John Paul Pryor (July 10, 1927 – December 15, 1995) was an American professional baseball umpire who worked in the National League from 1961 to 1981.

[1] Pryor was a minor league baseball pitcher from 1945 to 1948 in the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Dodgers organizations.

He later moved to Racine, Wisconsin in order to be able to commute between Chicago and Milwaukee when he was assigned to work Cubs and Braves games.

After two games, Pryor felt pressured to join the striking umpires, but the league quickly ordered him back to work citing a mandatory ten-day notice period.

[10] In addition to teaching and umpiring, Pryor worked stints as a car salesman and a referee for the Central States Football League.

[11] Pryor maintained his teaching and coaching position in Wisconsin during the baseball offseasons, with an arrangement to leave that job early for the start of the major league season.