COACH LEROY DREYER, 1930-2021

A local sports legend has died.

Coach Leroy Dreyer, a member of numerous halls of fame and the backbone of athletics at Blinn College, passed away from a lengthy illness, Saturday.  He was 90.

Coach Dreyer began his career as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach, who quickly became the school’s athletic director, a position he held for 35 years, guiding Blinn into one of most successful and prolific junior college athletic programs in the nation.

In honor of his remarkable career, Dreyer has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame including the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, the NJCAA Football Hall of Fame and the Blinn College Ex-Student Hall of Fame. The Brenham High School graduate has also been inducted into the Brenham High School Football Hall of Honor.

An outstanding athlete during his playing career, Dreyer was an All-American football player at Blinn, while also lettering in basketball and baseball.  He would go on to earn his bachelor's degree from the University of Houston and his master's degree from Sam Houston State.

He was Blinn’s head baseball coach for 27 years (1959-86) leading the team to five appearances in the NJCAA World Series and a .724 winning percentage (653-249).

Dreyer was named Texas Junior College Coach of the Year 12 times, while coaching 23 NJCAA All-Americans, 52 future professional ball players and five future big leaguers (Gary Weiss, Cecil Cooper, Dale Murray, Ron Davis and Don Baylor).

He was awarded the 1974 Hap Morse Award for Texas Baseball Coach of the Year, the 1982 NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Award for Leadership and was named the 1985 ABCA/Topps Coach of the Year.  He was also recognized by the Texas-New Mexico Baseball Coaches Association (an organization he helped form) for outstanding lifetime leadership and service.

In 1986, Leroy Dreyer Field, home to the Blinn Bucaneers and acclaimed as one of the top junior college baseball facilities in the nation, was dedicated in his honor.  His number, 34, was also retired by the school.

In 2015, Blinn College created the Leroy Dreyer MVP Diamond Award to be given annually to the most valuable player of the Blinn baseball team.

Following his retirement, Dreyer was a professional baseball scout for both the San Diego Padres and the New York Mets.

Dreyer was the first Junior College coach to ever be named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Executive Committee, serving as the 4th Vice President.

He is survived by his wife June and numerous children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Funeral services for Coach Leroy Dreyer are pending.