Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame
Butz, Lee
Lee Butz
- Induction:
- 2023
- Class:
- 1955
A 1955 Lehigh graduate, Lee Butz was one of the top pitchers for the Brown and White under head coach Tony Packer. The Allentown native also played some third base during his time at Lehigh but made a name for himself on the mound.
In his junior season of 1954, Butz pitched to a miniscule 1.17 earned run average, which still stands as a Lehigh single-season record for pitchers who have thrown a minimum of 30 innings. Butz helped pitch Lehigh to a 9-6 record, the best single-season mark of his Lehigh career. The campaign was highlighted by upset victories over Muhlenberg and Penn State. Butz made his season pitching debut in the win over the Mules, scattering five hits and driving in the game-winning run in the ninth inning. He earned three victories for Lehigh that season and was recognized as one of the team's outstanding pitchers for the season.
In Butz’s senior campaign, Lehigh overcame a slow start to win five of its final seven games. Included in that run was a 3-0 win over a Lafayette squad that made the NCAA Tournament. While Butz was not on the mound for that victory, he did contribute a key base hit and scored one of Lehigh’s three runs. Butz was on the hill for a 10-5 victory over Rutgers, where he struck out five and allowed just two earned runs in the Lehigh triumph.
Butz has carried a love of baseball throughout his life. After earning his degree in civil engineering, Butz continued to play during a tour of service with the United States Army squad in Fort Knox, Ky. He was also an owner of the Allentown Wings minor league team. Butz continued to play semi-pro ball into his 30s and has coached and sponsored teams throughout his life. He founded and sponsored a baseball league for center-city youth in Allentown and is a founder of The Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley, a baseball program for children with special needs.
Off the field, Butz’s career in construction began in high school when he worked for his father Alvin’s general contracting firm. Following a two-year stint in the Army where he trained with the 101st Airborne and was later stationed at Fort Knox, Butz returned to the Lehigh Valley and joined Alvin H. Butz, General Contractor.
In 1973, Butz became president of Alvin H. Butz, Inc., a position he held until assuming the role of CEO in 1995. He now serves as Chairman of the Board. Alvin H. Butz, Inc. has worked virtually every building on Lehigh’s Asa Packer Campus as well as the Goodman Campus, where his firm helped build Goodman Stadium, Rauch Fieldhouse, Cundey Varsity House and J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park among others.
“Lehigh has been an important part of my life, in both business and baseball, and I’m so proud to be a member of its Athletics Hall of Fame,” Butz said.
Butz and his wife Dolly have three children: Greg ’79, Shari ’81 and Eric. Greg was a shortstop on Lehigh’s baseball team, while Shari assisted as a statistician for the baseball program. Photography is another avocation. He has taken over 300,000 stage photos at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and the DeSales University Theatre Department.
In his junior season of 1954, Butz pitched to a miniscule 1.17 earned run average, which still stands as a Lehigh single-season record for pitchers who have thrown a minimum of 30 innings. Butz helped pitch Lehigh to a 9-6 record, the best single-season mark of his Lehigh career. The campaign was highlighted by upset victories over Muhlenberg and Penn State. Butz made his season pitching debut in the win over the Mules, scattering five hits and driving in the game-winning run in the ninth inning. He earned three victories for Lehigh that season and was recognized as one of the team's outstanding pitchers for the season.
In Butz’s senior campaign, Lehigh overcame a slow start to win five of its final seven games. Included in that run was a 3-0 win over a Lafayette squad that made the NCAA Tournament. While Butz was not on the mound for that victory, he did contribute a key base hit and scored one of Lehigh’s three runs. Butz was on the hill for a 10-5 victory over Rutgers, where he struck out five and allowed just two earned runs in the Lehigh triumph.
Butz has carried a love of baseball throughout his life. After earning his degree in civil engineering, Butz continued to play during a tour of service with the United States Army squad in Fort Knox, Ky. He was also an owner of the Allentown Wings minor league team. Butz continued to play semi-pro ball into his 30s and has coached and sponsored teams throughout his life. He founded and sponsored a baseball league for center-city youth in Allentown and is a founder of The Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley, a baseball program for children with special needs.
Off the field, Butz’s career in construction began in high school when he worked for his father Alvin’s general contracting firm. Following a two-year stint in the Army where he trained with the 101st Airborne and was later stationed at Fort Knox, Butz returned to the Lehigh Valley and joined Alvin H. Butz, General Contractor.
In 1973, Butz became president of Alvin H. Butz, Inc., a position he held until assuming the role of CEO in 1995. He now serves as Chairman of the Board. Alvin H. Butz, Inc. has worked virtually every building on Lehigh’s Asa Packer Campus as well as the Goodman Campus, where his firm helped build Goodman Stadium, Rauch Fieldhouse, Cundey Varsity House and J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park among others.
“Lehigh has been an important part of my life, in both business and baseball, and I’m so proud to be a member of its Athletics Hall of Fame,” Butz said.
Butz and his wife Dolly have three children: Greg ’79, Shari ’81 and Eric. Greg was a shortstop on Lehigh’s baseball team, while Shari assisted as a statistician for the baseball program. Photography is another avocation. He has taken over 300,000 stage photos at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and the DeSales University Theatre Department.
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