Wilt Chamberlain, a 7' 1" center who dominated professional basketball for more than 14 seasons starting in 1959, was one of the most outstanding individual athletes to ever thrive in a sport. Chamberlain, sometimes known as "Wilt the Stilt," is remembered for a legendary performance in 1962 in which he set a record by scoring 100 points in a single game, which no other player has come close to tying.
Chamberlain’s Personal Life
Wilt was born Wilton Norman Chamberlain on August 21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. His parents were homemakers, William Chamberlain and Olivia Ruth Johnson. He never liked basketball as a kid and was more of a track and field athlete.
But when he got older, he found that he liked basketball because it was a prominent sport in Philadelphia. He played basketball at "Overbrook High School," where he was a student. He was already taller, over 6 feet at that point. Thus he had an advantage over other players when he played basketball.
His collegiate basketball career began in 1957. The next year, he guided the "Jayhawks" to the "NCAA" championship game.
He left college in 1958 to pursue a career in basketball. However, he was prohibited from doing so because he needed to finish college to be eligible to play in the "NBA." He was paid $50,000 to play for the "Harlem Globetrotters," who signed him.
His Career
To play basketball for the University of Kansas, Chamberlain relocated to Kansas in 1955. He scored 30 points on average there. He received two All-American honors. After his junior year, he decided to go pro, but due to NBA rules, he could not play in the league. Instead, he spent a year as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters.
The Philadelphia Warriors selected him in the 1959 draught. In 1965, he was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers; in 1968, he was transferred to the Los Angeles Lakers. Throughout his 14-year career, he dominated basketball and set numerous records. On March 2, 1962, he scored 100 points against the New York Knicks in one of his best games.
Never once in his entire career did he foul out. The expansion of the lane, the introduction of offensive goaltending, and modifications to the rules controlling inbounding the ball and shooting free throws were all brought about by his dominance of the game.
In 1973, Chamberlain gave up playing basketball. He ventured into a variety of endeavors, such as coaching basketball, investing in stocks and real estate, playing professional volleyball, competing in marathons, writing his memoirs, opening a nightclub in Harlem, appearing in numerous commercials, and portraying a villainous warrior and Arnold Schwarzenegger's opposite in the movie Conan the Destroyer (1984).
On October 12, 1999, he passed away from congestive heart failure in his Bel Air, California, home.