With the recent anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game, there became a need to look a little bit deeper at this accomplishment.
Since it took place during the 1961-62 NBA season, the coverage and reporting of this feat was much different than what we are used to seeing today.
Common knowledge and several reports write off this achievement as just something that happened because Chamberlain was 7 feet, one inches tall. I don't believe the man is getting his just due as a basketball player and all around talent. He was so much more than just tall, he was a world class athlete in a perfectly built body.
A native of Philadelphia, he was an incredible combination of speed, strength, size and ability. Maybe one of the most imposing blends of physical characteristics the sports scene has ever witnessed. While in college at Kansas, he ran the 440-yard dash in under 50 seconds. At a time when the world record was just over 7 feet, Wilt high jumped 6 feet, 7 inches. He also covered over 53 feet with the shot put and was able to long jump 23 feet. His strength, balance and agility enabled him to dead lift over 600 pounds.
Upon entering the NBA - a year after he played for the Harlem Globetrotters, which required even more skill, talent and ability - Chamberlain dominated immediately by recording totals of 37.6 points per game and 27 rebounds per game. These are hardly totals that can be written off because of his size when compiled over 72 games against professionals.
Entering the 1961-62 season, Wilt had improved upon his numbers even more from his rookie campaign and was poised to set records. There was foreshadowing that something monumental was coming. This was not a freakish event, a one night anomaly.
Early in the 1961-62 season, Chamberlain set the single-game scoring record with 78 points in a triple-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the three games leading up to the record breaking night, Chamberlain scored 67, 65 and 61 points.
Only twice during the entire season (80 games!) was Chamberlain held under 30 points, both times by the Boston Celtics' Bill Russell.
So while scoring 100 points was incredible and beyond imagination at the time, it was within the realm of Chamberlain's game.
In those days, the NBA often scheduled doubleheaders in neutral sites in order to jump start attendance and bring attention to the league. So one night in Hershey, PA, in front of a sparse crowd that had the Baltimore Colts (featuring Gino Marchetti) and Philadelphia Eagles (with Sonny Jurgensen) basketball squads playing the lead in game, Wilt dropped 100 points on the last place Knicks.
As Wilt lived in New York and commuted to his home games in Philadelphia, he often drove his Cadillac to games. So yet again on this night, after posing for the famous hand written, hand held sign indicating "100", he climbed back into his Cadillac with a friend from the Knicks and drove back to Harlem to check in on his night club and party until 8 am. In other words, just another night for Wilt.
So we should marvel at 100 points, we should stand amazed still over his talents and skills as a basketball player and athlete. We should celebrate his accomplishments and recognize the ability that goes into achieving the individual game, season, and career moments that Chamberlain provided us. We should not write these off to just "being tall" and we should find a way to correct Wilt who was quoted as saying, "Nobody roots for Goliath."
All this because I know more about nothing...
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