50 Years Ago Today- Chamberlain 100

[barrysloate]

I've always felt the single greatest game any athlete has ever had in any sport was the 100 points Wilt Chamberlain scored in a game, fifty years ago today. Can anybody think of another single game achievement to rival it?

[matty6]

That is a pretty amazing achievement, but here some others to think about:

Rick Wise - No-hitter and two homeruns in one game
Anneka Sorenstam - shoots a 59 in Arizona.
Secretariat wins the Triple Crown by 31 lengths.
Tiger wins US Open with 12 under par. (Nobody else was even under par)
Kerry Woods - One-hitter, 20 K's and No walks.

[barrysloate]

I remember the Rick Wise game when it happened, and of course Secretariat's feat is undeniable.

How about Mark Whiten's 4 HR , 12 RBI game? That tied two major league records.

[matty6]

Yeah. That Whiten game was nuts. I believe the out that he made was a fly out to the warning track.

Shawn Green was 6-for-6 in his four homer game with a double.

Obviously there have been a number of perfect games but that Kerry Wood performance was sick.

[Touch'EmAll]

Historically, one event stands out as being a big deal to most of the known civilized world. Not a "game" but an athletic performance that rocked the world...Roger Bannister - breaking 4 minute mile. Was HUGE worldwide !

others:

Jesse Owens - 1936 Olympics
Mark Spitz - 1972 Olympics - most swims World Records
Phelps - 2008 Olympics

[alanu]

Bob Beamon's Mexico City long jump, broke the then WR by 2 feet

I was listening to someone talking about Wilt's 100 game performance and since there is no video record and only a partial broadcast record and Wilt himself could not remember, no one knows really what kind of basket he made to score his 100th point, and for that matter who threw him the pass when he scored.

[Cardboard Junkie]

Yep.........Beamon's long jump!!!!! Shocked the world.


Also Larson's perfect world series game.

[alanu]

On ESPN they showed fans entering tonight's 76ers game and they each get a piece of the floor Wilt scored his 100 on.

[steve B]

Eddy Merckx career and especially 1971 and 1974 seasons were amazing.

1971 he won 54% of the bike races he entered, a nearly impossible rate. I'm pretty sure nobody else is even close.

1974 he won the Giro d Italia, tour de suisse and tour de france within an 8 week stretch and later won the world championship as well.

1969 he won the general classification(overall winner) points classification(sprinters) And mountains classification in the same tour de france. Nobody else has.

1972 he set the record for distance in an hour breaking records for 10 and 20 kilometers along the way. The existing records had been done in individual rides. His Hour record stood till 1984 when a succession of riders on aerodynamic bikes began. When the UCI rolled back the degree of aerodynamics allowed in 2000 the record nearly held on, only being beaten by 10 meters. And the record is still less thana kilometer more.

525 professional road victories, plus a handful in cyclocross and 6 day racing.

Steve B

[pariah1107]

For any NASCAR fans here....

May 5, 1985; "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", Bill Elliot, rallied from five miles back, two laps down without the aid of a caution flag in the Winston 500 at Talledega to win.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1980s/1985-nascar.htm

[Jason]

I used to be in awe of the 100 point game as well.However,I recently saw a story about the game and wasnt aware of all the fouling the 76'ers did when up by so much to keep getting Wilt the ball.It is a little tainted in my eyes.Now Kobe scored 81 straight up.No fouls he was just on fire.

[dstraate]

Shaun White's last Olympiad in the halfpipe. It was one man doing stuff that nobody could conceive, and a bunch of other boys doing things that he had come up with 4 years ago. It felt much more like an exhibition than an athletic contest.

BTW...Wilt's stats tend to be unmatchable, on the court and off.

[novakjr]

Shaun White's last Olympiad in the halfpipe. It was one man doing stuff that nobody could conceive, and a bunch of other boys doing things that he had come up with 4 years ago. It felt much more like an exhibition than an athletic contest.

BTW...Wilt's stats tend to be unmatchable, on the court and off.

I think Wilt's off the court stats may have been the most impressive...

[ALR-bishop]

The 100 points was amazing, but to me, just as amazing, was that in that season Wilt not only averaged 50 points and 27 + rebounds a game, he averaged OVER 48 minutes a game....played every minute of every game plus overtime.

Plus, no TV film of the game, no NY sports writers were in attendance, and a crowd of under 5000 saw it

Some have said the iconic picture of him holding the piece of paper with 100 had nothing to do with points

[ChiefBenderForever]

Amazing feat, but Jordan's 63 against the Celtics might possibly be greatest performance ever.

[novakjr]

I used to be in awe of the 100 point game as well.However,I recently saw a story about the game and wasnt aware of all the fouling the 76'ers did when up by so much to keep getting Wilt the ball.It is a little tainted in my eyes.Now Kobe scored 81 straight up.No fouls he was just on fire.

I always felt the same way. While yes, it was impressive, it was also a completely manufactured accomplishment, and in no way indicative of "real" basketball.

[drumback]

On the NBA channel, there was a recent documentary about Wilt's 100. The guy who threw the ball to Wilt for the last basket went into great detail about the play. So, to say no one even knows anything about it is completely wrong.

[Touch'EmAll]

Eugene man reflects on guarding basketball great Wilt Chamberlain in 100-point game
Eugene man reflects on guarding basketball great Wilt Chamberlain in 100-point game
VideoImages(Jonathan Judd, KMTR-TV) Reported by: Chris McKee Email: chrismckee@kmtr.com
Print Story Published: 3/02 6:39 pm Share Updated: 3/05 6:06 amEUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) -- 50 years after Wilt Chamberlain set one of the greatest records in sports history, scoring 100 points in a professional basketball game, a Eugene man is reflecting on the game and the role he got to play in, playing against Chamberlain.
Darrall Imhoff now lives in Eugene, but 50 years ago, he was one of the New York Knickerbockers who were trying to Wilt Chamberlain on his record 100 point run.

In 2012, Wilt’s 100 point game stands alone as an unbeaten record. The only person who has come close is Kobe Bryant, who scored 81 points for the Los Angeles Lakers in a 2006 game against the Toronto Raptors.

So how did Wilt do it? On the court that night guarding Wilt for about 20 minutes of the game was Darrall Imhoff.

Imhoff has lived in Eugene for 16 years now. He says while Wilt was great, he remembers that 100-point game a little differently than most.

The game was played to a crowd of just 4,124 people at Hershey Sports Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania. There were no TV cameras and only a few sports writers. Not very many pictures even exist from the game… but a radio broadcast of the last 10 minutes does exist.

For some, the game was unbelievable with fans rushing the court after Wilt scored his 100th point.

But for others who were there, things were a little different.

“I guess that you can call it that,” says Darrall Imhoff in response to NewsSource 16’s Chris McKee saying, “it’s a remarkable thing to be a part of.”

Imhoff describes the game a little differently than most.

“The game, if I was to describe it.. I would call it a farce,” says Imhoff.

March 2nd, 1962, Imhoff was there as his New York Knickerbockers played Wilt Chamberlain’s Philadelphia Warriors in the fateful 100 point game.

“They left him in the game and they intentionally fouled us in the backcourt to stop the clock, to feed him,” says Imhoff.

For Darrall, the game was unmatched.

“They were pouring it on,” says Imhoff.

The Knicks starting center was out sick. And standing 6 foot 10 inches tall, Imhoff was benched early in the game after getting in to foul trouble with four early fouls.

“We had nobody to guard him except a 6'8 forward name Cleveland Buckner who weighed about 190 pounds and Wilt moved him from one end of the floor to the other,” says Imhoff.

The arena was a frenzy as well, adding a certain pandemonium to the basketball game.

“Everytime he scored another point the public address announcer would say 'HE JUST SET ANOTHER RECORD!’,” says Imhoff.

What brought smiles to fans and Wilt, brought anger to the Knicks.

“We were very angry,” says Imhoff.

“Once he hit the record, there was no point of leaving him in the game except to pour it on a team that was undermanned and that's what they did,” says Imhoff.

But Darrall knows he may have no one to blame but himself.

“I think I set the tone, and I never should have done it,” says Imhoff.

“When I got my third foul in the first ten minutes, I turned to the lead official, his name Willie Smith, and I said, 'why don't you give him 100 points and we'll all go home?' I think Wilt heard that, I never should have said that,” chuckles Imhoff.

No matter that Darrall may be on the wrong side of an infamous record, he still has a lot of respect for Wilt 50 years later.

“Wilt was a very special guy, I mean, he was the greatest athlete I think that's ever lived,” says Imhoff.

“One of the most strongest man that's ever played this game,” says Imhoff.

Two nights after Wilt scored 100 on Darrall’s Knickerbockers, Darrall actually got a standing ovation to his home crowd in New York. There, he held Wilt to just 58 points. Darrall says Wilt was trying to go for another 100.

[dstraate]

That's an interesting article. I think it fairly represents both the talent of Chamberlain, and the not so typical circumstances behind his amazing game.

[mark evans]

Wilt's off-the-court stats are incredible in my view. One thousand maybe, maybe even two thousand, but twenty thousand -- I can't see it.

[alanu]

Amazing feat, but Jordan's 63 against the Celtics might possibly be greatest performance ever.

Jordan's 63 was probably the most entertaining NBA game I've seen (on TV) in my lifetime, although if Chicago had won, it would have been better since I don't necessarily like the Celtics to this day.

Although I was a big Nuggets fan at the time, the Bulls were the only team I would go out of my way to watch on TV in Jordan's earlier years. I'm sure that's partially due to the fact that at the time they weren't on TV nationally all that much.

[Leon]

Every time I read this title I think of "Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band".....don't ask why, I don't know?

As for Wilt the Stilt's 100 point game. Still an incredible feat.

[tedzan]

I recall Chamberlain's 100 point game....fantastic.

I saw (on TV) Don Larsen's entire Perfect Game on Oct 8th 1956 at Yankee Stadium. As far as sports events go, it doesn't get any better than that event.

The excitement that my family and I experienced watching Reggie Jackson's dramatic 3 consecutive HR's in the 1977 World Series game. He hit them off 3
different pitchers; and, each HR was hit on the very 1st pitch. Do it get any better than that (and, it's immaterial whether you are a Yankees fan or not) ?


TED Z

[tachyonbb]

Wilma Rudolph overcoming polio and winning 3 gold medals in 1960.

As was mentioned before the incredible career of Eddy Merckx.

Wilt's 100 points on first blush is impressive, but when the whole story is told it is not something to be proud of.

[novakjr]

Wilma Rudolph overcoming polio and winning 3 gold medals in 1960.

As was mentioned before the incredible career of Eddy Merckx.

Wilt's 100 points on first blush is impressive, but when the whole story is told it is not something to be proud of.

I agree Bruce. Wilma's story is very inspirational.

Now as far as Wilt's 100. As stated before it was a fluke thing. Everyone remembers Wilt's 100, but not very many people remember that Jesse Owens broke 4 world records in less than an hour in 1935. And for prolonged dominance, how does one not at least consider Cael Sanderson's collegiate wrestling record or 159-0 with 4 National Titles to be one of, if not, the greatest accomplishments in the history of sports..

[benderbroeth]

i love the thread! great stuff

[barrysloate]

I was recently thinking that the five set tennis match that went to a 70-68 tiebreaker would be among the most amazing records in any sport.

[dstraate]

That was Roddick/Federer, No? One helluva match. Amazing will to win on both of them.

[barrysloate]

Isner was one of the players, I forget the other.