His son, a strapping lad over 6 feet tall and an athletic 200-pound frame, seemed to have entered studies at Duke University the previous fall. Doc Prothro encouraged his son to play baseball, where he could most likely eke out a ten-year career pitching between college, the minors, and possibly the Big Leagues, instead of only a few good years of college football.

It seemed Junior was convinced as he got to school well after the football program started, but after a short time away, he phoned his Pop to inform him that Coach Wallace Wade had encouraged him to play football for Duke. What's a Dad to do? Prothro told his son that the choice was his to make.

Thompson Prothro showed up on the Duke Blue Devils roster in 1940 and 1941. The younger Prothro excelled in football, beginning his collegiate career as a quarterback for Wallace Wade's Duke Blue Devils. His versatility on the field in 1941 earned him the Jacobs Award as the Southern Conference's best blocker, contributing to the Blue Devils' appearance in the 1942 Rose Bowl. A multi-sport athlete at Duke, Prothro also competed in baseball and lacrosse, graduating in 1942 with a degree in political science.

Despite being drafted in the fifth round of the 1942 NFL draft by the New York Giants, Prothro declined the opportunity. He chose to pursue a promising coaching career and briefly ventured into professional baseball instead. His father had to be beaming from ear to ear!

The call of the Gridiron eventually returned as Tommy went into coaching.  During his 10 years at the helm of Oregon State, Coach Prothro had a 63-37-2 record, tops west of the Rockies. He moved to UCLA in 1965 and coached there for six years, going 41- 18-3. That made his overall record 104-55-5. He had two Heisman winners, Terry Baker at Oregon State in 1962 and Gary Beban at UCLA in 1967. After UCLA, he moved to the pros with the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers.

Tommy Prothro would be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1991.