Lee Haun ’37 lettered four years in both football and track & field at McPherson College and twice in basketball. Haun, who had never played organized football prior to coming to McPherson, would go on to be named to the 1936 All-Kansas Conference first team after being named in 1935 to the All-Kansas Conference second team. As a freshman and sophomore, Lee earned honorable mention all-conference honors.
In 1936, after scoring 53 points on seven touchdowns and 11 of 16 PAT kicks, he was named to the Topeka Daily Capital All State second team, a team selected from the 18 four-year colleges in Kansas including the University of Kansas and Kansas State Agricultural College (later Kansas State University).
In track & field, Haun set a school record in the pole vault in 1935 with a clearance of 12-feet using a bamboo pole, a record that would stand 21 years. As a freshman, Haun tied for first in the pole vault at the conference meet, then won the title outright as a sophomore before placing second his final two seasons. A versatile athlete, it wasn’t unusual to find Haun competing in multiple events including the high jump, long jump, 100-yard dash, and high hurdles as well as running on relays and throwing the discus and/or shot. In 1934, he was part of a school record 440-yard relay.
After earning his BS in Secondary Education-Industrial Arts from McPherson College in 1937, Haun taught and coached first at Little River High School, and then Raymond High, where he started the football program. In 1942 he moved to Dwight, Kan., High. During his time at Dwight in addition to teaching and coaching, he also participated in town team baseball, basketball, and football for several communities in the surrounding area.
After 14 years of teaching and coaching, Haun returned to farming and ranching for the 16 years. He then returned to the classroom and athletic field as a teacher and coach for another 10 years at Wilsey and White City high schools. Teaching everything from industrial arts and typing to physical education and physics, he coached both boys and girls sports until his retirement in 1977.
At the age of 77 the competitive juices began to flow again and Lee returned to competitive athletics as the one and only member of the Parkerville Track Club (named after his boyhood home). He would go on to win several Kansas Senior titles in the shot, discus, long jump, and high jump. At the age of 80, Haun placed second in the discus, fifth in the shot, and seventh in the high jump at the 1993 National Senior Olympics. He would continue to compete in senior track & field at the state and national levels until 2000.
While attending the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, and upon watching the finals in the pole vault, Lee remarked he could still out vault most of the competitors if they were all required to use a red elm (tree) pole.
Over the years, Haun was instrumental in a number of students coming to McPherson College, volunteering many times to drive them to campus for a visit or to visit with faculty.
After leaving the farm for a final time in the fall of 2001, Lee passed away in June 20, 2004.
