‘Wilt the Stilt’ dead at 63
By Ken Peters
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Wilt Cham
berlain, a center so big, agile and
dominant that he forced basket
ball to change its rules and the
only player to score 100 points in
an NBA game, died Tuesday at
63.
Chamberlain’s body was found
by authorities who were called to
his Bel-Air home shortly after
noon PDT, said John Black, a Los
Angeles Lakers spokesman.
There were signs that Cham
berlain might have had a heart at
tack, fire department spokesman
Jim Wells said. Chamberlain was
hospitalized with an irregular
heartbeat in 1992, and his agent,
Sy Goldberg, said the Hall of
Famer was on medication.
Known as “Wilt the Stilt” and
“The Big Dipper,” the 7-foot-l
Chamberlain starred in the NBA
from 1959 through 1973, when he
played for the Philadelphia (later
the San Francisco) Warriors,
76ers and Lakers. He later stirred
controversy with boasts of his
sexual exploits.
Chamberlain scored 31,419
points during his career, a record
until Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke
it in 1984. Chamberlain, who
never fouled out in 1,205 regular
season and playoff games, holds
the record for career rebounding
with 23,924.
“Wilt was one of the greatest
ever, and we will never see an
other one like him,” Abdul-Jabbar
said.
Chamberlain, who began his
professional career with the
Harlem Globetrotters in 1958,
was one of only two men to win
the MVP and rookie of the year
awards in the same season (1959
60). He was also MVP in 1966
through 1968. He led the NBA in
scoring seven straight seasons,
1960-66, and led the league in re
bounding 11 of his 14 seasons.
He was such a force that the
NBA changed some of its rules,
including widening the lane to
try to keep him farther from the
basket.
One of his most famous records
is the 100 points he scored in the
Philadelphia Warriors’ 169-147
defeat of the New York Knicks on
March 2,1962, in Hershey, Pa.
“I spent 12 years in his armpits,
and I always carried that 100
point game on my shoulders,”
Darrall Imhoff, the former Knicks
center, said Tuesday.
“After I got my third foul, I said
to one of the officials, Willy
Smith, ’Why don’t you just give
him 100 points and we’ll all go
home?’ Well, we did.”
Chamberlain also holds the
single-game record for rebounds,
55, against Boston in 1960.
He averaged 30.1 points a game
in his career, including a record
50.4 in the 1961-62 season with
Philadelphia. He also was one of
the most versatile big men ever,
leading the league in assists with
702 in 1967-68.
He led his team into the play
offs 13 times, winning two world
championships. The first came in
1966-67 with the Philadelphia
76ers, the second in 1971-72 with
the Lakers, which won a record
33 straight games.
His teams lost in the finals four
other times and were beaten in
the conference final six times.
Bill Russell and the Boston
Celtics almost always seemed to
be the nemesis of Chamberlain
led teams, beating them twice in
the championship series and five
times in the conference finals.
Three times, a series was decided
by a seventh game that Boston
won by either one or two points.
“Wilt Chamberlain had a great
deal to do with the success of the
NBA,” said Red Auerbach, coach
of those great Celtics. “His domi
nance, power, demeanor and the
rivalry with Bill Russell says it
all.”
Long after his career ended,
Chamberlain made news by
claiming in an autobiography that
he had had sex with 20,000
women.
“The women who I have been
the most attracted to, the most in
love with, I’ve pushed away the
strongest,” the lifelong bachelor
said in a 1991 interview with The
Associated Press. “There are
about five women I can think of I
could have married. I cared for
them a lot, but not enough to
make a commitment.”
Before his death from AIDS in
1993, Arthur Ashe was critical of
sexually promiscuous athletes
like Chamberlain, saying the be
havior reinforced racist stereo
types.
Ashe added that he didn’t be
lieve Chamberlain’s claim, con
cluding, “I felt more pity than sor
row for Wilt as his macho
accounting backfired on him in
the form of a wave of public criti
cism.”
Wilton Norman Chamberlain
was born on Aug. 21, 1936, in
Philadelphia. He didn’t begin
playing basketball until he was in
the seventh grade. He grew 4
inches in three months when he
was 15, and was 6-11 when he
entered Philadelphia’s Overbrook
High School.
After leading Overbrook to
three public school champi
onships and two all-city titles,
Chamberlain became one of the
most recruited players ever with
over 200 colleges interested.
He chose the University of
Kansas and Hall of Fame coach
Phog Allen. In his first game
against the Kansas varsity —
freshmen weren’t allowed to
compete against other teams then
— he scored 50 points before a
packed Allen Fieldhouse crowd
of more than 15,000.
The next year, Chamberlain
scored 52 points against North
western in his first game, a total
he never surpassed in college,
partly because of zone defenses
designed to keep him from get
ting the ball.
As a sophomore, he led the
1957 Jayhawks to the NCAA tour
nament finals, where Kansas lost
to unbeaten North Carolina in
triple overtime.
Disgusted by being smothered
by the zone defenses, Chamber
lain left Kansas after his junior
year and joined the Globetrotters.
Chamberlain, extremely agile
for his size, ran cross-country in
high school and was an outstand
ing high jumper and shot-putter
at Kansas.
He remained active after his
NBA career and was considered
an outstanding volleyball player.
He also ran in the Honolulu
marathon recently and competed
in a 50-mile race in Canada.
“We’ve lost a giant of a man in
every sense of the word,” NBA
commissioner David Stern said.
“The shadow of accomplishment
he cast over our game is unlikely
ever to be matched.”
In January 1998, Chamberlain
made his first official visit to
Kansas since his college career
ended. His jersey was raised to
the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse.
“I’ve learned in life that you
have to take the bitter with the
sweet, and how sweet this is,”
Chamberlain said at the ceremo
ny.
He seemed genuinely surprised
at how much he was loved by the
rabid Kansas fans, especially after
staying away for 40 years.
“Forty years ago I lost a heart
breaking battle, losing to North
Carolina by one point in triple
overtime,” he told the crowd. “It
was a devastating thing for me be
cause I felt like I let the university
down, I let KU down.”
The crowd interrupted, yelling,
“No, no,” before resuming anoth
er standing ovation. His huge
hand brushed his cheek as he
paused again, drowned out by
more applause.
i nomas owns up to UBA role
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Isiah Thomas isn’t going to
change the 54-year-old Continental Basketball Asso
ciation much in his first year as owner. But he is going
to dress it up a little.
Thomas, speaking in Fort Wayne on Tuesday on his
first of nine stops in a league tour, said he plans to trans
form the National Basketball Association’s official de
velopment league from one that’s just been surviving
year-to-year to one that has a long-term plan for success*.
“We don’t plan to change too much of anything'op
a league-wide standpoint,” Thomas said, “We want to
enhance, the game, We want to enhance the flavor of
the fan experience and what he or she feels when they
come into the building.”
The former Detroit Pistons and Indiana Hoosiers star
officially became majority owner of the nine-team league
last week after league owners approved the sale. Wash
ington state has one CBA team, the Yakima Sun Kings.
Thomas, who also is negotiating to buy the nine
team International Basketball Association, plans to
reorganize the CBA from an association with 40 own
ers into a single entity league.
He’s also talked about instituting a dress code and
about eliminating the double-team defense in CBA
play to speed up games.
“We want to give you quality and really service you.
Those are the things that you’ll probably notice, a big
difference in the type of service and quality that we pro
vide you on a night-in and night-out basis,” he said.
Fort Wayne Fury coach Keith Smart, who also
played on one of Bob Knight’s national championship
squads, said he expects the new owner to bring in a
sense of professionalism and class, something he said
'* both of them learned at IU.
“One of the things he’s going to bring and what he’s
brought every plkce he’s gone is a championship atti
tude, and trying to make the league or teams or what
have you look more corporate,” Smart said. “He just
wants to bring that to a new level.”
Thomas also said making Indiana the first stop of his
tour was a natural starting point after his career at IU.
“I grew up here,” he said. “I came here as a young
kid and had I not gone to Indiana, there was no way I
would’ve had the type of success that I’ve enjoyed and
there’s no way I would have become the type of person
that I’ve become. Thank God I didn’t go to Purdue. ’ ’
The Associated Press
Hartmann
Continued from Page 7
The connection between both of
those schools is Oregon head
coach Martin Smith, who coached
at Wisconsin from 1983-1998.
Smith’s up-front approach was a
main factor in determining Hart
mann’s choice.
“Coach Smith was blunt with
me and didn’t do any B.S.-ing,”
Hartmann said. “He came right
out and told me that Oregon
would be a good fit for me. Plus,
the Wisconsin coach learned from
Coach Smith, so you might as well
learn from the teacher.”
Smith knew that he was dealing
with a hot item and was just hop
ing for a chance to attract Hart
mann toward Eugene.
“Jason appreciates and respects
you if you can shoot straight with
him,” Smith said. “I simply shared
with him the strengths and weak
nesses that Oregon had for him,
and he responded positively.”
Hartmann’s first visit to Eugene
convinced him to join Oregon’s
rich running history.
“I knew right away that this was
a place where I could excel both
academically and athletically,”
Hartmann said. “I’m still in awe of
everything as I walk around. It
hasn’t really hit me yet that I’m
here.”
Hartmann is no stranger to the
spotlight as he exploded onto the
cross country scene as a sopho
more at talent-rich Rockford High
School. As a sophomore, he
placed sixth at the state harrier
meet (15 minutes, 56.45 seconds).
He followed that with his first
state individual title (16:17.10)
during his junior year, which
guided his team to a runner-up fin
ish.
Both of those races set up his se
nior finale, when he smoked the
rest of the field by 19 seconds in
his 14:52 course-record time in the
three-mile race, the fastest-ever
state-winning time in Michigan.
Looking back, Hartmann is
quick to thank his father, Tim
Hartmann, for his success.
“In the ninth grade, I was all
about playing basketball,” Hart
mann said. “I had dreams of the
NBA. My dad was looking out for
me, and he knew that basketball
couldn’t take me as far as run
ning.”
Hartmann’s legs have taken him
across the nation to Eugene, and
he does go through the usual
homesickness from time to time.
Helping, though, is sophomore
pole vault hopeful Jared Hegar,
who was Hartmann’s high school
track teammate.
“It’s hard now being away from
Michigan and being all by my
self,” Hartmann said. “But it’s
awesome having someone from
Rockford here and having that
connection to home.”
Hartmann has already pro
pelled himself into the top seven
on the team with his 23rd-place
finish (25:08) at the Roy Griak In
vitational on Sept. 25. His practice
habits are a big contributor to his
11 When you have big
time coaches from all over
calling for you, you don't re
ally know what to think.
Jason Hartmann
Cross country runner J J
success.
“Jason enjoys the process of
practicing and the challenge of
competition,” Smith said. “It’s ev
ident in practice that this is where
he wants to be, and his great atti
tude is contagious. Anytime you
have an athlete like that, it creates
a much more productive environ
ment.”
Hartmann, a keen observer,
pays close attention to senior co
captain Steve Fein.
“Steve is a great guy, and he
leads by example,” Hartmann
said. “I try to watch him and see
how he carries himself.”
With the Pre-NCAAs taking
place Saturday in Bloomington,
Ind., Hartmann knows his nerves
will be at full-throttle.
“I could barely sleep before my
first race, and I’m sure it will be the
same thing this weekend,” Hart
mann said. “I still have doubts
about whether I can run at this lev
el, but once that race starts, those
doubts go away.”
Eugene is a long way from Rock
ford, but Hartmann’s genuine en
thusiasm and respect for Oregon
running convinces him that this is
where he belongs.
“The history that is here is
amazing,” Hartmann said. “When
I put on that Oregon uniform, I get
chills, man. It’s awesome.”
Great Stuff for your Halloween Fun
782.
(gtA f- "WluHne)
The place to shop for neto and used clothing, gifts,
and costumes great for theme parties.
Come experience the funl
Want A
Challenge?
OFFICER TRAINING SCHOOL
Start your career off on the right foot by enrolling in the Air Force
OfficerTraining School. There you will become a commissioned
officer in just 12 weeks. From the start you'll enjoy great pay,
complete medical and dental care, 30 days of vacation each year,
plus the opportunity to travel and
AIM HIGH see WOrid. To discover how high
IMP ^ ^ a career in the Air Force can take
mmm KHKEW~^ y°u. call 1-800-423-USAF, or visit
www.airforce.com our website at www.airforce.com