Don Dreher fs '85, a cutter and supplier with the LaCrosse Furniture Co. in LaCrosse, Kan., was known as a talented athlete. In fact, reports Vic Heckart '62, an avid Shocker sports fan, Dreher was "a high school legend at LaCrosse. Don's father, Kenneth, once showed me Donnie's trophy case, which is stacked to the ceiling with trophies from high school football, baseball, track and basketball."
It was in football that Dreher left his mark at Wichita State. A second-string split end in 1982, Dreher made what has been hailed by many, including then-coach Willie Jeffries, as "the most important catch in the history of Wichita State football."
The Shockers were playing KU in Lawrence. With three minutes left in the game, WSU trailed 10-6. On third and long, Shocker quarterback Prince McJunkins '86/86 dropped back and fired a 30-yard pass to wide open Dreher, who made the reception and raced for the goal line, looming some 20 yards in front of him. "I wanted a touchdown real bad," he's quoted as saying in a later Wichita Eagle article. "So when I got close to the goal line I just took to the air hoping to find the end zone. When I saw the ref signal a touchdown, I was real excited."
WSU's win over the Jayhawks seemed to pave the way for an 8-3 season, the best in 20 years.
Don Dreher died July 30 in La Crosse, Kan.
