Posted on April 24, 2015
Wheelchair basketball coach & player earns spot in national hall of fame
Lee Montgomery — a wheelchair basketball player and coach of Mary Free Bed’s Wheelchair & Adaptive Sports’ basketball teams, the Junior Pacers and the Adult Pacers — recently was inducted into the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Hall of Fame.
The coach’s relationship with Mary Free Bed spans more than 5 decades. Coach Lee, 57, was born with limb differences and received his first prosthetics from the hospital when he was 5 years old. He discovered wheelchair basketball when he was 14 and has played or coached ever since.
“I’m just giving back to our kids,” Montgomery said. “I’m not the type of person to just sit around.”
Coach Lee won a gold medal for wheelchair basketball in the 1990 Pan American Games and played sitting volleyball in four Paralympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996). In 1993, he ranked 10th in the U.S. among wheelchair tennis players. He was inducted into the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and continues to be the only wheelchair athlete among those honored.
Mary Free Bed is fortunate to have volunteers, like Coach Lee, who donate their time, talents and passion to programs that enrich the lives of our patients and community. Congratulations, Coach Lee, and thank you for all that you do!
