Once I was in line at Gelsons and I heard a big voice coming from over my head. I turned to look at the guy behind me and I was looking at Wilt Chamberlain’s belt buckle.
Plus he had to sleep with 10 women that night. Made for a long day. Even Laz wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Stuff of legend.
Talk about a record of our lifetimes, like Roger Maris’s 61 homers.
“Yo Wilt, I’m open.”
Wilt Chamberlain: The reason the hoop was raised to 10ft.
Wilt Chamberlain/Bill Russell matchups were the best basketball ever.
I used to watch him playing volleyball in the sand at Manhattan Beach back in 1971 and 1972. That is how he stayed in shape in the off season. He went to the volley ball court and put his name on the list of people waiting to play, just like everybody else. When one of the two player team lost a game, the next two names on the list went in and played until they lost. Wilt Chamberlain and his Joe Sixpack team mate were out on that sand all day long.
In any list of most dominant athletes, Chamberlain is in the top 3 with Gretzky, Ruth. You can debate the order but the records he set were incredible. As it turns out, he was also a really bright guy, extremely well read and reasoned. The stories about him are legendary.
And in his entire career, he never fouled out.
Wilt was a incredible athlete, and didn't like to sit out games. In fact, in this 61-62 season, he sat out 8 minutes total. The entire season. Unreal. He average 48.5 minutes that year; he reached over 48 because of a few overtime games.
He average 45..8 minutes per game over his career. He never took a day off, and had to be in great shape for that.
Is it just a coincidence that Philadelphia’s Athletics and Warriors ended up in Oakland?