Skippy Dyer is Centurians #25

Comparing Dyer to Gary Allen and Chad Owens, retired UH SID Eddie Inouye said:
"They were around the same size, but Skippy was more muscular. (Dyer) seemed like he played on skates, because he would just glide." (HSB)

HSB Note: "UH coach Hank Vasconcellos also liked what he saw. For a few seasons the Marines -- after they arrived at Kaneohe from Korea -- gave UH spirited competition, as the university lacked the funds to enjoy a college-only schedule. Out of the Marines and into the UH backfield, Dyer paid immediate dividends as Hawaii earned a heroic fourth-quarter victory 6-0 over Nebraska on a hot afternoon in Lincoln to open the 1955 season."

About playing Nebraska in Lincoln to open their 1955 season, Charles Araki said:
"I did have expectations of winning, but it was intimidating. We went in awed, the stadium so big compared to Honolulu Stadium. A sea of red in the stands. They were warming up goal post to goal post, about 90 players. We had less than 30." (HSB)

HSB Note: "The Huskers played in platoons, the Rainbows were forced to go both ways. So Nebraska's plan seemed sound: pound away. Vasconcellos, thinking about this all winter, anticipated it. He fielded an eight-man defensive line against the Huskers."

About how they used an 8-man DL against Nebraska, Araki said:
"Our basic defense was a six-man front, but the linebackers jumped up." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Vasconcellos gambled that with Dyer's speed he and one other back (Ed Kawawaki) would cover the rarely used Nebraska receivers, just two rovers alone behind the eight-man wall. Don Botelho was the lone safety, Araki said. Nebraska ran at will in a 50-0 win in Honolulu against the 1954 team. Nebraska ran nowhere in Lincoln in 1955."

About how Nebraska couldn't run against him, Araki said:
"There were no gaps, they couldn't run. It was amazing they didn't pass (earlier)." (HSB)

About how senior sports editor Don Bryant said about the game, Brian Christopherson (writing for the Lincoln Journal Star) said:
"Nebraska was never really in the game." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Christopherson wrote that Dyer "made the Huskers look foolish," with a long kickoff return to open the game and several long jaunts from scrimmage. Hartwell Freitas punched in the only points on a 1-yard run. On quick hits off the guards in Vasconcellos' T-formation, Dyer was noted for his shifty eyes and quick fakes. He was something of a ghost, making quick changes of direction and then, he was gone."

About how he and his teammates haven't been able to find Dyer since he stopped playing for UH, Araki said:
"We've tried and tried, but can't locate him. The last we know is someone thought he was with the L.A. parks and recreation department in the '60s. But they had no record of him." (HSB)

"We have many get-togethers over the years, and the question is always, 'Where's Skippy?' He was a real nice fella, got along with everyone on campus. You would think somebody like that would come back." (HSB)

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