Daily Almanac for
Jul 10, 2009
Search White Pages
Search: Infoplease Info search tips
Search: Biographies Bio search tips
Wilt Chamberlain
August 21, 1936—October 12, 1999

by John Gettings

Twenty-five-year-old Wilt Chamberlain holds up a sign with the number "100" on it, which is how many points the Philadelphia Warriors center just scored in a record-shattering victory over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962.
Wilt Chamberlain was one of the most dominating centers in basketball history. Taller and stronger than most of his opponents, Chamberlain was an unstoppable force who made floating in fade-away jumpshots and ripping down rebounds his career. He filled countless pages of basketball record books with his impressive achievements. Here is a look at some of his most noteworthy:

Career Seasons
  • Led the NBA in scoring his first seven seasons.
  • Led the NBA in rebounding in 11 of his 14 NBA seasons.
  • During the 1961-62 season became the only player to score more than 4,000 points in a season (4,029), averaging 50.4 points per game.
Games
  • Scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169-147 victory over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962.
  • Of the 30 best regular-season scoring performances of all time, he owns 20.
  • Scored more than 50 points in a game 118 times.
  • Did not foul out of any of his more than 1,200 NBA games.
  • In his first collegiate game for the University of Kansas in 1956 he set a school record by scoring 52 points.
Awards Other
  • As a 6-11 high school senior at Philadelphia's Overbrook High, he scored 90 points in one game, including 60 points in a span of 12 minutes in the second half.
  • Won the high jump event at the Big Eight Track and Field Championships in 1958, clearing the bar at 6-6.
  • Played the role of Bombaata in the 1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Conan the Destroyer."

Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark
    • Features Archive
Did you know?
Carat, the measurement used for weighing precious stones, was originally the weight of a seed from the carob tree in the Mediterranean region.