many of the people in town being skeptical about Wally trying to play Big Ten football. My dad was one of them. At that time we hadn't had much success in athletics for a number of years. We were average to below average at best. Most people just couldn't believe that a kid from Heron Lake could make it at that level. When Wally proved them all wrong I think it changed the attitudes of a lot of people….and a lot of kids because Heron Lake started winning in everything soon after. Wally was an inspiration.
Rest in Peace, number 26, and thanks for the memories!
To read more about Wally Pribyl during his years in Webster, SD click on the following link:
http://www.argusleader.com/story/mattzimmer/2014/03/25/wally-pribyl-remembered/6897545/
