After his 11-year career ended, Hairston. 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. Here is a clip of Wilt playing volleyball. The 21 assists was a Sixers single-game assist mark for many years. Powered by phpBB Forum Software phpBB Limited. 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. After losing in the finals of the NCAA tournament during his junior year at Kansas, Wilt wanted to make the leap to the NBA. He was reed-thin [and] no match for Chamberlain. Phillies fans traveling to Clearwater, FL for Spring Training are frustrated by the MLBs lockout and cancellation of games. He had six games with 43 or more, topping out at 55. The most dominant player the NBA has ever seen died 11 years ago today. Top notch work. But based on the athletes I've seen play, it's Michael Jordan. The second highest total is Michael Jordan with 31. What Chamberlain craved, though, was speed. Wilt was getting on an elevator while two delivery men were having trouble lifting a cart. Wilt Chamberlain weighed 275 lbs (124 kg) when playing. Wilt won. Harveys Take: Look up in the NBA Guide and youll find Wilt has four of the top highest single-game performances. It's unbelievable how fast Wilt was at 7'1 and 290-310 lbs. Chamberlains single-season scoring record is so out of reach that only one player Michael Jordan in 198687 has even come within 1,000 points of it. WHYY provides trustworthy, fact-based, local news and information and world-class entertainment to everyone in our community. Chamberlain even thought about a return to competition. Mark Tulin (author) from Long Beach, California on May 21, 2020: Wonderful information, Jake. Bernard King did it back to back 50s -- versus San Antonio and Dallas in 1984. This game happens at a moment when the NBAs ascendence, dominance is certainly not inevitable. Its a cold Friday night in early March. Mark Tulin (author) from Long Beach, California on January 29, 2019: Very true, Mouser. Cookie Notice Imagine what he would have been doing in his prime. Red Auerbach the coach of the Boston Celtics spotted the talented teenager at Kutsher's and had him play 1-on-1 against Kansas University star and MVP of the 1953 NCAA Finals, BH Born. The biggest misconception on Wilt is that he dominated because the game had no competition, which is just wrong and. Wilt was at a party with legendary NFL running back Jim Brown when they got into an argument about who is faster. - Wilt Chamberlain: Borscht Belt Bellhop, 6. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. He was the only player the rules of the game were changed for. 10.9 seconds It shows that he was athletic, he was versatile. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. No player has had more than 26 rebounds since 1977, so Wilts playoff single-game record of 41 seems pretty safe as well. Wilt owned a famous nightclub in NY during the 60s and 70s. 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. It wasnt No one knew if the NBA was going to be launched into the stratosphere, as it has been in the decades that followed. A career 51 percent free throw shooter, Wilt made 28 of 32 attempts. Renamed Big Wilts Smalls Paradise, after Chamberlain purchased the club. He made it! (AP Photo/Paul Vathis, File). The average center in Wilt's prime was taller and heavier than they are now. Post #1 by 70sFan Thu Jul 1, 2021 10:50 pm . On Kindle books. I grew up watching Wilt and I went to several games at the Spectrum. As a small boy, I marveled at Wilt Chamberlain, admired his athletic prowess, fantasized about being him, taking finger rolls and dipper dunks in my homemade basketball court. And Wilts impact resonates to this day. The primary knock against Ayton is that he wants more. Located in the basement of 2294 Seventh Avenue near 135th Street in Harlem, New York City. At Overbrook High School in West Philadelphia, he was an avid track and field star: He high jumped 6 feet, 6 inches; ran the 440 yards in 49.0 seconds and the 880 yards in 1:58.3; propelled the shot put 53 feet, 4 inches; and broad jumped 22 feet. 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. Wilt used to work at a hotel as a bellhop and sometimes people would pull up with flat tires but had no jack. 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. When was . 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 Speed of Wilt Chamberlain - YouTube 0:00 / 1:23 The Speed of Wilt Chamberlain jaranarm 3.5K subscribers 3.2K 411K views 9 years ago Weighing anywhere from 250 to 310 pounds the 7'1". The only one that I can't figure out is how they lost against the Knicks. In an unusually modest conversation Chamberlain joins Charlie Rose to discuss his new book. He became the first (and . Well, as Wilt would tell it, the night before the game as with most nights he was with a woman. A man of 2.16 meters for 120 kilos capable of running as fast as D'Aaron Fox and jumping as high as . 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. I idolized him growing up as a kid in Philadelphia, his hometown. That's completely insane. 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. There wasn't anything he couldn't do in sports. To me, Wilt Chamberlain was the Greatest Athlete of all times. There are a lot of records in sports maybe too many records. He faced Boston Celtic teams one of which had either 11 or 13 HoF players on it at the same time. "Just to be in the record books along with staples in basketball . A record that still stands to this day. Wilt was the strongest guy and best athlete ever to play the game. Wilt came with a body and an ego perfectly sculpted for dominating this game. Its launched into the imagination. To put that into perspective, if you go to an NBA game right now, youre not going to see twelve foot rims, youre going to see ten foot rims. The club featured dancing waiters and waiters on roller skates. In which he out jumped all of Kansas current high jumpers. Living in New York during his playing days, Wilt was a regular at Big Small's. And then theres Wilt Chamberlain. 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." No one had as much impact in professional sports as Wilt. Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest ATHLETE of all time, and its not even close. No player has come within 20 of Chamberlains regular season single-game record of 55 since Charles Oakley grabbed 35 boards in 1988. Yes. I loved Wilt. Why was this game in Hershey, and what does that tell us about the state of the NBA in 1962? Jim was mad and raced Wilt again. After he retired from basketball, he played professional volleyball. Chamberlain immediately became the team's top draw; who wouldn't want to watch a seven-footer play shooting guard? One of my favorites was when he scored 78 points against the Lakers in a triple overtime game. 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. 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. 7. All content 2000-2023 RealGM, L.L.C. The book contains 330 pages of historical and current NBA statistics and is a must for any diehard NBA fan. Wallace_Wallace Assistant Coach Posts: 3,971 And1: 4,900 Joined: Jul 28 . and our In a 76ers game against the Warriors, he didn't shoot the ball the ENTIRE game. This game was not televised. But safest of all rebounding records may be his 2,149 in the 196061 season. Chamberlain's presence brought enough attention to the league that the IVA's All-Star game was televised. One hundred for the 100-point game in Hershey, and 20,000 for his myth-makers boast that he had slept with 20,000 women. 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. That game proved one thing to the NBA brain trust, that they can't let one man dominate a game inside the way Wilt Chamberlain had been doing. Answer: Absolutely. Wilt Chamberlain, who played with the 76ers, was one. After his basketball career, volleyball became Chamberlain's new passion. His dominance of his sport was overwhelming. I was heartbroken when he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the early '70s. Phillies fans who booked trips to Clearwater for Spring Training frustrated by MLB lockout. WHYY thanks our sponsors become a WHYY sponsor, Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era.. When asked about the incident, one of the men said that the cart weighed about 600 lbs. There are game tapes of him going up for a block and his fingers are parallel to the top of the backboard. And I think hes right. Privacy Policy. It might be the closest thing the NBA has to a single-game record that will never be broken. For more information, please see our Duane Morris investigation into Central Bucks finds no discrimination against LGBTQ students, Shapiro signs first bill, expands Pa. health insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings, 3 unions at Rutgers University have reached tentative agreements. A piece of my Philadelphia childhood died when the greatest athlete of all time had fallen. For context, Wilt Chamberlain was 71, and 236 lbs. He wore number 13. Is Wilt Chamberlain in the Hall of Fame? They cleaned the glass in the 60s at a level that has and never will be seen again. Who is the greatest NBA player ever? Before you look away and start commenting, let me explain. Youre not going to get a shot off in the first half. And he kept the promise blocking all nine of Walters shot attempts. WHYY offers a voice to those not heard, a platform to share everyones stories, a foundation to empower early and lifelong learners and a trusted space for unbiased news. He became board member of the newly founded International Volleyball Association in 1974 and became its president one year later. Often times the day would end with Breakfast dances at 8 am. He beat the immortal NFL player, Jim Brown, in a race, when he played with the Harlem Globetrotters. Wilt played against a bevy of hall of fame big men. Half-filled in the famous chocolate town of Hershey. So they did what any two athletes would do and they went outside, took their shoes off and raced. 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. When the Los Angeles Lakers got Wilt Chamberlain (see cover) in a trade last summer, the immediate popular supposition was that they had dealt themselves a . Meschery got it again, faked again, and got it blocked again. After Lunch he boarded the team bus to Hershey. Starting in the 1970s, he formed Wilt's Athletic Club. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Mark Tulin (author) from Long Beach, California on February 18, 2019: Absolutely. Theres Joe DiMaggios 56-game hitting streak. Insane speed of Wilt Chamberlain . Against the Knicks, Wilt took 63 of the teams 115 field goal attempts and made 36 of them. It also had a reputation of closing well into the AM. Pixabay 4. 3. Wilt went out and put on an Olympic-worthy performance. He also played Volleyball after his NBA career, and became a star. It scared the hell out of me. But there are only a few where people actually remember the number involved. But we dont have a complete audio or video record of this incredible game. '5 Things You Didn't Know About' appears every Friday. He became the first (and still only) center to lead the league in total assists with 702 in 196768 for an average of 8.6, which remains the single-season record for the position. Hannum was convinced it would have been the 180lb guard Al Attles but it turned out to be the (at the time 300lbs) Wilt Chamberlain Dave DeBusschere, Terry Dischinger, Joe Strawder all tried to stop Wilt that game and it was pointless. Back then their was far more talent inside. He participated in high jump, long jump, and even broad jump, but excelled in the 100 yard-dash, and the 400 metre. That's hilarious. When Wilt died, two numbers became the shorthand summary of Wilts life: 20,000 and 100. Wilt was playing against a good player named Walter Bellamy. Rulemakers also banned the practice of lobbing the ball in from the baseline directly over the backboard so a player like Chamberlain couldn't catch it near the basket in position for an easy score. WHYY thanks our sponsors become a WHYY sponsor. Jones. On a early summer day in the 1980s Chamberlain decided to play some pick up basketball at UCLA. Enraged and frustrated, the Seattle player ran up to Chamberlain swinging. There are some recordings of the fourth quarter. 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.. Fans wanted to see Wilt. While anyone can get hot on any given night, with the continuing rise of the less efficient three-pointer (even among big men) its becoming less and less likely that someone gets 1818 hot. He had a Goliath syndrome. Wilt Chamberlain is not the greatest basketball player ever, (hes my third best) but he is a better athlete than any man, woman, or demigod who has ever done what he did. Amid so many sports records, why does this milestone still resonate? Hall of fame coach Larry Brown retells the rest, Good Old Boys - Jason Williams & Randy Moss, 10 Greatest High School Basketball Teams of All Time, Best Playground Basketball Courts in America. 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. He won the Rookie of the Year award, 4 MVP awards, 1 Finals MVP award and 2 NBA championships. In 1967, Wilt decided to prove a point. 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. The spot in Harlem was frequented by the elite during the 60s and 70s. 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). Chamberlain was notorious for always seeking out a new challenge, but he missed out on one that became one of the great "what if? He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979. Aside from being one of the strongest players in the league, Wilt was rumored to be one of the fastest men on the planet. Imhoff committed six fouls and therefore fouled out of the game after playing just 20 minutes. How much did Wilt Chamberlain weigh when playing?
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