Wheaton College Athletics

Basketball has the longest consecutive record of Wheaton intercollegiate teams, with cage competition every year since 1901. Nine years earlier, Dr. James Naismith, an instructor in the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts, had invented the game.

Because most graduates from the college entered YMCA work, the game spread rapidly. Local YMCA's all developed teams and played games with other organizations. Colleges and high schools were slow to take up the game; one reason was that many schools did not have gymnasiums and those who had buildings were not the kind planned for basketball. Most YMCA gymnasiums were small and inadequate even according to the standards of the early 1900's.

When schools took up basketball, many had to rent YMCA gymnasiums, armories or public dance halls. The armories and halls were often waxed for dancing and it was like playing basketball on ice.

Wheaton's first gymnasium, by 1930 considered a "cracker box gym," began as basketball "palace." Some visiting teams made a poor showing because they were not used to a "large floor." In present years one hears talk of the home-court advantage. In the 1900s the home court advantage was something very real because of the great differences in size, shape and peculiar hazards of gymnasiums.

Many gymnasiums lacked hard-surface backboards, and meshed wire behind the basket served to stop shots overthrown. Some baskets simply hung on the gymnasium wall. While driving for a shot, a player might readily be knocked against the wall. If he could recover well enough to stand up, he would quite possibly get a free throw from the 15-foot line. Some gymnasiums had no out of bounds, the ball being played off the walls. An overhead balcony accommodated spectators. In the early days of the game, peach baskets were used for goals, and a step ladder was used to retrieve the ball.

In 1899 the first Wheaton College gymnasium was built. Until 1992, the building housed the bookstore and still houses the art department. One can still see the basketball lines on the floor. The playing floor was 77 ft. by 36 ft. compared to today's 94 ft. long by 50 ft. wide.

Because of its gymnasium and close proximity to Chicago, where the YMCA had active basketball programs Wheaton became one of the first colleges to have varsity teams. Strangely, perhaps, a Wheaton women's team played two games with DeKalb Normal (now Northern Illinois U.) one year before the men began off-campus games.

In the early years of the men's team the majority of games were played against YMCA teams, so the college team, though highly successful, was handicapped in the few games with other colleges because of the difference in college rules. Some games were played with independent and high school teams. By 1910, the faculty made a rule that games could be played only with other schools.

The first reference to basketball in the Wheaton College Record appeared in the November 1900 issue. "The young men of the gymnasium class have selected from their number a basketball team, which promises to be a strong one, as it is composed of able players."

At its first meeting in the fall of 1901 the Athletic Association elected officers. "It was decided not to push football this Fall but to make special effort in basketball and indoor baseball. We have now a strong team in basketball and it is hoped that pushing these less dangerous forms of sport, the stimulus of outside competition may be gained without its objectionable features."

C.S. Byrne, of the Central YMCA Training School (later to become George Williams College, now defunct), became coach. He came with the reputation of having been an umpire and player of experience. That ability proved an important qualification as coaches often had to referee.

After Wheaton's first game loss, 39-5, to Central YMCA, a Record editorial questioned the wisdom of scheduling such strong opponents for opening games. That seemed to dampen the will to win and furnish an excuse for defeat. Understating the obvious, and also leaving out the final score, the Record reported, "Wheaton's low standing was due not so much to lack of teamwork as to defective basket throwing." Wheaton's second game was marked by an historic occasion -- Wheaton's first basketball victory. The opponent, Austin High School, had defeated Wheaton in baseball the previous spring by using mostly alumni, so the basketball competition became a grudge game. Austin wore baseball uniforms to commemorate their previous win. When Alvin Schmidt, later a pastor, scored the first field goal the air resounded with cheers. That was Wheaton's only field goal in the first half, however, and Austin led 11-3. A second-half rally brought home a 23-17 win.

Of the 18 games played in 1903-04, only 2 involved collegiate teams: Wheaton defeated Armour Tech and the Haskell Indians from Nebraska at home. A return game with Armour was not possible as it was not successful in renting a gym on a convenient date. The balance of the schedule involved YMCA and independent teams.

During a 10-9 season, Wheaton lost 4 games to perennial powerhouses Central YMCA and West Side YMCA. A "fluke" loss to the Crescent Five of Evanston, as the Record called it, hurt the most. The Orange and Blue had defeated them at Wheaton by 30 points.

Four defeats came on a five-game trip into Wisconsin. Small, poorly lit gymnasiums with floors waxed for dancing handicapped the Crusaders. In one game which was lost 36-35, the home referee called 19 fouls on Wheaton and one on the home team. The final game of the trip was a success against Fond du Lac which had lost only one home game in seven years. Wheaton won 34-31.

One unusual game that season was a home encounter with West Side YMCA. There was much excitement near the end of the game when the score was tied 37-37. Wheaton scored a free throw as the gun ended the game; the scoreboard read: Wheaton 38, Opponents 37. After a victory celebration, most of the crowd left. The scorekeeper recounted the score, however, and found it was a tie. In a sudden death overtime the YMCA team scored and won the game.

Wheaton was invited to participate in the national college basketball tournament at the World's Fair in St. Louis, achieved by compiling the best winning percentage of any college in Illinois. During the spring and early summer, the team practiced three mornings a week from 5:00 to 6:00 a.m. In one issue the Record referred to this as the world's college basketball tournament, a true statement since it is unlikely that colleges outside of the United States were playing basketball yet.

Elwood Brown, from Central YMCA, served as athletic coach for the next 2 1/2 years. For coaching as well as officiating the home games as well as some of the away games in the 1903-04 season, he received $69.00. It is interesting to note that the old ball was sold at the beginning of the season and a new ball was purchased along with a basket and repairs at a cost of $10.75. The team had bought new-style, gaudy suits with knee-length trunks at a cost of $22.06 to replace the ankle-length trunks.

The Wheaton team took second place to Hiram College of Ohio at the national college basketball tournament.

In a 1923 letter to the Record, Raymond Hoisington recalled a game against North-Western College (now North Central) inwhich he was involved as a player on February 24, 1914, at Wheaton. "The game was featured by the close defensive playing, man to man style; and there was some rough playing, Wheaton won 14-11....but hard feelings caused by the defeat and an increase in admission charge to 35 cents -- a lot of money in those days, caused the Naperville rooters to go home sore at the world."

He added: "The admission charge at the time of the famous 1901-05 teams was usually fifteen cents, according to some old posters. Some value for the money!"

With the return of World War I veterans, plus other able players, the 1919-20 squad became a strong one. Coach Rex Gary led the team to a 13-4 record with wins in its last 8 games. One of their opponents was the Naperville YMCA team, which had defeated some of the best independent teams in the Midwest.

Naperville YMCA had developed a reputation for using a holding tactic on defense. Coach Gary found a new use for grease in the next meeting between Naperville and Wheaton when he greased the players' arms, thinking that it would make it more difficult for Naperville to get away with holding Wheaton players.

As the game went on, grease covered almost everything, including the ball which became as easy to hang on to as a greased pig. Wheaton gained a 31-17 victory. This began a series of charges and countercharges in both town newspapers and college publications. The Naperville papers charged dirty playing, a crooked referee and non-student status for player A.B. Coleman. The Wheaton countercharge called the Naperville team "babies" and poor sports who couldn't "take" a legitimate beating.

On inauguration day the ground-breaking ceremonies for a new gymnasium marked the first of many building projects that would characterize the expansionist era over which President Raymond Edman presided. The old gym had become increasingly inadequate, especially for intercollegiate basketball. A campaign in 1937 to raise funds for a gymnasium and swimming pool had fallen short of the goal and had been laid aside. Consequently, in 1940, Dr. Edman suggested to Edward Cording, director of public relations, Ed Coray, who was to do much of the solicitation of funds, and Harve Chrouser, just returned to the campus as football coach, that they work for a more modest building than the 1937 plans called for, a gymnasium-auditorium without a swimming pool.

During a soccer trip to Western Maryland College, where he had gone as substitute for the regular coach, Chrouser saw a gymnasium that seemed like a model that would meet Wheaton's needs. Chrouser was given the plans for the building to bring home.

President Edman was impressed with the drawings and invited Chrouser and Coach Coray to present their ideas to the Board of Trustees in February, 1941. When asked by Trustee Robert Nicholas who would pay for such a building, Chrouser replied with confidence that the alumni would -- his assurance based on talks with alumni at recent banquets where he had represented the college. The Board of Trustees granted permission for the initiation of a new fund campaign and specified that if $75,000 could be raised by May 1, ground-breaking could take place on May 9.

By the established date, $85,000 was in hand or pledged. Architectural plans for a modified Georgian colonial brick building had been sketched by Herbert Brand of Chicago. Steel for the building, completed at a cost of $160,000, was procured the day before a freeze was put on such uses of steel by the War Resources Board. On completion of the building the old gymnasium would be used for women's physical education classes and intramural sports.

The cornerstone was laid at Homecoming on Oct. 11, 1941, with President Edman, Trustee Fischer, Professor Russell Mixter and the Reverend Torrey Johnson, present and past alumni presidents, and Tom Parks, Student Council president, participating. A copper box placed in the cornerstone contained a copy of the Record, the Wheaton Daily Journal, a college catalog, a student directory, and a copy of the Homecoming program.

The first event held in the new gymnasium-auditorium was a long chapel meeting on May 29, 1942. The building was dedicated on the Sunday afternoon of commencement weekend, June 14, when the combined men's and women's glee clubs sang before an assembly of 2200 people, many of them awed by the size of the building and the realization that a dream had been fulfilled. For many years the building was known as Alumni Gymnasium, but in 1968, in honor of Coach Coray's long service as athlete, coach, athletic director, teacher, and friend, the trustees renamed the building the Edward A. Coray Alumni Gymnasium.

The 1942-43 season, the first one in the new Alumni Gymnasium ended up with 9 victories and 8 defeats. This began a series of 18 consecutive winning seasons which continued through the 1959-60 season. The Crusaders won 318 and lost 110 in those 18 seasons.

Wheaton established itself as a powerhouse following World War II. Between 1943-49, under Coach Coray's direction, the Crusaders posted a sparkling .788 winning percentage (104-28). The 1943-44 superstar was 6'3" forward Dave Paynter, who scored 451 points in 18 games, including a 46-point explosion against Chicago Tech.

A man who would later become nearly synonymous with Wheaton basketball, Lee Pfund also began making his mark as an assistant football and basketball coach in 1944-45. Pfund was a professional baseball pitcher with a "no-Sunday" contract and had been drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers. A knee injury from sandlot baseball kept him out of military service, so he was taking courses at the College and coaching. When team captain Bill Ward, who was also an evangelist, was unable to show up for a game at Concordia because his evangelistic services were extended in Texas. So Pfund donned a Crusader uniform and continued with the team until it was time to report to the Dodgers' training camp.

Wheaton's first-ever 20-win season (20-5) came in 1946-47, the same year Wheaton became a charter member of the new CCI (College Conference of Illinois; later the CCIW), and its second came in 1948-49 (20-6). The newest Crusader star was Bud Schaeffer, a unanimous choice of the conference coaches for All-CCI honors all four years at Wheaton.

With Schaeffer and four time All-CCI forward Marv Johnson, Wheaton won its first-ever CCI title, a co-championship in 1947-48. Schaeffer was such a clever ballhandler that after he graduated, he played a season with the professional Boston Whirlwinds which traveled nationwide playing many games against the Harlem Globetrotters. He was also selected for an all-star team made up mostly of big-name university players to tour South America to play a series of games against the Globetrotters. Schaeffer was offered opportunities to play in the National Basketball Association but declined because he had convictions against playing basketball on Sunday.

Coray's final season as coach and athletic director was 1950-51. Wheaton was 17-12 that season with Marv Johnson earning his fourth All-CCI honors and being named to the Helms All-America team. Norm Pott, at 6'7" the tallest player Wheaton had had to that point in time and later an All-American and one of Wheaton's leading career scorers and rebounders, was a freshman on that team.

The Crusaders also won a game in the Boston Garden that season against St. Anselm's of New Hampshire, previously undefeated. Dick Wroughton reported in his sports column "Circular Files" in the Record that season that one of the Fathers from St. Anselm's had remarked, "I understand this Wheaton school is almost as religious as we are."

Coach Coray accepted a position with the Wheaton Alumni Association that began in March, 1951. Harve Chrouser took over as Athletic Director and Lee Pfund, who had been assisting Coray for 7 seasons, took over the basketball coaching position.

The 1951-52 season was Pfund's first as head coach. He had a very capable assistant in Bob Baptista, who also coached the soccer team. Basketball was very popular in this era and as the 1952 Tower puts it, "In 12 or 13 home games the Alumni Gym was packed to the window sills, and our rooters at many away contests drowned out the home folks' feeble cheers. Basketball...we love it."

Norm Pott was an All-CCI first teamer and Dick Messner, a four-regular, was team captain on a 15-8 team that kicked off the era.

Pfund went on to coach basketball for 24 years, from 1951-75, winning 362, losing 240, and winning five CCI championships One of the freshman on the 1951-52 team was Dick Helm, who would go on to coach at Wheaton North High School and later at Wheaton College from 1975-83, before becoming an assistant coach for Lenny Wilkens with the Seattle Supersonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and now the Atlanta Hawks.

Another player who played for both Ed Coray and Lee Pfund was Dick Gross, who later assisted Pfund with coaching and went on to become Dean of Students at Wheaton and later President of Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts.

Les Habegger, who played for Coach Pfund from 1952-54, went on to phenomenal coaching success at Seattle Pacific University and later became an assistant coach and later general manager of the Seattle Supersonics.

The 1952-53 team won Wheaton's second CCI title and Wheaton's first undisputed title. The team was 16-5 and 9-0 in conference.

Wheaton began an unprecedented streak of 56 consecutive CCI wins in 1955. The 1955-56 team, which was inducted into the Wheaton Hall of Honor on Oct. 9, 1992, began the streak with an undefeated 14-0 CCI season and a school-record 28-4 record. The Crusaders lost the year's second game to Beloit and didn't lose again in the regular season, a string of 24 consecutive wins. The team still holds the school season records for most field goals and free throws.

Center Jerry Truax and guard Tom Young were All-CCI first teamers and forwards Jerry Miller and Don Hudgens were second team picks. Truax earned All-America honors averaging 16.8 points per game. Coach Pfund was named NAIA District 20 Coach of the Year. Wheaton went on to finish fourth in the NAIA National Tournament, winning its first three games to make it to the Final Four.

Another Crusader Hall of Honor-inducted team was the 1956-57 team which also won 14 consecutive CCI games and had a record of 28-1, losing only to Beloit, 74-72, in overtime, in the 8th game of the season. The Crusaders won the NCAA Small College National Tournament that season defeating Kentucky Wesleyan in the finals, 89-65.

Sophomore Mel Peterson was named Most Outstanding Player at Nationals. Peterson, a three-time All-America and All-CCI selection, is Wheaton's all-time leading scorer, rebounder, field goal and free throw shooter. Peterson, forward Bob Whitehead, and guard Don Anderson also led the team in 1957-58 and 1958-59 to consecutive CCI titles and 28 more consecutive wins.

The 1957-58 team followed up the national championship season with a 27-3 record and won fourth place in the NCAA College Division Tournament, winning the first 3 games before losing to South Dakota, 64-60, in the semifinals and the third-place game to Evansville, 95-93. The 1958-59 team was 23-4 and won its first national tournament game.

The CCI streak was temporarily interrupted in 1959-60 when Wheaton ended its affiliation with the CCI. The 1959-60 team was 16-10, but did play in the NCAA College Division playoffs, winning two regional games and losing in the first round of nationals.

After Wheaton rejoined the CCIW in 1967 (Carthage and Carroll Colleges in Wisconsin had joined by then), the Crusaders won the first 5 CCIW games for a total streak of 61 consecutive conference wins.

Since 1960, Wheaton has won as many as 17 games in a season 6 times, including 21 wins in 1994-95 and 25 wins in 1995-96, its first 20-win seasons since 1958-59. Wheaton went from 1959-96 without winning a CCIW title and from 1959-95 without an NCAA playoff appearance. Since 1960, Wheaton has had 17 seasons of .500 or better.

A new gymnasium to meet the needs of a growing student body was part of the Centennial expansion program which had actually begun with planning as early as February, 1956, to be ready for for the 1959-60 season. Ground was broken for the new gym, to be built at a projected cost of $400,000 by J. Emil Anderson and Son, on Nov. 2, 1958. Wheaton's teams would not have to play in cramped quarters again because the new gym, built of brick to harmonize with the other campus architecture, seated 3400. At completion, fully equipped, the building cost $524,000. Wheaton defeated Southwest Missouri State in the first home game in the new building in December, 1959, 90-60. It also was Wheaton's 600th win in its basketball history. Southwest Missouri State had been the national tournament runner-up the previous season.

After Lee Pfund retired from coaching in 1975, Dick Helm took over as coach from 1975-83, and was followed by Bill Harbeck, who had played for Pfund and Helm in 1973-77. Harbeck was Wheaton's coach from 1983-91. Bill Harris took over at Wheaton in 1991.

Before he retired, Pfund also coached a pair of two-time All-CCIW first teamers, Tom Dykstra and Steve Clum. Dykstra is Wheaton's third-leading career scorer and sixth-leading rebounder with 1905 points and 793 rebounds, and Clum is second in rebounding and tenth in scoring with 1508 rebounds and 1478 points.

The name "Pfund" comes up in Wheaton's Hall of Honor listing four times. Lee Pfund was inducted for his successful coaching career, and his three sons, John, Kerry, and Randy, all played four-year careers for Wheaton under their father's tutelage.

John played in 1961-65, and is Wheaton's fourth-leading scorer with 1890 points. Kerry, an all-CCIW player in 1971, is the 21st-leading scorer with 1162 points from 1967-71.

The youngest son, Randy, is the 6th-leading scorer and all-time assists leader with 1710 points and 478 assists from 1970-74 and was named All-CCIW first team in 1972 and 1974. Randy is Wheaton's first alumnus to become a head coach in the NBA. He was appointed coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in May, 1992, after serving as assistant for 8 years, and coached until March 23, 1994, when he was replaced briefly by Magic Johnson. Pfund is now a vice-president with the Miami Heat of the NBA, rejoining Pat Riley, the former Lakers coach, who is now the Heat's new president and head coach.

Still coaching in the NBA are Donn Nelson, who played for Wheaton from 1982-86, and former Wheaton head coach Dick Helm, 1975-83, who has assisted the NBA's all-time winningest coach, Lenny Wilkens, in Seattle, Cleveland and now with the Atlanta Hawks.

Nelson, son of long-time NBA coach and player Don Nelson, assisted his father with the Golden State Warriors for 5 years until he was hired in July, 1995, as an assistant coach by the Phoenix Suns. He is considered an authority on foreign basketball talent and helped ex-Seattle guard Sarunas Marciulionis become the first player from the Soviet Union to sign an NBA contract.

The younger Nelson is 12th in career scoring and 12th in career rebounding at Wheaton with 1460 points and 538 rebounds and was inducted into Wheaton's Hall of Honor in October, 1997.