Wheaton College Athletics

Lee Pfund Stadium at Legion Field became the permanent home of Thunder baseball in 2003. Following a brief break as the home of Thunder baseball from 2009 to 2012, the Wheaton baseball program returned during the 2012 season. Pfund Stadium is located at 570 South Gary Avenue in Carol Stream. Lee Pfund Stadium at Legion Field is the result of a unique arrangement between the Thunder baseball program and the Carol Stream American Legion Post, also located at the site.

Originally known as Legion Field, The Thunder baseball program opened Lee Pfund Stadium on April 7, 2012 in a doubleheader against North Park University following renovations that included installation of eight light poles, state-of-the art A-Turf® artificial turf, new dugouts, a suspended cable backstop and a wall as part of the backstop.The facility saw the installation of a new scoreboard in 2006 and in 2007 a new irrigation system was installed.

In 2012 the facility was renamed in honor of longtime Wheaton baseball and basketball coach Lee Pfund. A 1949 Wheaton graduate, Lee Pfund also was 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. A member of Wheaton’s Athletic Hall of Honor, Lee coached baseball from 1948-59 and from 1961-74. In 26 years, Pfund’s baseball teams won 249 games and his 1951 team was the last Wheaton team to win a CCIW Championship.

The dimensions at Pfund Stadium are 338 feet down the leftfield line, 365 feet to each gap, 390 feet to centerfield and 330 down the rightfield line.

 

Prior to 2003, Wheaton played baseball at Alexian Field in Schaumburg, Illinois from 2001-02 and then again 2009-10. The 2000 baseball season marked Wheaton’s final year of baseball at Lawson Field. Lawson Field was the on-campus home of Wheaton baseball for more than 90 years and now serves as practice facility for several Thunder sports programs, as well as for club and intramural sports.