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On March 2nd, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, he scored 100 points in a single game against the New York Knicks. It might have been even more, but when Chamberlain scored his 99th and 100th points, the crowd stormed the floor with 48 seconds left, and the game had to be called. No, the Knicks didn't protest, maybe because they were sick of seeing the big man score at will, but more probably because they were trailing 169-147 at the time. On November 24, 1960, Chamberlain pulled down 55 rebounds against the Celtics and Russell, for another record that stands today and likely will never be broken. Most teams don't grab 55 rebounds in a game today. He's the only center ever to lead the league in assists for a season (1968), and he's very likely the all-time leading shot-blocker, although blocked shots weren't officially compiled until Wilt left the NBA. Philadelphia 76ers stats guru Harvey Pollak often claimed that Wilt blocked "at least" 10 shots per game. He was also the center on the NBA's two winningest regular season teams at the time - the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers, which won 68 games, and the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers, which won 69 games, including a major professional sports record 33 in a row. (The Chicago Bulls won 72 games in 1996, albeit in a watered-down version of the NBA with the many expansion teams and just flat-out poorly run and non-competitive franchises). Chamberlain is also the only member of the NBA's most exclusive club - The 30,000/20-000 club - 30,000 points and 20,000 rebounds. There isn't much chance of anyone else gaining membership. He still owns dozens of league scoring and rebounding records, but there's one number he had that haunted him until the day he died. Two. The number of championships he was able to win during his career. "That's the one thing that will always bother me. Winning just two championships," he told me that day in Woodland Hills -and many times during the following years. "I outplayed Russell constantly, but he always had the better team, so people say he's the better player. That's just idiotic. If you put me on the Celtics and Russell on the teams I played for, who do you think would have the 11 rings, and who would have the two? Even John Wooden said that if I had been surrounded by the players Russell was surrounded with, I would be the one with all the rings." In getting to know Chamberlain, however, he was about much more than the numbers. He was a savvy businessman who turned decent salaries into a fortune, which allowed him to live extremely well until his death. He was also a very politically-aware person, who actually ventured into politics in the most controversial fashion - publicly campaigning for Richard Nixon in 1968. For a black man in America to publicly stump for a Republican - let alone Nixon - took guts and conviction - even if he later admitted he made a mistake in doing so. Wilt would debate you on any subject - if you called him to say hi - or he called you - you had to be prepared for at least an hour on the phone. And even a big-mouthed talk show host - like yours truly - would get questioned incessantly about any claims you might be making - on the air or during that particular conversation. Make no mistake; Wilt dominated everything he was involved with. Except death. After oral surgery during the summer of 1999, Wilt became extremely ill and lived in constant pain. According to his sister Barbara, for Dipper to complain about pain was quite extraordinary, because his pain-tolerance was so incredibly high. He ended up in the hospital, as his heart began to fail, and his body began retaining fluid, causing him breathing problems. While undergoing treatment, he lost more than 40 pounds of fluid and was feeling better when he returned back home. But the heart problems slowly worsened, until the 12th of October in 1999, when congestive heart failure killed Wilt Chamberlain. It was almost impossible to believe that this giant of a man, this larger-than-life persona, was found dead in his bed. Like a mere mortal. I was driving to my job as the afternoon sports anchor at all-news KFWB Radio in Los Angeles, (I was on a two- year hiatus from talk radio) listening to the station, when I heard the breaking news sounder play. One of our reporters was at Wilt's Santa Monica Mountains' mansion, with the news that a body had been found in Chamberlain's bedroom. But police weren't releasing the name of the deceased. Fearing the worst, I immediately placed a call to our mutual friend, sports columnist Doug Krikorian of the Long Beach Press Telegram, a long-time confidant of Wilt's. Although they'd had a falling out a few years before, someone close to Wilt contacted Krikorian, and told him that indeed the Dipper lay dead in his own bed. As I pulled up in front of the station, I was immensely sad, and wondered what I was going to say about my friend when I went on the air. It was around 2:55PM, and my first report wasn't normally until 3:15PM. As I walked in the newsroom, I sat at my computer trying to think of an appropriate audio obituary. The news director then informed me that I had all of 30 seconds because I was leading off the news at the top of the hour. I went on the air, and did something right off the top of my head. To this day I can't recall what I said. It was the first - and only - time I've ever almost lost it on the air. After listening to a recording of that day’s events, I'm able to recall that I signed off by saying, "The greatest basketball player ever to grace the hardwood, Wilton Norman Chamberlain, the Big Dipper, is dead at age 63." As I walked back to my desk, I realized there were tears streaming down my face. My job kept my mind occupied that day, and everything went smoothly. But writing this brings back all the feelings I had that day - the loss of a friend, someone I had Idolized, and a world-recognized celebrity. But mostly I felt - and feel - thanks for getting to know Wilt Chamberlain as the smart, funny, moody and complex person he was. He was - and still is - truly one-of-a-kind. Joe McDonnell is an award-winning radio talk show host and investigative reporter. You can reach him at
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