Tom Pridemore

Last updated

Tom Pridemore
Born: (1956-04-29) April 29, 1956 (age 68)
Ansted, West Virginia, U.S.
Career information
Position(s) Safety
College West Virginia
NFL draft 1978, Round: 9 / Pick 236
Career history
As player
1978–1985 Atlanta Falcons
Career highlights and awards
Awards West Virginia University Hall of Fame
Member of the West VirginiaHouseofDelegates
from the Fayette County district
In office
1981–1982
Personal details
Political party Democratic

Larry Thomas Pridemore Jr. (born April 29, 1956) is a former safety from West Virginia who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons and served as a delegate in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1981-1983. [1]

Contents

High school

Pridemore played for the Ansted High School Highlanders and was a member of the record setting team that won 36 straight games on their way to winning back-to-back state championships (1971 and 1972). [2]

College

Pridemore, who was inducted into the West Virginia University Hall of Fame in 2001, holds school records that include: most career interception return yards (398 - 26.5 yards per return), most single game interception return yards, and most career interceptions (15). He also holds a WVU school record which doubles as an NCAA record as the Longest interception returned for a touchdown (102 yards vs Penn State). As a sophomore, Pridemore led the Mountaineers to a 1975 Peach Bowl victory against the NC State Wolfpack.

NFL

After being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1978, Pridemore saw his first start in the third game of his rookie year and never looked back. Pridemore was Atlanta's starting free safety for the next eight years, and earned the reputation as one of the meanest, hardest-hitting safeties in the game. With 21 career interceptions (returned for 368 total yards), Pridemore ranks sixth on Atlanta's all-time pick list behind Deion Sanders. He ranks fourth on the all-time list for most interceptions in a season at 7, and holds the Falcon's club record for most interception return yards in a single season (271). In 1981 Pridemore picked off a Joe Montana pass from a yard deep in Atlanta's own end-zone and returned it 101 yards for a touchdown, which is a team record. [3] This duplication of Pridemore's previous college and NCAA record will probably also stand for quite some time, if not forever in Atlanta. While playing for the Falcons, Pridemore served one term in the West Virginia House of Delegates, between 1981 and 1983 as a Democrat. [4] He is the only NFL player to hold this legislative office while playing professional football.

Life after football

After his tenure with the Falcons, Pridemore settled in Atlanta with his wife Leigh and four children, and went on to found Pride Utility Construction Company with long-time friend and teammate Scott Case. Pridemore is a prominent businessman in the greater Atlanta area, and has personal ventures in residential real-estate and timber properties.

Pridemore had two sons who played football at the collegiate level. Matt, the eldest, enrolled at Duke University as a wide receiver in 2007, and TJ, who played fullback for the University of Florida, enrolled in 2008.

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References

  1. ↑ "Tom Pridemore - Biographical Dictionary - s9.com". August 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Data" (PDF). www.wvssac.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 16, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Reed rumbles 108 yards for NFL record | Longest interception returns by team". Pro Football Hall of Fame . November 24, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Section Two LEGISLATIVE - Senate and House Rosters" (PDF). Retrieved April 14, 2024.
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