Hall of Honor
Lee Pfund is the all-time winningest basketball and baseball coach in Wheaton history. His coaching expertise brought out the best in the Crusader athletes he tutored. In 24 years on the Wheaton basketball bench, Lee directed the Crusaders to a 362-240 record. And as a baseball coach, he compiled a 249-295-3 mark in 26 seasons.
His 1957 basketball team posted a 28-1 record and won the NCAA College Division national championship. For that effort, he was named that division’s “Coach of the Year.” Wheaton basketball teams won five College Conference of Illinois (CCI) basketball championships during his tenure. From 1955-59, Wheaton won a record 58 consecutive CCI games and four consecutive CCI titles. Pfund coached eight All-Americans over his time as basketball coach.
Lee coached baseball from 1948-59, missing 1960 because of injuries received in a serious car accident, and returned to coach from 1961-74. In 26 years, Pfund’s baseball teams won 249, lost 295, and tied three, and his 1951 team was the last Wheaton team to win a conference title. The team was inducted into Wheaton’s Hall of Honor in 1998.
A 1949 Wheaton graduate, Lee was a player and assistant coach under Ed Coray in the 1940s, and also a pitcher in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization until a knee injury ended his career. His teammates included baseball legends Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson. In 1977, Lee was presented with the Alumni of the Year for Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award. He also has been inducted into the Illinois State Basketball Coaches Association “Hall of Fame”. A member of Wheaton’s Athletic Hall of Honor, Lee is the father of three Wheaton alumni and Hall of Honor inductees: John Pfund ‘65, Kerry Pfund ‘71 and Randy Pfund ‘74.
