By GEOFF CUMMING
Maori sport is mourning the loss of one its great identities, Albie Pryor, who died early yesterday after a heart attack.
Mr Pryor, legendary for exploits on and off the rugby field, was 67. The Greenlane, Auckland, resident died in Whakatane Hospital after collapsing on Sunday at a friend's
tangi in Te Teko.
A tearaway loose forward for Auckland and New Zealand Maori teams in the 1950s and early 1960s, the former butcher was the power behind the Maori sports awards in recent years.
As executive officer for the Maori sports trust Te Tohu Te Wakaro o Aotearoa, Mr Pryor helped hundreds of young Maori advance their sporting careers.
But he maintained lifetime rugby friendships with greats including Sir Wilson Whineray, Waka Nathan and Pat Walsh, and Manukau club stalwart Barry Thomas.
Rated one of the unluckiest players never to be an All Black, he was senior vice-president of the Barbarians Rugby Club. He also maintained a long association with the Aviation Golf Club near Auckland Airport.
Mr Walsh, who runs the Black Bridge Tavern in Mangere, said he and Mr Pryor got together with old rugby mates last week while former All Black fullback Don Clarke was visiting from South Africa.
"Albie was a character both on and off the field, but he was very involved with Maori youth. This is a bit of a jolt for all of us."
The funeral will be held at the Tuteau Marae in Te Teko on Thursday at 11 am.
* An obituary for Albie Pryor will appear in Last Word in the Weekend Herald.
