A Legacy of Achievement: Exploring Wheaton College Athletics History
Wheaton College, a liberal arts college with a rich history rooted in evangelical abolitionism, has also fostered a vibrant athletic tradition. From its early days with basketball as a flagship sport to its modern-day successes in track and field, soccer, and baseball, Wheaton has consistently demonstrated a commitment to athletic excellence alongside academic rigor. This article delves into the history of Wheaton College athletics, highlighting key moments, influential figures, and the evolution of its athletic programs.
The Genesis of Athletics at Wheaton: Basketball Takes Center Stage
Basketball holds the distinction of being Wheaton's longest-running intercollegiate sport, with a continuous presence since 1901. This early adoption of the sport can be attributed to the fact that many of Wheaton's graduates entered YMCA work, which facilitated the rapid spread of the game. Dr. James Naismith had invented the game nine years earlier at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts.
In the early days, basketball faced challenges due to the limited availability of suitable gymnasiums. Colleges and high schools were slow to adopt the game, partly because many lacked gymnasiums or had buildings not designed for basketball. YMCA gymnasiums, often small and inadequate, were frequently rented by schools. These spaces, sometimes armories or public dance halls, presented unique playing conditions, with waxed floors making it feel like playing basketball on ice.
Wheaton's first gymnasium, built in 1899, was considered a "cracker box gym" by 1930. Initially, however, it was seen as a basketball "palace." Its existence and Wheaton's proximity to Chicago, with its active YMCA basketball programs, made it one of the first colleges to establish varsity teams. Interestingly, a Wheaton women's team played two games against DeKalb Normal (now Northern Illinois University) a year before the men's team began off-campus games.
In the early years, the men's team primarily competed against YMCA teams. This focus, while contributing to the team's success, also presented challenges when facing other colleges due to differing rules. By 1910, the faculty implemented a rule restricting games to other schools only.
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Early Basketball Highlights: Victories and Controversies
The first mention of basketball in the Wheaton College Record appeared in November 1900. The article highlighted the selection of a strong basketball team by the young men of the gymnasium class. In the fall of 1901, the Athletic Association decided to focus on basketball and indoor baseball, aiming to gain the benefits of outside competition without the risks associated with football.
C.S. Byrne, from the Central YMCA Training School, was appointed as coach, bringing experience as an umpire and player. After a significant loss to Central YMCA, the Record questioned the wisdom of scheduling such strong opponents for opening games, suggesting it dampened the team's spirit. Wheaton's second game marked its first basketball victory against Austin High School, fueled by a previous baseball defeat.
The 1903-04 Season: A Post-Season Tournament and Unique Challenges
Out of 18 games played in 1903-04, only two were against collegiate teams. The remaining games involved YMCA and independent teams. Wheaton was invited to participate in the national college basketball tournament at the World's Fair in St. Louis, a testament to its strong winning percentage. At the tournament, the Wheaton team secured second place, losing to Hiram College of Ohio.
Elwood Brown from Central YMCA served as the athletic coach. He was compensated $69.00 for coaching and officiating home and away games. The team purchased new-style, gaudy suits with knee-length trunks for $22.06 to replace the ankle-length trunks.
Ticket Price Increase Causes Uproar
In a 1923 letter to the Record, Raymond Hoisington recalled a game against North-Western College (now North Central) in which 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."
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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!"
"101 Fun Things You Can Do With Grease"
The 1919-20 squad became a strong one with the return of World War I veterans. 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.
A New Era: The Construction of Alumni Gymnasium
The groundbreaking ceremony for a new gymnasium marked the beginning of an expansionist era. The old gym had become increasingly inadequate, especially for intercollegiate basketball. In 1940, Dr. Edman suggested a more modest building than the 1937 plans called for, a gymnasium-auditorium without a swimming pool.
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During a soccer trip to Western Maryland College, 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.
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. 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 Post-War Era: A Basketball Powerhouse
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.
Lee Pfund 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. 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.
From Crusaders to Thunder and Lyons: A Modern Athletic Identity
By 1950, enrollment at the college had surpassed 1,600. The school changed its nickname from the Crusaders to the Thunder in 2000.
Wheaton College Massachusetts represents with the Wheaton Lyons, fielding 21 varsity intercollegiate teams, 9 for men and 12 for women, in addition to 14 club sports programs and a variety of intramural activities. The Wheaton Lyons finished in the top 15% of the NACDA Directors' Cup in 2013â14, highlighted by women's track and field.
Wheaton has found success in a number of its athletic programs, starting in 1983, when field hockey became the first Wheaton team to make an NCAA tournament. In 1986, women's lacrosse became the first Wheaton team to advance to an NCAA Final Four. Eight years later, women's basketball made its first Final Four, followed by the 1997 softball team finishing third at the national tournament in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In addition, men's and women's cross-country, women's lacrosse, men's and women's swimming and diving and women's tennis all have competed in the NCAA post-season.
Wheaton's mascot is a Lyon, named after founding principal Mary Lyon which can be traced back to the early 1980s. On October 14, 2016, the Wheaton College Athletic Department announced the first-ever mascot name for the Lyon… Roary.
Wheaton has also had two synchronized swimmers named collegiate swimmer of the year. Gina Lighthall '99 in 1999 and Christiana Butera '12 in 2012.
The last varsity team established at Wheaton was in 1997 in the form of Baseball. The Baseball team also achieved success with the only team sport at Wheaton to advance to a national championship game, which it has done twice (2006 and 2012) in addition to one additional Division III world series (2017).
Two alums have been in the Major League Baseball (MLB) teams with one being drafted in to the MLB. Chris Denorfia '02 was a 19th round pick in the 2002 Major League Baseball amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds. Denorfia spent parts of 10 years roaming the outfield for five Major League teams, most recently as a part of the 2015 Chicago Cubs.
One alum has been drafted into Major League Soccer. Jim Maganello '99 was a second round pick of the NY/NJ Metrostars in the 1999 Major League Soccer draft. Women's soccer advanced to 13 consecutive NCAA tournaments (2000â2012), which was the longest streak in the New England region of Division III women's soccer at that time.
Wheaton's greatest athletic success has been on the track, as the women's track and field program has claimed 8 NCAA Division III National Championships and finished in the top 3 at the NCAA championships 6 other times (twice in indoor and four times in outdoor). Individually, Wheaton has more than 375 all-American performances and 64 individual national championship accolades in school history. Highlighting that list is Amber James '04, who was pivotal during Wheaton's run of winning six consecutive NCAA indoor and outdoor national championships from 2001â03. James, a 17-time national champion and 24-time all-American, was recognized by the NCAA as the greatest female athlete in the 25-year history of the Division III indoor track & field championship in 2009. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III Silver Anniversary Team, which commemorated the 25th anniversary of women competing in NCAA outdoor track & field championships.
Wheaton club sports include ice hockey (men's and women's), rugby union (m/w).
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