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:emembering ‘The Stilt’
Jiamberlain’s career defined by more than numbers
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sports lost not
.only one of
*its greatest
[formers but
: of its greatest
sonalities
lesday. Wilton
liman Cham
plain, “The Big
pper,” died of
[apparent heart attack at the age
3, leaving a legacy of dominance
1 flamboyance few could ever
Ipe to match.
]The stats alone boggle the mind:
ronly man ever to average 50
fints over an entire NBA season;
ronly center ever to lead the
fegue in assists; one of only two
?n ever to lead the NBA in scoring
eight consecutive seasons.
At a time when underclassmen
ije forbidden to join the NBA, the
ladelphia Warriors shocked the
irts world by claiming the rights
Chamberlain with their territorial
ft pick — when he was a 17-
!ar-old high-school senior.
"Wilt shattered virtually every
loring record in his first few years,”
I ortswriter Leonard Koppett once
Irate. “In the process of doing that,
I'rendered statistics irrelevant. So
“51 hen Wilt scored 70 points in a
me, no one paid attention. That
as just Wilt being Wilt.”
And then there was “The Game.”
On what should have been a for
gettable late-season match between
Wilt’s Warriors and the lowly New
York Knickerbockers, a game that
went unrecorded except for a single
scratchy radio broadcast and a few
boxscores, Chamberlain put on the
greatest individual performance in
the history of basketball, if not all
sports. The big man poured in shot
after shot — dunks, fallaway
jumpers and, yes, even free throws
— over the hapless Knicks. When it
was over, Chamberlain had racked
up exactly 100 points, a record that
will most likely never be threatened,
much less broken.
“Wilt was almost too good back
then,” former Lakers guard Rod
Hundley said. “He scored just about
every time he shot it. When he got
an offensive rebound, people just
cleared out and gave him the dunk.
Why try to block it and have him
break your arm?”
As eye-catching as his numbers
were, his personal life grabbed just
as many headlines. Chamberlain
drew attention with the outspoken
opinions of an athlete who knew his
own worth. He liked fast cars, loud
parties and beautiful women — es
pecially the women. Chamberlain’s
most famous statistic may have
come long after his playing days
were over when he claimed to have
slept with more than 20,000 women
in his 13-year career, a number
more debated than game stat.
Even his failures were legendary
— the futile battles against the
Boston Celtics and Bill Russell, the
trades that sent him packing three
times, the awful, unfathomable sub-
.500 free-throw shootings.
Sadly, it is those failures that have
defined Wilt in the eyes of many. He
was called selfish, undisciplined, a
stat-hungry ballhog who choked in
the big games. Too many forget how
he was so often handed the job of
saving franchises that paid him more
than his teammates combined, or
how he battled to carry those teams
to heights they otherwise had no
business considering.
“Because of his size, it was al
ways assumed that he would be
the best,” former teammate Tom
Meschery said in a 1991 inter
view. “When he fell a bit short,
such as at the foul line or when
his team lost to the Celtics, he
took the criticism. Rather than
looking at his accomplishments,
people dwelled on the negative
because he was so great.”
Now that he is gone, the stories,
good and bad, will grow even larger.
And that is how it should be, and
how he would want it to be. Wilt
may have been many things — a
hero, a savior, a scapegoat — but if
anything, he was larger than life.
Matt Weber is a
senior journalism major
igell
and still
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STUDENT Alcohol and Drug
LIFE Education Programs
^ofstudent^ffalraT Texas A&M University
222 Beutel Health Center
Ph: 845-0280
http://stulife.tamu.edu/adep
e-mail: adep@tamu.edu
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**j**X**s>* X*
We know you ’re better.
You've worked hard earning your degree. And, ALLTEL - an
industry leader in communications services and information
technologies, is offering "hands-on" opportunities designed
to take your abilities to the limits of achievement. And
beyond. Right now, we're scouting for college graduates
looking for a challenging profession that will help them
realize their potential in this growing, technical field.
We'll be on campus November 8-10, so visit your Career
Services office for additional information. You'll quickly find
at ALLTEL, the best is yet to come.
Available positions include:
• Engineer I
You're also welcome to mail or fax your resume
to: 11025 Anderson Dr., Suite 130, Little Rock, AR
72212, fax: (501) 220-7606.
Visit our website at www.alltel.com.
ALLTEL. Simply where the best get better.
^CILLtEL
The power to simplify
EOE, M/F/D/V
"Life: Be In It"
WHAT : Dynamic presentation by the nationally known
Carolyn Cornelison, Ph.D.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 3.6, 1.999 H.:30am-l.:30pm
WHERE'- Press Box at Kyle Field
If you would like to hear a highly entertaining speaker, have a a delicious free
lunch, get a free BONFIRE t-shirt and see Kyle Field from the pressbox,
drop this form in campus mail or stop by our office.
Alcohol and Drug Education Programs
222 Beutel Health Center MS 1257
Att: Patti Collins
Ph: 845-0280
Name i
e-mail address
local address
telephone number ;
72A4^ LTAUrT-FO
http://stulite.tamu.edu
A Night in Rocketown
The Acoustic Tour
Chris Rice Cindy Morgan Watermark Ginny Owens
Performing at Rudder Auditorium
Tickets: MSC Box Office $ 10 Advance, $ 12 Door 845-1234
Sponsored by Compass College Ministries
Oct. 14
8:00
OVER 1010P MEN! AGENCIES IRE IRE PALM GROOP TO SCOOT FOR
HEW MODELS
Do you know someone who should be modeling
for fashion shows or magazines? Acting in a
movie, TV soap or commercial? Well, now they
can be. Just tell them to visit with us...The Palm
Group...creators of the world's most respected
scouting event for the past 10 years; The Inter
national Model Search Invitational (IMSI).
We're looking for all types ages 3 to 45.
It's an opportunity to consult with our
scouts absolutely free! Once selected, they'll
be invited to meet face-to-face with over 30
superstar talent agencies including Ford,
Click, L.A.Models, Karin/Paris, and more.
the pgJfaf Zfgf.
MODEL SCOUTING. DEVELOPMENT S WORLDWIDE PLACEMENT
HILTON COLLEGE STATION
801 University Drive East, College Station, TX 77840
VISIT US AT 3 PM AND 6 PM, SAT, OCT. 16th
For more information, call 1-800-MQDLL-58 or visit our Website at www.theimsi.com
Friends of the Sterling C. Evans Library
7th Annual FUN RUN Xt
October 16, 1999 - 8:00 a.m.
Sponsored by:
H.E.B. Pantry Foods, TAMU Athletic Department, The 12th Man Foundation, Optima Systems, Inc., Acklam Construction Co., Inc.,
David Gardner's Jewelers, A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., Aerofit, First National Bank, KTSR • lAfTAW
5K Run / 1 Mile Fitness Walk
The 5K Run and 1 Mile Fitness Walk Mill begin in the parking lot behind the Wehner Business
Administration Building on the West Campus of Texas A&M, College Station, Texas
EARLY ARRIVING PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE T-SHIRTS, FANNY PACKS AND K00ZIES
TOP 3 MALE AND FEMALE FINISHERS IN EACH AGE GROUP WILL RECEIVE AWARDS!
Youth Categories: 10 & under: 11-14; & 15-18
Adult Categories: 19-29; 30-39; 40-49; 50-59; 60 & over
*12.00 for youths & A&M students and *15.00 for Adults & non-A&M students.
Packet pick-up and late registration will be held at the MSC on Friday, October 15th, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
PRIZES INCLUDE:
lA/eekend Getaway • Random Cash Drawing • Memberships to Aerofit
AND MANY MORE
C3 5K Run C3 1 Mile Fitness Walk C3 Student
Name:
Address:
Zip: (Phone)
Adult T-shirt size Sex Age
Please make checks payable to: Friends of Sterling C. Evans Library
Any questions about the Fun Run, please call 361/552-2971 (Wanda) or e-mail wanda@tisd.net
On campus, you may call 862-4574 (Adelle).
Register online at www.evansrun.com or at Evans Library. Return check and/or form to Evans Library,
Administration Suite, 6th Floor.
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