John's Journal: Pranghofer Named Spirit Of Sport Award Recipient

Paul Pranghofer has retired from a lengthy career as an official, spending four decades working with, mentoring and appreciating student-athletes who compete despite physical and/or cognitive impairments. And if those remarkable kids needed any extra inspiration over all the years, all they had to do was look at Paul. Better yet, all they had to do was chat with Paul.

He was born 71 years ago without arms. One leg is much shorter than the other, but nothing has stopped Paul from inspiring others throughout his life. From a wheelchair, he worked as an official for Minnesota State High School League adapted sports. That includes adapted floor hockey, adapted soccer and adapted softball. All are played indoors and have a division for athletes with physical impairments and another division for students who have cognitive impairments.

For his many years of dedication to and support of adapted sports, Pranghoger has been named the recipient of the MSHSL Spirit of Sport Award. The Spirit of Sport Award program was created by the National Federation of State High School Associations as a way of recognizing those who exemplify the ideals of the positive spirit of sport that represents the core missions of education-based athletics.

Minnesota is a national pioneer in providing athletic opportunities for students with impairments. The first organized adapted floor hockey league in Minnesota was established in 1974 under the auspices of the Minnesota Adapted Athletics Association. Adapted athletics came under the MSHSL umbrella in 1992 and the growth of sports and teams has been exponential. State tournaments in adapted sports are held under identical formats to all other MSHSL events, including the same trophies, the same medals and the state’s best officials.

Pranghofer officiated an estimated 1,300 MSHSL regular-season and postseason games between 1993 until retiring. He officiated 27 state adapted soccer tournaments, 30 state adapted floor hockey tournaments and 30 state adapted softball tournaments.

He attended Marshall University High School in Minneapolis, where a physical education teacher named Ed Prohofsky was a great influence on him. Prohofsky, who was 90 when he died in 2024, was also a longtime high school basketball coach who went on to become an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx.

Prohofsky was instrumental in forming Minnesota’s first adapted floor hockey league in 1974. Pranghofer remembers Prohofsky for his love of teaching, including offering lots of details.

“When he would teach about different sports, he would teach us for example, ‘How long is a basketball court? How wide is a basketball court?’ He got into really good detail,” Paul said.

Pranghofer’s love of sports never wavered. He is a fan of all the Minnesota professional sports teams, and is especially committed to making sure athletes who want to participate in adapted sports have the best possible experience.

He remembers a day in the 1980s when he received a phone call from a friend who was involved in adapted sports, telling Paul that officials were needed for adapted floor hockey games. Pranghofer’s response was immediate: “Sure!”

“It was volunteer job. We did not get paid,” he said. “That got me into it. And 40-plus years later, it was time to retire.”

After graduating from high school in 1972, Pranghofer earned an associate degree in computer programing from Control Data Institute and worked as a software developer for many years.

His lack of limbs means he does most things differently than others. He uses his left foot to feed himself and to move the mouse when he uses a voice-activated computer. He drives using a device that lets him steer with his normal left leg and foot while another special device lets him use the accelerator and the brake with his shorter right leg. That’s also the leg he uses to drop the plastic puck during faceoffs in adapted floor hockey games; whistle in his mouth, he grabs the puck with his toes and makes sure the players are properly aligned before dropping it.

Paul holds a pen in his mouth to write. Using his left leg and foot, he plants and tends to a backyard garden at the home he shares with his wife Maureen in the Minneapolis suburb of Golden Valley.

Paul and Maureen, who is blind and has brittle bone disease, met at a summer camp when they were kids. They are active church members and community volunteers. When he and Maureen once considered a move, neighbors pitched in and made their home fully accessible to keep the well-liked couple in the community. Neighbors donated thousands of hours so the couple could stay and lead lives that are independent.

Asked about memories from his lengthy career as an official, Paul smiled and recounted a few.

--“One of my fondest memories was a young lady who was on the South Suburban team from seventh grade through 12^th grade. I remember doing a game when she was in seventh grade; she had a physical disability and also some kind of cognitive disability. They put her on the floor and she never moved an inch. By her senior year, she was a team captain and a leader. That was fantastic to see.”

--"I did a championship game for floor hockey that went to four overtimes. About midway through the third overtime one of the teams scored a goal, but they had two players at least five feet offsides and we couldn’t count the goal. The winning goal came in the fourth overtime. To see the kids’ intensity and the fans’ intensity was really something special.”

--“I got to know the mother of a wheelchair athlete who was not very mobile, because we were both involved in another program. I knew how much they were having to pay for him to be able to play and I said to his mom, ‘That’s a lot of money for you to have to spend for your son to not get much playing time.’ She said, “It’s the best money I spend. The camaraderie he has built with his teammates, it’s just fantastic.’ And that’s right, the social part of it is fantastic.”

Pranghofer has been a familiar face for all these decades at adapted sporting events in Minnesota. But he has traveled beyond his home state’s borders to assist others facing physical difficulties in competing as athletes. Paul has made 17 missionary trips to Haiti, Slovakia and Libera, connecting with disabled youth and demonstrating what they are capable of accomplishing.

Paul has made presentations to local schools and community organizations about the benefits of participating in MSHSL adapted sports. He discusses his limitations, encourages participation and encourages those who are wanting to give back to become officials in adapted sports.

Pranghofer’s influence on adapted sports and his long commitment was recognized in 2013 by the Minnesota Adapted Athletics Association when it created the Paul Pranghofer Outstanding Officials Award. This award is presented to officials who have demonstrated support and dedication to adapted sports.

At the 2024 MSHSL boys state basketball tournament at Williams Arena, Pranghofer was presented with the Minnesota State High School League’s Officials Distinguished Service Award. The award is given to officials who show commitment and excellence to the officials’ programs that support the member schools.

There is no doubt that adapted sports in Minnesota would not have become so successful if not for the persistence and commitment of Pranghofer and others in making sure that students with disabilities have the right to participate in sports as representatives of their schools. He believes that he and others, although limited by a disability, are athletes in their own right and they can compete if given the opportunity.

Congratulations to Paul Pranghofer on being named Minnesota’s Spirit of Sport Award winner.

--MSHSL staff member John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Bluesky at johnmilleamn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected] or [email protected]