1 100100WONDERS W ilt Chamberlain was one of the first true superstars of the National Basketball Association NBA Standing 7 feet 1 inch tall Wilt the Stilt towered over most opponents But Chamberlain was more than just a big guy He was an athlete During his college career at the University of Kansas he was a member of the track and basketball teams Chamberlain even won the high jump in the Big Eight Conference track meet three times Wilt Chamberlain used his height advantage and athletic skill to dominate his opponents 4
Chamberlain saved his best jumping for the basketball court He made an instant impact when he joined the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA for the 1959 60 season He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after averaging 37 6 points per game the most ever by a first-year player But Chamberlain was just getting started By his fifth year he was the best player in the NBA One night in 1962 he made history Even though Chamberlain was famous the Warriors had trouble getting fans to come to their games A few times a year they would play home games in Hershey Pennsylvania a smaller city two hours west of Philadelphia Most games were not televised back then And only 4,124 people made it into the Hershey Sports Arena on that rainy Friday night of March 2 1962 Those fans were the only witnesses to Chamberlain’s historic performance The Warriors were facing the rival New York Knicks The Knicks were missing center Phil Jordon who was out with the flu That meant backups Darrall Imhoff and Cleveland Buckner were left to guard Chamberlain The matchup was a mismatch Chamberlain scored 23 points in the first quarter The total jumped to 41 by halftime The Knicks tried to guard Chamberlain with two players He kept right on shooting He poured in 28 points in the third quarter That gave him 79 for the game That was already more than the record 78 points he scored in a three-overtime game against the 6
Fans and teammates pour onto the court to congratulate Wilt Chamberlain after the Philadelphia Warriors center scored his 100th point of the night on March 2 1962 Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the season Philadelphia lost to the Lakers that night Chamberlain made sure it did not happen again The crowd chanted Give it to Wilt and the Warriors kept passing to their star The Knicks tried everything to stop Chamberlain They even fouled other Philadelphia players to keep the ball out of Chamberlain’s hands Nothing worked Chamberlain was in the zone He did most of his damage close to the hoop naturally But he even hit a few long jump shots and fadeaways His thirty-sixth 7
