UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
Wally Lehman was the first of the big centers to play for Bill Zorn at UWEC although by modern standards he was not a big college center at 6-foot-4. Lehman earned All-Conference First Team honors for three years after being a Second Team pick as a freshman. His basketball jersey was retired after his graduation. Lehman was captain of the 1937-38 Blugold squad which was the first undefeated conference champion in school history and was also captain the following year when the Blugolds played for the first time in the nationals at Kansas City where they lost to eventual champion Southwestern, Kansas in the first round. Lehman averaged 11 points per game for his career at a time when the team average was around 40 points per game. At the time of his induction, Lehman had been a physical education instructor in the Eau Claire public school system at the junior high level since 1946. As such, he was involved in the early development of a multitude of outstanding athletes to be produced in the city.
