October 13,1999__________________________________________ Ç o r H aH Î> O l b s C r U t T --------------------------------------------------------------------------------PlgeJU The End of a Basketball Legend LOS A N G ELES- Wilt Chamber- lain, one o f the m ost dominant play­ ers in the history o f basketball and the only one to score 100 points in an NBA game, died Tuesday at 63. Cham berlain’s body was found by authorities who w ere called to his Bel-A ir home shortly after noon PT, said John Black, a Los Angeles Lak­ ers spokesman. A fire departm ent spokesman, Jim W ells, said there w ere signs C ham ­ berlain might have had a heart attack. Cham berlain was hospitalized with an irregular heart beat in 1992. Known as “W ilt the Stilt’ ’ and “The Big D ipper,” the 7-foot-l Chamber- lain dom inated the NBA from 1959 through 1973, w hen he played for the Philadelphia (later the San Francisco) W arriors, the 76ers and the Lakers. He scored 31,419 points during his career, a record until Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke it in 1984.C ham ­ berlain, w ho never fouled out in a 1,205 regular-season and p la y o ff gam es, holds the record for career rebounding with 23,924. “ W ilt was one o f the greatest ever, and w e will never see another one like him ,” Abdul-Jabbar said. Cham berlain, who began his pro­ fessional career w ith the H arlem G lobetrotters in 1958, was one o f only two men to win the M VP and rookie o f the year awards in the same season (1959). H e was also M VP in 1966 through 1968. He led the N BA in scoring seven straight seasons, 1960-66, and led the league in re­ bounding 11 o f his 14 seasons. O ne o f his most famous records is the 100 points he scored in a single game in the Philadelphia W arriors’ 169-147 defeat o f the N ew York K nicksonM arch2,1962,inH ershey, Pa. In the 1961-62 season with Phila­ delphia, he averaged a record 50.4 points a game, and averaged 30.1 for his career. H e also was one o f the m ost versatile big men ever, leading the league in assists with 702 in 1967- 68. Cham berlain led his team into the playoffs 13 times, winning two world cham pionships. The first cam e in 1966-67 with the Philadelphia 76ers, the second in 1971-72 with the Los Angeles Lakers. His teams lost in the final four other times and were beaten in the conference final six times. Bill Russell and the Boston C eltics’ alm ost always seemed to be the nem ­ esis o f Cham berlain-led teams, b eat-' ing them twice in the cham pionship' series and five times in the confer­ ence finals. Three times, a series was decided by a seventh gam e that Bos­ ton w on by either one or two points. Extremely agile for his size, Cham ­ berlain ran cross-country in high school in Philadelphia and was an outstanding high jumper and shot-putter at the University o f Kansas. He had remained active since his NBA career ended and was considered an outstand­ ing volleyball player. He also ran in the Honolulu marathon recently and com­ peted in a 50-mile race in Canada A lifelong bachelor, Chamberlain made news after his basketball ca­ reer by claiming in an au­ tobiography that he had m ade love to 20,000 women. “The women who I have been the most at­ tracted to, the most in love with. I’ve pushed aw ay th e stro n g est,” Chamberlain said in a 1991 interview with The Associated Press. “There are about five women I can think o f I could have married. I cared for them a lot, but not enough to make a commitment. ’ ’ In January 1998, Chamber- lain made his first offi­ cial visit to Kansas since his abbreviated college career ended in 1958. His jersey was raised to the rafters o f Allen Fieldhouse, where Cham berlain starred for the Jayhawks. He led the 1957 team to the NCAA tournament finals, where Kan­ sas lost to unbeaten North Carolina in triple overtime. “I’ve learned in life that you have to take the bitter with the sweet, and how sweet this is,’ ’ Chamberlain said at the ceremony. He seemed genuinely surprised at how much he was loved by the rabid Kansas fans, especially after staying TMAJ’s Barber & Beauty Salon 305 NE Wygant Portland, OR 97211 (503) 288-6530 Nail Technician Camille Nichols Stylist Karen Dixon 0 away for 40 years. “Forty years ago I lost a heartbreak­ ing battle, losing to North Carolina by one point in triple overtime,” he told the crowd, referring to the NCAA title game his sophomore season in 1957. “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 another standing ovation. His huge hand brushed his cheek as he paused again, drow ned out by m ore applause. S erving B reakfast , L unch & D inner S p e c ia liz in g in B a r b e q u e R ib s & B e e f Tues - Thurs • 10 am - 6 pm 3217 first sanctioned battle o f the sexes. “T he w eight o f the w orld was on m y shoulders,” said the 129-pound M acG regor. “ I hope I’ve done good for boxing.” A sked w hat she thinks she proved, she responded: “Just that I ’m a w in­ ner.” Chow, w ho weighed 128 and wore a w elt on his forehead, answ ered the same question w ith a cryptic sm ile and a hollow boast, saying, “It proves a w om an cannot hurt a m an.” M acG regor certainly show ed she had the m oxie to stand up to a man, even w ith a dozen television cam ­ eras and reporters from around the w orld recording every move. She flicked light jab s, landed a few com ­ binations to the head and body, slipped o r blocked punches nicely, and generally com ported h erself in 1999 Mqjor League Baseball Calendar October 12 — National League Championship Series - Game One “14 Slinky Hair (Boston/Cleveland at New York Yankees) October 23 — World Series begins, city ofNational League champion October-November — Free agent filing, 15 days following end of World Series December 7— Last day for teams to offer salary arbitration to their former players who became free agents December 10-14 — Winter meetings, Anaheim, California December 19 — Last day for free agents offered salary arbitration to accept or reject the offers December 20 — Last day to offer 2000 contracts to unsigned players 4 99« $1O95