Butler Athletics Hall of Famer Dr. Larry Abraham Passes Away at 77.

EL DORADO, Kan. – Former team doctor & longtime Butler Athletics donor & supporter Dr. Larry Abraham passes away at age 77.

"Doc", as he was known by those in El Dorado and on the Butler campus, was a long-time donor and former team doctor, starting in 1974. He helped heal thousands of Butler athletes, had been inducted into the Grizzly Athletic Hall of Fame twice and along with his wife, Judy, had supported every athletic initiative available, becoming the most prolific individual donor in the history of Butler Athletics. 

Doc grew up in Wichita, attending West High School and Wichita State before going to podiatry school in Chicago. He returned to Kansas to set up a practice in El Dorado in 1973. A year later, he was invited to a meeting of the Butler booster club.  The next year, he joined the club and became a team doctor. Butler is the only athletic program he had financially supported.

Doc's support had been tied to service as well as financial contributions. He served for many years as president of the booster club, which is now known as the GrizzlyBackers. He also was the voice of Butler basketball for years, manning the mic during games in the heyday of success in that sport under Randy Smithson.

He is evident throughout the athletic facilities on the El Dorado campus. His first capital campaign project was the construction of the Sports Medicine Center in the lower level of the gymnasium building in 1988. Since then, he funded locker rooms for both the men's and women's basketball teams. He also purchased a luxury suite in the new football stadium, BG Products Veterans Sports Complex, and helped fund both phases of construction in the Hubbard Champions Training Center. In fact, the reception/trophy room in the new football complex is named for the Abrahams for their contribution to the project.

In appreciation of his extraordinary dedication and decades of service, the floor inside the Power Plant proudly bears his name: Dr. Larry Abraham Court.

In between the Butler women's and men's basketball games against Cloud County, Butler Athletics held a moment of silence to honor the life, legacy, and lasting impact of Dr. Abraham.