ROY LEE

Baseball

Born: September 28, 1917; Elmira, New York
Died: November 11, 1985; St. Louis, Missouri
Position: Coach
Coached For: St. Louis University (1960-1966), Southern Illinois University (1967-1977)

Roy Lee was born in Elmira, N.Y. in 1917.  His family eventually moved to Toledo, Ohio, where he graduated from Devilbiss High School in 1936.  Following his high school career, the Boston Red Sox signed Lee as a first baseman. He played first base for the initial three years of his career. In 1939, he converted to pitching.

From 1941 – 1944, he was a member of the U.S. Air Force. Lee was stationed at Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, Il. Like many professional players at that time, they would keep their skills sharp by playing with local amateur teams. Lee played many games with the Belleville Stags, where he would play with fellow inductee in the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, Les Mueller.

On June 20, 1944, Lee pitched for the Stags in a game against Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Monarchs at Stag Field in Belleville. The Stags won the game by a score of 3-0. Lee would get the win and had 10 strikeouts and 3 walks in a complete game performance.

Following his baseball career, Lee obtained his college degree at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He began his coaching career at Whitehouse H.S. in Ohio. From 1954-1962, he would coach American Legion and Ban Johnson League teams in Collinsville, IL.

In 1960, he was hired by St. Louis University to be their Head Coach.  From 1963 – 1966 they won 4 consecutive Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Lee was named MVC Coach of the Year in each of those years. In 1965, the Billikens earned a trip to the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Ne. They finished in 3^rd place and had 2 losses to Arizona State who featured Rick Monday and Sal Bando. Lee still stands as the 3^rd winningest coach in Billikens history with 125 wins and is a member of the St. Louis University Hall of Fame.

In 1968, Lee was hired to be the first baseball coach at SIUE. Throughout his 11 seasons at the helm of the Cougars, the program became a NCAA Division II power. They would receive 8 consecutive NCAA Tournament bids. The Cougars won three NCAA Regional titles and advanced to three Division II World Series. They finished third in 1972, second in 1976 and sixth in 1977. Lee’s record at SIUE was 238 wins and 142 losses, a winning percentage of .626. In 1986, the field at SIUE was named Roy E. Lee Field. He is also a member of the SIUE Sports Hall of Fame.

In his entire coaching career, he posted 822 wins against 397 losses for a winning percentage of .674. He had 26 players that advanced to play in MLB. Some of the notable players were Dave Nicholson, Larry Stahl, Jerry Buchek, Lenny Boehmer, Joe Niekro and John “Champ” Summers.

Lee remained in the St. Louis area until his passing in 1985. He and his wife Margaret were married in 1944 and had 2 sons, John and Bill. The Lee family is extremely appreciative and proud to have Roy Lee as an inductee into such a prestigious Hall of Fame.