Basketball for me would never be the same. Wilt is the greatest basketball player of all time. In Wilts rookie season, he not only led the league in scoring (37.6) and rebounds (27) but also in minutes per game (46.4), Harveys Take: I was at every one of those games and no matter what defenses they threw at Wilt, he either willed his way to the basket or dominated from mid range. In its heyday in the 1950s and 60s, you could go to Kutshers resort and see Muhammad Ali training for a fight, Mickey Mantle playing golf and a teenage Wilt Chamberlain playing basketball. (Golden State, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, respectively). WHYY provides trustworthy, fact-based, local news and information and world-class entertainment to everyone in our community. Needless to say the player in the East has the newsman write an apology letter to Wilt for misquoting him. This article will go over who is the greatest running back of all time. Wilt Chamberlain played 14 seasons for the Lakers, Warriors and 76ers. Financially, Chamberlain probably made out like a bandit by skipping the NBA to head to Harlem. A piece of my Philadelphia childhood died when the greatest athlete of all time had fallen. Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of the greatest scoring effort in NBA history 36 field goals, 28 free throws, 100 points for Chamberlain, in the Warriors 169-147 win in a game played before about 4,000 people in Hershey. A player never leaving the court in a game today is unheard of. He arrived several hours before the game and played an arcade shooting game in the area before tip off. Wilt was at a party with legendary NFL running back Jim Brown when they got into an argument about who is faster. He averaged 50.4 points per game in the 1962 season. Forty five of those came in the 1961-62 season when he averaged 50.4 points., Harveys Take: Even though the game was in Pittsburgh, it was considered a Sixers home game and Wilt treated the fans to an unforgettable performance., Wilt also had games of 15 and 16 field goals without a miss.. In his mid-forties, he was able to humble rookie Magic Johnson in practice. NBA rules didn't allow players who hadn't finished college, though, so Wilt signed up with the Globetrottters. When was . Wilts coach at Kansas, Dr. Phog Allen, was advocating for twelve foot rims while Wilt was in college. That was no problem for Wilt because he just went to whatever side was necessary and, As a Kansas Track and Field athlete, Wilt threw the shot put 56 feet, which probably lengthened as his career went on, Wilt was mad that some guy wouldnt stop trying to take Wilts spot for the next round of volleyball, so he takes the man, who weighs about 250 pounds, and shot puts him towards the net. This game happens at a moment when the NBAs ascendence, dominance is certainly not inevitable. The news was as stunning and jarring as one of his typical NBA box scores. To celebrate, CLNS and FanDuel are giving players $200 when they bet $5. A player never leaving the court for an entire season is insanity. Want a digest of WHYYs programs, events & stories? 8. In an unusually modest conversation Chamberlain joins Charlie Rose to discuss his new book. It's unbelievable how fast Wilt was at 7'1 and 290-310 lbs. The 76ers to kick off the season with a nationally televised away game against defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Boston Celtics, on Oct. 18. Wilt Chamberlain had held 72 NBA records, according to NBA.com. On March 2, 1962 exactly 60 years ago the legendary Philadelphia Warriors center scored 100 points in a single game. The story goes that Wilt Chamberlain wanted to fight the narrative that he was a selfish player so he decided that he wanted to lead the league in assists, so he did. Wilt must have been bored during the end of basketball, because the thought crossed his mind for him to think, Man, I should play pro volleyball but it happened. As a Kansas track and field athlete, Wilt ran a sub-eleven second 100m, a forty-nine second 400m in baggy sweats, and a 1:58.3 second 800m. The fact that he scored 100 not 103 or 99 has always stood out and imbued [the record] with something I cant quite put my finger on. 96 The yellow ride, called Searcher One, was built for Chamberlain in 1996 at a reported cost of $750,000. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Instead of facing triple teams his senior season in college, Wilt signed a one year contract with the Harlem Globetrotters. Youre not going to get a shot off in the first half. And he kept the promise blocking all nine of Walters shot attempts. Together we can reach 100% of WHYYs fiscal year goal. The club was finally closed in 1986. After his 11-year career ended, Hairston. The younger ones werent playing at HoF level yet, but when your opponents are that stacked and you can keep a series within a couple points year after year, without anywhere near that kind of help, that is impressive. Wilt used to work at a hotel as a bellhop and sometimes people would pull up with flat tires but had no jack. Often times the day would end with Breakfast dances at 8 am. Wilt didn't sleep the night before he scored 100. There was a quota in the NBA that owners in the league limited the number of opportunities for Black players to just one or two per team initially, and then three [or] four. Wilt passed away on October 12, 1999, at the age of 63. Eddie Gottlieb was the owner of the Philadelphia Warriors. But based on the athletes I've seen play, it's Michael Jordan. Harvey Pollack, the Sixers Director of Statistical Information joined the NBA in 1946-47, keeping statistics for all of the Warriors and Sixers home games. and our People forget, Wilt led the NBA in total assists in the 1967-68 season. Cookie Notice Thirty seven years after he retired at the age of 37, Chamberlains name appears in the NBAs record book a whopping 97 times. Wilt. (Im 99% sure he meant backboards for a ten foot rim) That height is about 13.5 feet from the ground and Wilt could clear it. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Insane speed of Wilt Chamberlain . I saw those cool underhanded free throws and his no-look passes to the cutting teammates. Wilt won. Wilt Chamberlain was the greatest athlete the world had ever seen and he doesn't let you forget it. The lane was widened from 6 to 12 feet to make it more difficult for players such as Wilt to post up and receive a lob pass for an easy two points. Powered by phpBB Forum Software phpBB Limited. This article will compare and contrast these things in order to try to determine who is the best QB of all time. For someone who played as many minutes in as many games as he did, it seems impossible that he never got a little sloppy on defense or encountered a game scenario that required him to hack away, yet here we are. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. In total, I defy you to find an athlete and argue that he is a better athlete than Wilt. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. He played two years (1956-58) at the University of Kansas, after which he joined the Harlem Globetrotters for a year (1958-59). Legend has it that it featured the only working air-conditioning in Harlem. Living in New York during his playing days, Wilt was a regular at Big Small's. He was reed-thin [and] no match for Chamberlain. Most seasons leading the league in minutes: 8, Highest scoring average in a season: 50.4, Most seasons leading the league in field goal percentage: 9, Highest average in rebounds over a career: 22.9, Most free throws made in a game: 28 (and he was an awful free throw shooter). His contributions to volleyball earned him a spot in the sport's Hall of Fame. He wore number 13. Wilt was the strongest guy and best athlete ever to play the game. He averaged 8.8 blocks in those 122 games. When Wilt died, two numbers became the shorthand summary of Wilts life: 20,000 and 100. Wilt picked the two men up by their shirts like two little crackers (not racially charged) in his hands. Each man was about 200 pounds. And if I am not mistaken, I believe he finished his career with a 20 point/22 rebound game or something like that. The NBA needed to make it fair for the other players who didn't have the athletic skills and size. So that meant the Philadelphia Warriors played three games in Hershey that season because Hershey had a big arena, seating nearly 8,000 fans. Even when a player sustains greatness like Harden did, it only serves to highlight the magnitude of the statistical gap between Wilt and everyone else. For comparison with OTHER NBA players who have run these same kinds of races (that unfortunately are no longer the standard distances for Track and Field) here's a collection of their times (many came from 1970's and early 1980's tv series called "superstars" which challenged pro athletes at various events) for some context: 5.8 Shaquille O'Neal (note - in his 30's, @ 340lbs), 100 Yard Dash (slightly shorter than a 100m), 10.00 Elvin Hayes claimed he used to run it at this speed in High School, 220 yard dash (slightly longer than 200m), 300 meter dash (From a Milwaukee Bucks 1970 training camp), 440 yard dash (slightly longer than 400m), note - all three of these guys were competitive Track and Field athletes, 880 yard/half mile race (slightly longer than 800m). I loved the way Chamberlain took charge of the game with one giant swat of the ball or one little fade away while balancing on one leg. A dipper dunk! Chamberlain spent the night before the game in New York, partying all night with a woman. The NBA initiated offensive goaltending, in which players couldn't touch the ball going in a downward trajectory toward the hoop or flick the ball away when it was within the cylinder of the basket. Legend has it that Wilt went up to the University of Kansas track coach and asked if he could compete. Well, in a seven-game series versus Russell, Wilt averaged nearly 29 rebounds per game against him and in the final Game 7, grabbed his 200th of the series., The Sixers lost Game 7 on Sam Jones shot, 110-109.. Note, all of the below times were taken when Wilt was between the ages of 16 and 18: 10.0 100 yard (note: shorter race than the 100 meter), 20.9 220 yard (note: slightly longer than 200 meter - all race lengths below are also longer than their meter counterparts so be careful with comparisons to modern meter races). Oscar Robertson, the great NBA star, would later say that Wilt saves the league. Another observation is how unathletic and unskilled these guys look compared to current day scrubs even, Miles Bridges Expected To Re-Sign With Hornets, Lakers Not Interested In Pursuing Kyrie Irving; Mavericks Optimistic He'll Re-Sign, Sixers Have 'Optimism' Joel Embiid Could Return For Game 2, Celtics Hope To Hire Stephen Silas As Assistant Coach, Jimmy Butler And Tom Thibodeau: Kindred Souls Turned Rivals, Snoop Dog Joins Neko Sparks' Bid To Buy Senators, Joel Eriksson Ek Tried To Play With Broken Leg, Panthers Restricting Tickets Sales To Keep Maple Leafs Fans Out, Marc-Andre Fleury Wants To Stay With Wild, Even As Backup, https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=2046249&start=780#p91917155. Post #1 by 70sFan Thu Jul 1, 2021 10:50 pm . Wilt Chamberlain weighed 275 lbs (124 kg) when playing. It might be the closest thing the NBA has to a single-game record that will never be broken. He had six games with 43 or more, topping out at 55. The Diet of an Athlete | Legends Blog Posted on June 19, 2019, Good Old Boys - Jason Williams & Randy Moss Posted on May 20, 2019, 23 Michael Jordan Stories Posted on October 24, 2018, 10 Greatest High School Basketball Teams of All Time Posted on January 10, 2019, Best Playground Basketball Courts in America Posted on December 30, 2014, Strangest Sports Memorabilia of All Time Posted on December 30, 2015, Biggest NFL Hits of All Time Posted on July 31, 2018, Talent Hot Beds of America Posted on February 25, 2018, Top 10 High School Football Teams Ever Posted on October 27, 2017, Youtube Volume 1 Posted on October 20, 2017. To claim your offer, go to https://fanduel.com/Boston -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- How much did Wilt Chamberlain weigh when playing? Wilt Chamberlain is not the greatest basketball player ever, (he's my third best) but he is a better athlete than any man, woman, or demigod who has ever done what he did. This was Chamberlain, though, and his solution to this conundrum was characteristically over-the-top: he designed and built a fully custom Le Mans-style racecar. The man who once scored 100 points in a single game and claimed to have bedded 20,000 women was a fairly enigmatic figure, though, as his huge athletic gifts made him something of a loner throughout his career. The following year the IVA All-Star game was televised only because Chamberlain played in it. In addition to all these legendary tales, Wilt toured with the Harlem Globetrotters in 1959. (Of course Wilt won the MVP of the game.) Really not a reason for that one. 41 WitBeer forget the video. Imhoff committed six fouls and therefore fouled out of the game after playing just 20 minutes. Wilt Chamberlain PPG 30.1 RPG 22.9 APG 4.4 HEIGHT 7'1" (2.16m) WEIGHT 250lb (113kg) COUNTRY USA LAST ATTENDED Kansas BIRTHDATE August 21, 1936 DRAFT 1959 EXPERIENCE 14 Years Stats Career Per Mode. His seventh straight game of at least 35 points and 50% shooting broke a record set by Chamberlain in 1961 and matched in 1963. The Lakers were playing games in Seattle and in San Francisco. Wilt dominated the paint, taking everything in sight. He goes on to explain how he would lift up Arnold and Andre the Giant with one hand. 11. When the issue of championships comes up, I am reminded of a quote Wilt once gave in an interview (I used to have it on videotape from a documentary on the history of basketball) where he said, "The Boston Celtics had to figure out how to beat Wilt Chamberlain, but I had to figure out how to beat the Boston Celtics." Now, let's look at how efficient Wilt Chamberlain was in the playoffs. All rights reserved. Still Auerbach was a great mentor to Chamberlain at Kutshers during the summer. During an interview for a book called Tall Tales by writer Terry Pluto, former college and NBA player Johnny Kerr admitted that Chamberlain broke his toe with a dunk one time when he was playing against him. 17 year old Wilt Chamberlain CATCHES a shot and runs the fast break Wilt Chamberlain Archive 69.6K subscribers Subscribe 45K 4.4M views 8 years ago This is a rebound, a blocked shot, and 3. Copyright 2023 Legends Clothing Co. | Website builder by Shopify, Comments have to be approved before showing up, On a early summer day in the 1980s Chamberlain decided to play some pick up basketball at UCLA. But the game was played in Hershey because the league was trying to grow new fans. Hall of fame coach Larry Brown retells the rest "Magic Johnson used to run the games and he called a couple of chintzy fouls and a goal tending on Wilt," Brown said. But there are only a few where people actually remember the number involved. While Chamberlain was indeed renowned as an incredible pick-up artist and ladies' man, for him to hit such a lofty number he would have needed to bed 1.2 women a day every single day from the age of 15 until he wrote the book. His number is retired by Kansas, and in the NBA, his number is retired by the teams he played for. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and their up and down relationship and where it went sour. On a early summer day in the 1980s Chamberlain decided to play some pick up basketball at UCLA. He won the Rookie of the Year award, 4 MVP awards, 1 Finals MVP award and 2 NBA championships. Over a four-game stretch in February of 1967, Wilt Chamberlain simply could not miss setting an NBA record by making 35 consecutive shots in that span, including an 1818 performance on February 24th. After he retired from basketball, he played professional volleyball. 1. Battling Illness As a very young child, Chamberlain dealt with a brutal bout of pneumonia which nearly killed him. Harvey Pollack s Most Memorable Wilt Performances. Sometimes you take greatness for granted. Wilt scores, and you hear Campbell leaning forward and screaming into his microphone: He made it! Here are some facts you might not have known about the dipper. He then asked who was next and the guy said You are, Wilt. On the 11th anniversary of his death, a man who was courtside for many of Wilts majestic performances weighs in on a daunting task: ranking Wilts most memorable achievements. Harveys Take: Wilt scored 135 points in a 24 hour span -- 73 against the Bulls and 62 points against the Celtics. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Legendary NBA center who was a 13-time All-Star, 4-time MVP, and 2-time NBA Champion; scored 100 points in a single game on March 2, 1962 while playing for the Philadelphia Warriors. Wilt ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds, threw the shot-put 56 feet, he triple jumped 50 feet, and he won the Big Eight high jump three straight years." James' junior season high school football stats were indeed solid. Yes. As a Kansas Track and Field athlete, Wilt won the Big 8 (which is now the Big XII) championships three years running by high jumping upwards of 50 inches on the high jump. There are a lot of greats to choose from, all of whom are Hall of Famers. I traveled with the Warriors during these peak years when Wilt was dropping 50 or more points. "He would a tricep extesion, the biggest strongest guys would do 120 and he would come and do 150, 170 pounds.". When I went to the free-throw line, my legs were still shaking. Half-filled in the famous chocolate town of Hershey. Wilt Chamberlain had more competition back in his day than there is today. Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest ATHLETE of all time, and its not even close. The other, more experienced player was named Phil Jordon. Mark Tulin (author) from Long Beach, California on May 21, 2020: Wonderful information, Jake. How good was Wilt Chamberlain really? Wilt wasn't just a basketball player. According to Don Cherry's biography Wilt: Larger than Life, legendary boxing trainer and promoter Cus D'Amato approached Chamberlain in 1965 with a lucrative offer to box heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali. What do you, the writer of this article, think of Wilt Chamberlain's endurance? There are game tapes of him going up for a block and his fingers are parallel to the top of the backboard. But we dont have a complete audio or video record of this incredible game. I was lucky to see both play and didn't realize how amazing they were until I looked back. He had no fear. It's still the signature record in basketball history. Chamberlain averaged 22.9 for his career. Since they were practicing on the rims, Wilt was able to use his God-given talent and dunk the basketball on those rims. Wilt owned a famous nightclub in NY during the 60s and 70s. Despite competing and excelling in both sprinting and throwing, these were not his best events. There are multiple stories of Wilts strength. It was in 1971, though, that it looked like this throwdown was really going to finally happen. How fast did Wilt Chamberlain run the 100 yard? Wilt Chamberlain was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a Player in 1979 . He played occasional matches for the IVA Seattle Smashers before the league folded in 1979. He became the first (and . But later in life, he realized that when he walked down the street, people would point at him and say, There goes the guy that scored 100 points.. The fans are rushing the floor.. I idolized him growing up as a kid in Philadelphia, his hometown. Its easy to imagine a future legend take the league by storm and erupt for a huge game in his first season, but the fact that so few freshmen have even come close to Wilts mark makes it seem very unlikely. The story goes that Wilt Chamberlain wanted to fight the narrative that he was a selfish player so he decided that he wanted to lead the league in assists, so he did. So they did what any two athletes would do and they went outside, took their shoes off and raced. 5. I saw the team win a championship for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967. I decided to use only NBA clips, without more famous college footage. Harveys Take: Often overlooked in the enormity of Wilts scoring records was his ability as a passer. He then wrote and sold a story titled "Why I'm forgoing my senior year of basketball" to Look magazine for 10,000 dollars (most NBA players made 9,000 at the time). WHYY host Avi Wolfman-Arent revisited that historic night with sportswriter Gary Pomerantz, the author of Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era.. Well, its possible when you literally never leave the floor and a few of the games go into overtime. Back in 1962, it was more of a lounge act a league in search of itself, a carnival kind of atmosphere. So Im going to attempt to keep them brief. The club was located in Los Angeles and was ran by UCLA assistant coach Bob Kersee. [6] He was the star player for the Overbrook Panthers basketball team, wearing jersey number 5. Known for shooting a fake horse with a fake gun. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979. Putting him through countless basketball drills and explaining the ins and outs of life. Wilt spent his High School summers at Kutshers resort. Harveys Take: To give you some perspective, Wilt scored 50 or more points 118 times in his illustrious career. Though Wilt Chamberlain mainly added value to his teams as a scorer, it looks like he wasn't much of a playoff scorer at all. " He would jump off the roof on top of the garage, or jump from one barn across to another. At the time, the average NBA player made less than $10,000 a season, while Wilt's deal guaranteed him $65,000 each year. 3. However, Ali dropped the Frazier fight for his first professional loss, and Chamberlain ended up backing out at the last minute thanks to an escape clause in his contract. What Wilt did was shatter that quota the whole notion that this league would be a white mans enclave. Now, its exploding lights and flash and glamour. Not anymore. Throw that into his assist average being the best ever for a center, plus his points, plus his rebounds, and you've got even more numbers that would never be touched. This game was played in Hershey, Pennsylvania, between a team from New York and a team from Philadelphia. Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player to ever live. Not even Wilt himself came within 6 PPG of his record 50.4 PPG in 196162 and the leagues most elite scorers of the past half century have come no closer than Michael Jordans 37.1 PPG in 198687. Jones. When asked about the incident, one of the men said that the cart weighed about 600 lbs. Walter said Hello Mr. Chamberlain. Wilts 100-point game [also] carries important symbolism. Wilts line from that game 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists. Wilt went out and put on an Olympic-worthy performance. Just to name a few: Most seasons leading the league in minutes: 8 Most points in a game: 100 Highest scoring average in a season: 50.4 Most seasons leading the league in field goal percentage: 9 Highest average in rebounds over a career: 22.9 FILE - Wilt Chamberlain, of the Philadelphia Warriors, holds a sign reading "100" in the dressing room in Hershey, Pa., March 2, 1962, after he scored 100 points, as the Warriors defeated the New York Knicks. Phillies fans who booked trips to Clearwater for Spring Training frustrated by MLB lockout. Theres Joe DiMaggios 56-game hitting streak. He learned when he was 34 years old. There are some recordings of the fourth quarter. 2. Now if a player just looks at a star the wrong way, he gets called for a foul!! Imagine any center today leading the NBA in assists. Harveys Take: Another away home game, this time it took place in Bethlehem, Pa. Wilt scores 58 points and a little less than a month later he did it in New York versus the Knicks. Where it all began for Wilt: Overbrook High School at 59th and Lancaster Avenue in West Philadelphia. For whatever reason the players started playfully shoving each other and two of them set for Wilt. Wilt Chamberlain was the greatest athlete the world had ever seen and he doesn't let you forget it. (AP Photo/Paul Vathis, File). In our culture, the number 100 is a century. What we have is the fourth-quarter play-by-play call of WCAU sportscaster Bill Campbell. Wilt won again. Chamberlain won 25-10; Born was so dejected that he gave up a promising NBA future and became a tractor engineer ("If there were high school kids that good, I figured I wasn't going to make it to the pros"). I loved Wilt. Go behind the headlines: From the economy and healthcare to politics and the environment - and so much more - On Point talks with newsmakers and real people about the issues that matter most. We already had the top 10 amazing facts on Chamberlain on the channel, and in this video, we'll try to further debunk the myth that is Wilt the Stilt. Wilt actually averaged 48.5 minutes per game that season. Wilt was big 8 high jump and shot put champion in college. Quarterback is the most important position in football. That's completely insane. A record that still stands to this day. All while sleeping with all of your grandmas. Chamberlain and Arnold also had several different encounters in the weight room. "This is a very old team," he says, "and we are simply not much of a fast-breaking team . Wilt was playing against a good player named Walter Bellamy. While it depends on the type of athlete, most have pretty unique diets compared to the average joe. Besides that, there are recordings of 122 of Wilt's games, mostly at the end of his career. Phillies fans traveling to Clearwater, FL for Spring Training are frustrated by the MLBs lockout and cancellation of games. Imagine a player doing that for an entire season. On Kindle books. In which he out jumped all of Kansas current high jumpers. " to imply that the number was actually more like 2,000. How about a triple double double! Mark Tulin (author) from Long Beach, California on June 09, 2020: Spud, I dont know for sure, but it wouldnt surprise me. For crying out loud Ben Wallace floored a Miami shaq with a clean block, imagine 7'1", 7'8" wingspan, 300 pound l wilt who could bench 500 (550 after he retired) jump between 43 and 49 inches in the air, supposedly run the 40 in 4.5 seconds against shaq, it would be a block party. No matter where he went, Philly, LA, or with the Harlem Globetrotters, he dominated. mczellers1@gmail.com on February 18, 2019: I look at how the refs favor the current superstars in the NBA, I have to think it was not so for Wilt, some or maybe many called a very tight game and may have favored lesser players from time to time!