Dennis “Bubby” Drews, a 1943 graduate of DLHS, was an outstanding athlete in his years at DLHS.

Bubby was named in 1950 as one of the four greatest Laker Athletes of the first half century. He played and excelled in football, basketball and track.  He lettered in all three sports and was a captain of the football and basketball teams. He was on teams that won the District 23 Championship in Basketball and the Region Six Track meet.

As a small boy his big ambition was to fly and WW2 gave him that opportunity. After graduation he enlisted to become a Naval Aviator at Wold Chamberlain Field (now Minneapolis St Paul Airport) where he got his boot training. He then entered Aviation cadet training at Northfield, MN.  He was sent to Minot for his initial flight training then went to Georgia Preflight. While there he quarterbacked the football team against some of the best in the country at that time. When he graduated, he went to Memphis for additional flight training and then onto additional flight training on the coast in May of 1945. The war ended in August of 1945 and the hope of a lasting peace settled on the world.  

With the need for pilots diminishing Bubby chose to be discharged and enrolled in North Dakota State College to continue his education.  He graduated with a degree in physical education and mathematics.  While at college he married his hometown sweetheart Dagney. Later he became the father of two wonderful daughters, Lynn and Denice.

While at North Dakota State, he earned four letters in football, two in basketball and two in boxing. In football he was voted most valuable player two years and all conference three years in the North Central Conference. He was the captain of the football team for two years. He stayed at NDAC for a Masters of Guidance degree and coached the freshman football and basketball teams and scouted for the Varsity.

He entered the US Air Force Reserves in September 1950 and flew over 100 missions in Korea. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, the WW2 Victory Medal, Korean Service Medal and was awarded the Air Medal for Meritorious Service in the Korean War

Bubby died July 2, 1954 shortly after takeoff on a routine training flight in a F84F Thunderstreak at Dow Air Force base in Bangor, Maine. He was scheduled for leave the next day to be back in Detroit Lakes with his family for the 4th of July.

Bubby is remembered each year at North Dakota State University with the Dennis Drew award, started in 1955, for the Most Valuable Player on the NDSU football team.

He is survived by his wife Dagney and two daughters, Lynn Bidlake and Denice Scott.

The time was June 7, 1943 and it was graduation day at Detroit Lakes High School.

Dennis “Bubby” Drews was about to receive his diploma, which what for many kids today, is a time of looking forward to college or moving to the next step of their lives.

But for Drews, it was a time of World War II.

One year removed from the Battle of Midway, the major turning point of the Pacific War, and one year away from the invasion of Normandy, the beginning of the end for Hitler’s fortress Europe, the graduates of the Class of 1943 had already been affected by the war.

The future Mrs. Dennis Drews had moved at the end of her junior year at Detroit Lakes High School to Bremerton, Wash., so her father could work in the war effort. Due to rationing of raw materials, the yearbook was only a few pages.

All too often the news came of someone who lost a friend, relative or loved one.

Even through the hardships of war, Drews had been an outstanding athlete in his years at DLHS.

According to Wally Walbaum, who was six years younger, and a member of the last Laker Hall of Honor class, Drews was the first running back he ever saw knock a defensive back flat and keep on running for a touchdown.

Wally was 10 years old at the time and remembers it to this day.

Wes Oman, a 1943 graduate, said one day Drews hit him so hard in practice that he quit the team and never played a down of football again.

Drews was named by The Becker County Record in 1950 as one of the four greatest Laker Athletes of the first half-century, along with Walbaum, Vit McDonald and another Laker Hall of Honor member, Norris Johnson (who incidentally was a teammate of Drews).

In the 1950 article, it stated, “There have been a lot of good football players turned out at Detroit Lakes High School, but in our opinion, none of them equaled Dennis (Bubby) Drews in all-around ability.

“Drews was the whole show on the Laker team he co-captained in 1942. A halfback, he could run, block, pass and punt a little better than anyone he ever competed against in high school.”

Playing football, basketball and track, Drews was outstanding in all sports.

He lettered in all three sports and was a captain of the football and basketball teams. He was on teams that won the District 23 Championship in basketball and the Region Six Track meet.

As a small boy, his big ambition was to fly and WWII gave him that opportunity.

After graduation, he enlisted to become a Naval Aviator at Wold Chamberlain Field (now Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport) where he received his boot training and entered Aviation cadet training at Northfield.

He was sent to Minot for his initial flight training then went to Georgia Preflight. While there, he quarterbacked the football team against some of the best in the country at that time.

When he graduated, he went to Memphis for additional flight training and then onto additional flight training on the coast in May of 1945.

The war ended in August of 1945 and the hope of a lasting peace settled on the world.

With the need for pilots diminishing, Drews chose to be discharged and enrolled in North Dakota State College to continue his education.

He graduated with a degree in physical education and mathematics. While at college he married his hometown sweetheart Dagney.

Later he became the father of two wonderful daughters, Lynn and Denice.

While at North Dakota State, he earned four letters in football, two in basketball and two in boxing.

In football, he was voted most valuable player two years and all conference three years in the North Central Conference.

He was the captain of the football team for two years. He stayed at NDAC for a Masters of Guidance and coached the freshman football and basketball teams and scouted for the Varsity.

He entered the U.S. Air Force Reserves in September 1950 and flew over 100 missions in Korea.

He was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross – the WWII Victory Medal – Korean Service Medal and was awarded the Air Medal for Meritorious Service in the Korean War.

Drews died July 2, 1954, shortly after takeoff on a routine training flight in and F84F Thunderstreak at Dow Air Force base in Bangor, Maine. He was scheduled for leave the next day to be back in Detroit Lakes with his family for the 4th of July.

Drews is remembered each year at NDSU with the Dennis Drew award, started in 1955, for the Most Valuable Player on the football team.

He is survived by his wife Dagney and two daughters, Lynn Bidlake and Denise Scott. All three live on the west coast and will be returning this week to be at the football game and the induction ceremony.

(Article written by Hall of Honor committee member Mark Hagen.)