Education
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Prasse graduated from Schurz High School.
basketball player gridiron football player
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Prasse graduated from Schurz High School.
He was a second team All-American and the captain of Iowa’s 1939 “Ironmen” team He played the end position in football. Iowa struggled in his first two varsity football seasons, compiling a 2-13-1 record in 1937 and 1938.
Prasse was an All-Big Ten selection as a junior in 1938, and he was elected captain of the Hawkeye football squad for 1939 over teammate Nile Kinnick.
In Iowa’s Big Ten conference opener in 1939, Prasse set an Iowa Stadium record by catching three touchdown passes from Kinnick in a 32-29 victory. His third and final touchdown catch came on fourth down with only minutes remaining in the game.
His three touchdown catches remained a Kinnick Stadium record until 2005, when Editor Hinkel caught four touchdowns in a game against Minnesota. The 1939 Hawkeyes were nicknamed the “Ironmen”, because several players were forced to play all 60 minutes of many games.
Prasse was one of those Ironmen.
He played all sixty minutes of each of Iowa’s last five games in 1939. The Hawkeyes finished the year with a 6-1-1 record and were ranked ninth in the country.