Career Coaches

Don McGee

Year Inducted: 2006

Category: Career Coaches

Schools / Organizations: Wheaton Central High School
Sumner High School
(Harvey) Thornton High School
(Glen Ellyn) Glenbard West High School

(Paris) Mayo Middle School/Oakland High School

Biography:

Don McGee had a 44-year coaching career at various schools and levels. He began his teaching and coaching career at Sumner High School in 1959. He spent 10 years as a freshman, sophomore and assistant varsity coach at (Harvey) Thornton High School. Then he served as head varsity coach at Wheaton Central High School, where he won 181 games, including a fourth-place finish in the IHSA Class AA state tournament in 1981. He coached five years at (Glen Ellyn) Glenbard West High School before retiring to downstate Paris.

McGee returned to coaching as a volunteer at (Paris) Mayo Junior High for three years, followed by a two-year stint at Oakland High School. He registered 247 victories as a head coach and 509 wins at all levels. He was the IBCA District 9 Coach of the Year in 1980-81 and designed the Class AA sectional seeding system used by the IHSA for many years. He was also the first black head coach of an IBCA All-Star game in 1992.

McGee played at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He has been inducted into the Wheaton Warrenville South Hall of Fame in 2020, the Chester Sports Hall of Fame as a player and the Thornton Hall of Fame.  Don McGee died on December 29, 2024 at the age of 87.