"64 years ago today, Wilt Chamberlain made his varsity debut at Kansas in an 87-69 win over Northwestern, setting the single-game school record for both points (52) and rebounds (31) in the process.

By the numbers: In two years as a Jayhawk, Wilt averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 rebounds.
Rewind: Conference rules prohibited freshmen from playing varsity ball, which was bad news for the latter as a young Wilt dominated (42 pts, 29 reb) in the annual freshmen-varsity scrimmage, dealing them their first loss since the series began in 1922.

Fast forward: With Wilt finally on the varsity team as a sophomore, Kansas made a run all the way to the national championship, losing to UNC by one point in triple overtime for the Tar Heels' first title.

Yes, but: Wilt earned the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player anyway, becoming the fourth (of 11) to win the award despite not winning the title.
What came next: As a junior, teams routinely froze the ball or triple-teamed Wilt to neutralize the otherwise unstoppable force.

The strategy worked, as Kansas failed to even make the tournament, but it frustrated him so much he opted to leave a year early, signing with the Harlem Globetrotters while he waited for his NBA eligibility to kick in." Axios

tallest human to ever run the 1/4 mile in under 50 sec

Big C said:

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tallest human to ever run the 1/4 mile in under 50 sec

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Some say he could have been an Olympic decathlete.....but for the pole vault.

Jerry West was the 50 MVP even though Cal won the Ncaa championship. Scored 28 points in the final.

In 1956, for #1 rated Kansas' 5th game, they came to Harmon Gym, to play our Bears. In the first four games, Wilt had averaged 39.5 points, 22 rebounds, and 9.5 shot blocks. Guarded primarily by normal human and Central Valley boy, Cal's Duane Asplund, at 6'-7" tall (with some help from 6-4 Larry Friend, 6-4 Ev McKeen, and backup center 6-6 Don McIntosh) Wilt was held to 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Cal lost 66-56. It was the first time Wilt had not scored at least 30 points in a game. "All I've got to say," said Pete Newell afterward, "is that Chamberlain has not been overrated."

In 1957, Cal traveled to Kansas for the rematch, this time against #2 ranked Kansas. This time Wilt was primarily guarded by an even shorter normal human, 6'- 6" Don McIntosh (along with some help from 6-3 Bob Dalton and 6-4 George Sterling) I could find no more information on that game, other than the final score was Cal losing this time by a closer margin, 58-52.

The next season Cal won the NCAA Championship, something Wilt's Kansas teams never were able to do.

SFCityBear said:

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In 1956, for #1 rated Kansas' 5th game, they came to Harmon Gym, to play our Bears. In the first four games, Wilt had averaged 39.5 points, 22 rebounds, and 9.5 shot blocks. Guarded primarily by normal human and Central Valley boy, Cal's Duane Asplund, at 6'-7" tall (with some help from 6-4 Larry Friend, 6-4 Ev McKeen, and backup center 6-6 Don McIntosh) Wilt was held to 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Cal lost 66-56. It was the first time Wilt had not scored at least 30 points in a game. "All I've got to say," said Pete Newell afterward, "is that Chamberlain has not been overrated."

In 1957, Cal traveled to Kansas for the rematch, this time against #2 ranked Kansas. This time Wilt was primarily guarded by an even shorter normal human, 6'- 6" Don McIntosh (along with some help from 6-3 Bob Dalton and 6-4 George Sterling) I could find no more information on that game, other than the final score was Cal losing this time by a closer margin, 58-52.

The next season Cal won the NCAA Championship, something Wilt's Kansas teams never were able to do.

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If I had the #1 pick in the time machine draft of all players in their prime, I take Wilt. And you know I'm not big players back in the day.

And lest we forget his workbench stats: 20,000

According to him. When I finally write my book, I may pad my stats a bit, too.

"Three!"

Big C said:

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According to him. When I finally write my book, I may pad my stats a bit, too.

"Three!"

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Braggart!

OaktownBear said:

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SFCityBear said:

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In 1956, for #1 rated Kansas' 5th game, they came to Harmon Gym, to play our Bears. In the first four games, Wilt had averaged 39.5 points, 22 rebounds, and 9.5 shot blocks. Guarded primarily by normal human and Central Valley boy, Cal's Duane Asplund, at 6'-7" tall (with some help from 6-4 Larry Friend, 6-4 Ev McKeen, and backup center 6-6 Don McIntosh) Wilt was held to 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Cal lost 66-56. It was the first time Wilt had not scored at least 30 points in a game. "All I've got to say," said Pete Newell afterward, "is that Chamberlain has not been overrated."

In 1957, Cal traveled to Kansas for the rematch, this time against #2 ranked Kansas. This time Wilt was primarily guarded by an even shorter normal human, 6'- 6" Don McIntosh (along with some help from 6-3 Bob Dalton and 6-4 George Sterling) I could find no more information on that game, other than the final score was Cal losing this time by a closer margin, 58-52.

The next season Cal won the NCAA Championship, something Wilt's Kansas teams never were able to do.

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If I had the #1 pick in the time machine draft of all players in their prime, I take Wilt. And you know I'm not big players back in the day.

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Well, you can appreciate talent if you put Wilt at #1. I'll keep working on you to encourage you to appreciate some of the other greats of old. When Wilt was asked, he said Bill Russell was the better player. He told Russ, "When you played, you made all your teammates better. When I played, my teammates all made me better."

The Wilt vs. Russell match-ups in the NBA were epic battles.

SFCityBear said:

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In 1956, for #1 rated Kansas' 5th game, they came to Harmon Gym, to play our Bears. In the first four games, Wilt had averaged 39.5 points, 22 rebounds, and 9.5 shot blocks. Guarded primarily by normal human and Central Valley boy, Cal's Duane Asplund, at 6'-7" tall (with some help from 6-4 Larry Friend, 6-4 Ev McKeen, and backup center 6-6 Don McIntosh) Wilt was held to 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Cal lost 66-56. It was the first time Wilt had not scored at least 30 points in a game. "All I've got to say," said Pete Newell afterward, "is that Chamberlain has not been overrated."

In 1957, Cal traveled to Kansas for the rematch, this time against #2 ranked Kansas. This time Wilt was primarily guarded by an even shorter normal human, 6'- 6" Don McIntosh (along with some help from 6-3 Bob Dalton and 6-4 George Sterling) I could find no more information on that game, other than the final score was Cal losing this time by a closer margin, 58-52.

The next season Cal won the NCAA Championship, something Wilt's Kansas teams never were able to do.

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Great post.
You continue to deliver!

puget sound cal fan said:

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The Wilt vs. Russell match-ups in the NBA were epic battles.

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So, how do you think Wilt would fare today?
Or before Steph and Klay came along and changed the game, rather?

I think he'd still be good, but not nearly as dominant.
So so many 7 footers. And today, they need to shoot the 3 ball. Kareem would serve no purpose on the outside, and couldn't defend it, either.

I imagine you have memories as a kid of Wilt playing?

concordtom said:

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I imagine you have memories as a kid of Wilt playing?

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Well, in the mid to late 1960's it seemed like ABC put the Celtics (Russell) vs. 76ers (Wilt) on every Sunday afternoon. I was 17 by the time Wilt played his last season with the Lakers (1973).
I never saw Wilt play in person but I saw him off the court in person twice. I saw him at the finish line of the Bay to Breakers in 1968 (only a few thousand runners then. Race won by Kenny Moore, U.S. Army/Oregon ...his first of 6 consecutive wins).
I saw Wilt again at a track meet at Edward's Stadium in the mid 1970's and took a picture of him. I would post it here but I can't post attachments (maybe Premium can).

I never saw Bill Russell play in person but I hit balls next to him at Metropolitan 15 years ago or so. He is a lefty and I am a righty so we were looking at each other face to face. When I finished I was tempted to wish him well on the course but was too intimidated.
I spoke to Joe Montana once because our sons played hoop at DLS. He seemed like a humble and nice man that was slightly embarrassed by his celebrity.

bearister said:

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concordtom said:

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I imagine you have memories as a kid of Wilt playing?

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Well, in the mid to late 1960's it seemed like ABC put the Celtics (Russell) vs. 76ers (Wilt) on every Sunday afternoon. I was 17 by the time Wilt played his last season with the Lakers (1973).
I never saw Wilt play in person but I saw him off the court in person twice. I saw him at the finish line of the Bay to Breakers in 1968 (only a few thousand runners then. Race won by Kenny Moore, U.S. Army/Oregon ...his first of 6 consecutive wins).
I saw Wilt again at a track meet at Edward's Stadium in the mid 1970's and took a picture of him. I would post it here but I can't post attachments (maybe Premium can).

I never saw Bill Russell play in person but I hit balls next to him at Metropolitan 15 years ago or so. He is a lefty and I am a righty so we were looking at each other face to face. When I finished I was tempted to wish him well on the course but was too intimidated.
I spoke to Joe Montana once because our sons played hoop at DLS. He seemed like a humble and nice man that was slightly embarrassed by his celebrity.

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I also saw Wilt at a track meet - the 1995 US Track and Field Championship at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento. And incidentally, I spent some time talking to Kenny Moore while volunteering at the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle, he was reporting for Sports Illustrated.

Regarding tv coverage of the NBA in the late 60's, as far as ABC was concerned, there were only four teams in the NBA: Celtics, Knicks, Bullets, and Sixers. The Sunday game was invariably two teams from that quartet. Of course, when you think of some of the players, maybe they were right: Clyde, Willis, Bradley, Unseld, Earl the Pearl, Russell, Havlicek, KC and Sam Jones, Wilt, Hal Greer . . . and during the time-outs at Bullets games, Dancing Harry!

....and Hal Greer shooting his free throws as jump shots. Pretty cool you met Kenny Moore. He had a good role in this 1982 movie. At the time I thought it was a very good sports movie, maybe it would seem dated now.



Personal Best (1982) - IMDb


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084489/



Sixers History on Twitter: "Hal Greer indeed shot his free throws with a jumper, @toogr8fltm. Worked pretty well since Greer shot 80.1% from the line. Here's Jack Twyman in 1971 relating the @sixers guard's rationale for jump-shooting his FTs. https://t.co/GA9DOuAmAe" / Twitter

puget sound cal fan said:

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The Wilt vs. Russell match-ups in the NBA were epic battles.

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The first time I saw Russell and Wilt go at it mano a mano was a NBA league game played in the Cow Palace to test the Bay Area market to help the NBA decide whether to let the Warriors move from Philadelphia to San Francisco. The Celtics had the two local former USF stars in Russell and KC Jones, while the Warriors had local boy Tom Meschery along with Wilt, so there was a lot of local interest in the game, but the main draw was Wilt.

The arena was packed. A friend and I bought General Admission tickets, and my friend was pretty brash, so we walked down to the floor in the 2nd row behind one basket, and sat in two empty seats. We got thrown out twice by the ushers, but by the 3rd time, the usher gave up and we watched the entire game from those seats, sitting about 15 feet from Wilt and Russell jockeying back and forth for position. They were both so strong and both so agile, it was like watching ballet and basketball, played by a couple of amazing athlete-artists.

Russell had been interviewed the day before in the Chronicle, where he said that no one could stop Wilt, and his job was to slow Wilt down just enough to give the Celtics a chance to win. Wilt had been averaging about 45 points a game, and Russ held him to 39, I think, and the Celtics won by a point or two, as I recall. The other bonus of sitting so close to the basket, was to see a superlative performance by the Celtics' forward Tommy Heinsohn, who scored 44 points on a dazzling array of shots, jumpers, layups with either hand, floaters, bank shots, hook shots, you name it.

I missed Wilt's game against Cal at Harmon, but I did get to see him a few years later, when the Warriors decided they wanted to move from Philadelphia to San Francisco, and the NBA scheduled an exhibition between the Warriors and the Lakers at the Cow Palace to test the Bay Area market and see if it made sense for an NBA team to move here.

The Lakers' Elgin Baylor went wild, scoring 60 points. mostly on jumpers and drives into the lane. I was really impressed by his hang time. He seemed to stay up in the air longer than anyone who defended him. And he had that twitch in his neck, a lot like Jesus Alou of the Giants coming up to bat. Anyway, Elgin made a jump shot from the corner, and then started back up the court and gave that little twitch, and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the inbounds pass, picked it off, turned and made another jump shot, a carbon copy of the first one from almost the same exact spot. First time I ever saw a 4 point play.

Wilt scored pretty much any time he wanted to, or almost any time he got the ball. Guy Rodgers must have had 20 assists or close to it, and most of the assists were to Wilt. Wilt ended up with 75 points, mostly dunks, finger rolls, and several long jump shots from the left side off the glass, all from what would be 3 point range today. I had seen very few college teams score 75 points, and here was Wilt scoring 75 himself. Of course, Bill Russell was not guarding him, and it was just an exhibition game, but still, it was 75 points. The Exhibition was a big success, and soon thereafter Wilt and the Warriors moved to SF

One little known fact about Wilt and his 100 point game against the Knicks, he had averaged 75 points in the ten or so games prior to that game. He was a legend.

SFCityBear said:

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puget sound cal fan said:

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The Wilt vs. Russell match-ups in the NBA were epic battles.

---

The first time I saw Russell and Wilt go at it mano a mano was a NBA league game played in the Cow Palace to test the Bay Area market to help the NBA decide whether to let the Warriors move from Philadelphia to San Francisco. The Celtics had the two local former USF stars in Russell and KC Jones, while the Warriors had local boy Tom Meschery along with Wilt, so there was a lot of local interest in the game, but the main draw was Wilt.

The arena was packed. A friend and I bought General Admission tickets, and my friend was pretty brash, so we walked down to the floor in the 2nd row behind one basket, and sat in two empty seats. We got thrown out twice by the ushers, but by the 3rd time, the usher gave up and we watched the entire game from those seats, sitting about 15 feet from Wilt and Russell jockeying back and forth for position. They were both so strong and both so agile, it was like watching ballet and basketball, played by a couple of amazing athlete-artists.

Russell had been interviewed the day before in the Chronicle, where he said that no one could stop Wilt, and his job was to slow Wilt down just enough to give the Celtics a chance to win. Wilt had been averaging about 45 points a game, and Russ held him to 39, I think, and the Celtics won by a point or two, as I recall. The other bonus of sitting so close to the basket, was to see a superlative performance by the Celtics' forward Tommy Heinsohn, who scored 44 points on a dazzling array of shots, jumpers, layups with either hand, floaters, bank shots, hook shots, you name it.

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Years ago, I had similar seats at a Sonics/Nets game to yours - second row under the hoop. The players' combination of size and athleticism was astounding. Two things stood out: Joe Barry Carroll (who nobody would confuse with Wilt) moved quicker than I could imagine for a man his size, and Xavier McDaniel's vertical leap when he took a jump shot - there was an incredible amount of space between his feet and the floor. It's a completely different game when viewed up close and even the most pedestrian player is orders of magnitude more athletic than a normal person.

i went to the Cal KU game, Asplund looked like a midget compared to Wilt ..

HearstMining said:

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SFCityBear said:

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puget sound cal fan said:

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The Wilt vs. Russell match-ups in the NBA were epic battles.

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The first time I saw Russell and Wilt go at it mano a mano was a NBA league game played in the Cow Palace to test the Bay Area market to help the NBA decide whether to let the Warriors move from Philadelphia to San Francisco. The Celtics had the two local former USF stars in Russell and KC Jones, while the Warriors had local boy Tom Meschery along with Wilt, so there was a lot of local interest in the game, but the main draw was Wilt.

The arena was packed. A friend and I bought General Admission tickets, and my friend was pretty brash, so we walked down to the floor in the 2nd row behind one basket, and sat in two empty seats. We got thrown out twice by the ushers, but by the 3rd time, the usher gave up and we watched the entire game from those seats, sitting about 15 feet from Wilt and Russell jockeying back and forth for position. They were both so strong and both so agile, it was like watching ballet and basketball, played by a couple of amazing athlete-artists.

Russell had been interviewed the day before in the Chronicle, where he said that no one could stop Wilt, and his job was to slow Wilt down just enough to give the Celtics a chance to win. Wilt had been averaging about 45 points a game, and Russ held him to 39, I think, and the Celtics won by a point or two, as I recall. The other bonus of sitting so close to the basket, was to see a superlative performance by the Celtics' forward Tommy Heinsohn, who scored 44 points on a dazzling array of shots, jumpers, layups with either hand, floaters, bank shots, hook shots, you name it.

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Years ago, I had similar seats at a Sonics/Nets game to yours - second row under the hoop. The players' combination of size and athleticism was astounding. Two things stood out: Joe Barry Carroll (who nobody would confuse with Wilt) moved quicker than I could imagine for a man his size, and Xavier McDaniel's vertical leap when he took a jump shot - there was an incredible amount of space between his feet and the floor. It's a completely different game when viewed up close and even the most pedestrian player is orders of magnitude more athletic than a normal person.

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I remember as a kid seeing Wilt play beach volleyball at the courts in Santa Monica up near Sunset.

In early 1985 I graduated Cal and returned home to LA. My friends had discount "student" season tickets for the Lakers that the Lakers kept sending renewals for and we could increase our seats. Our tickets were the top of the lower bowl of the Forum. One game we met a couple of attractive young ladies and started talking. They told us they had front row seats under the basket behind the Laker Girls but they never sat in them and we could sit there instead. Turns out they had the tickets so they had access to the Laker Club where they turned tricks and sold blow. So I had front row seats to the Lakers in 85, 86 and 87 got to hear Magic and Bird talking smack all game, Kareem's skyhook, young Jordan dunking, but as per this thread the most amazing athletic feat was Hakeem's baseline fade away jumper. The height and distance he could get with uncanny shooting touch-amazing for a guy already 7 feet tall!

HearstMining said:

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SFCityBear said:

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puget sound cal fan said:

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The Wilt vs. Russell match-ups in the NBA were epic battles.

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The first time I saw Russell and Wilt go at it mano a mano was a NBA league game played in the Cow Palace to test the Bay Area market to help the NBA decide whether to let the Warriors move from Philadelphia to San Francisco. The Celtics had the two local former USF stars in Russell and KC Jones, while the Warriors had local boy Tom Meschery along with Wilt, so there was a lot of local interest in the game, but the main draw was Wilt.

The arena was packed. A friend and I bought General Admission tickets, and my friend was pretty brash, so we walked down to the floor in the 2nd row behind one basket, and sat in two empty seats. We got thrown out twice by the ushers, but by the 3rd time, the usher gave up and we watched the entire game from those seats, sitting about 15 feet from Wilt and Russell jockeying back and forth for position. They were both so strong and both so agile, it was like watching ballet and basketball, played by a couple of amazing athlete-artists.

Russell had been interviewed the day before in the Chronicle, where he said that no one could stop Wilt, and his job was to slow Wilt down just enough to give the Celtics a chance to win. Wilt had been averaging about 45 points a game, and Russ held him to 39, I think, and the Celtics won by a point or two, as I recall. The other bonus of sitting so close to the basket, was to see a superlative performance by the Celtics' forward Tommy Heinsohn, who scored 44 points on a dazzling array of shots, jumpers, layups with either hand, floaters, bank shots, hook shots, you name it.

---

Years ago, I had similar seats at a Sonics/Nets game to yours - second row under the hoop. The players' combination of size and athleticism was astounding. Two things stood out: Joe Barry Carroll (who nobody would confuse with Wilt) moved quicker than I could imagine for a man his size, and Xavier McDaniel's vertical leap when he took a jump shot - there was an incredible amount of space between his feet and the floor. It's a completely different game when viewed up close and even the most pedestrian player is orders of magnitude more athletic than a normal person.

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Games are so much better and real when seen from up close, just like when we used to play the game ourselves and were right in the middle of the action. Only then can we fully appreciate the athleticism, skill, and talent of the players. I know I miss so much by watching games on TV, and I refuse to watch the games streamed on a PC, Laptop, or heaven forbid, on a cell phone. What can you see? So what is the point? For those games I mail it in and check the score afterwards, and maybe a box score. Radio is superior to any of those options, because at least the announcers are closer to the action and many are quite good a describing plays and picking up the nuances. But nothing beats in- person-up-close seats for the best fan experience.

SFCityBear said:

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OaktownBear said:

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SFCityBear said:

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In 1956, for #1 rated Kansas' 5th game, they came to Harmon Gym, to play our Bears. In the first four games, Wilt had averaged 39.5 points, 22 rebounds, and 9.5 shot blocks. Guarded primarily by normal human and Central Valley boy, Cal's Duane Asplund, at 6'-7" tall (with some help from 6-4 Larry Friend, 6-4 Ev McKeen, and backup center 6-6 Don McIntosh) Wilt was held to 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Cal lost 66-56. It was the first time Wilt had not scored at least 30 points in a game. "All I've got to say," said Pete Newell afterward, "is that Chamberlain has not been overrated."

In 1957, Cal traveled to Kansas for the rematch, this time against #2 ranked Kansas. This time Wilt was primarily guarded by an even shorter normal human, 6'- 6" Don McIntosh (along with some help from 6-3 Bob Dalton and 6-4 George Sterling) I could find no more information on that game, other than the final score was Cal losing this time by a closer margin, 58-52.

The next season Cal won the NCAA Championship, something Wilt's Kansas teams never were able to do.

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If I had the #1 pick in the time machine draft of all players in their prime, I take Wilt. And you know I'm not big players back in the day.

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Well, you can appreciate talent if you put Wilt at #1. I'll keep working on you to encourage you to appreciate some of the other greats of old. When Wilt was asked, he said Bill Russell was the better player. He told Russ, "When you played, you made all your teammates better. When I played, my teammates all made me better."

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Winning is certainly the ultimate goal but everytime I look up Wilt's stats I'm blown away. They are truly amazing. Even if you are the biggest ball hog, egomaniac you couldn't duplicate them. He was definitely a once in a lifetime player, maybe many lifetimes.

SFCityBear said:

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HearstMining said:

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SFCityBear said:

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puget sound cal fan said:

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The Wilt vs. Russell match-ups in the NBA were epic battles.

---

The first time I saw Russell and Wilt go at it mano a mano was a NBA league game played in the Cow Palace to test the Bay Area market to help the NBA decide whether to let the Warriors move from Philadelphia to San Francisco. The Celtics had the two local former USF stars in Russell and KC Jones, while the Warriors had local boy Tom Meschery along with Wilt, so there was a lot of local interest in the game, but the main draw was Wilt.

The arena was packed. A friend and I bought General Admission tickets, and my friend was pretty brash, so we walked down to the floor in the 2nd row behind one basket, and sat in two empty seats. We got thrown out twice by the ushers, but by the 3rd time, the usher gave up and we watched the entire game from those seats, sitting about 15 feet from Wilt and Russell jockeying back and forth for position. They were both so strong and both so agile, it was like watching ballet and basketball, played by a couple of amazing athlete-artists.

Russell had been interviewed the day before in the Chronicle, where he said that no one could stop Wilt, and his job was to slow Wilt down just enough to give the Celtics a chance to win. Wilt had been averaging about 45 points a game, and Russ held him to 39, I think, and the Celtics won by a point or two, as I recall. The other bonus of sitting so close to the basket, was to see a superlative performance by the Celtics' forward Tommy Heinsohn, who scored 44 points on a dazzling array of shots, jumpers, layups with either hand, floaters, bank shots, hook shots, you name it.

---

Years ago, I had similar seats at a Sonics/Nets game to yours - second row under the hoop. The players' combination of size and athleticism was astounding. Two things stood out: Joe Barry Carroll (who nobody would confuse with Wilt) moved quicker than I could imagine for a man his size, and Xavier McDaniel's vertical leap when he took a jump shot - there was an incredible amount of space between his feet and the floor. It's a completely different game when viewed up close and even the most pedestrian player is orders of magnitude more athletic than a normal person.

---

Games are so much better and real when seen from up close, just like when we used to play the game ourselves and were right in the middle of the action. Only then can we fully appreciate the athleticism, skill, and talent of the players. I know I miss so much by watching games on TV, and I refuse to watch the games streamed on a PC, Laptop, or heaven forbid, on a cell phone. What can you see? So what is the point? For those games I mail it in and check the score afterwards, and maybe a box score. Radio is superior to any of those options, because at least the announcers are closer to the action and many are quite good a describing plays and picking up the nuances. But nothing beats in- person-up-close seats for the best fan experience.

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Thank you both for sharing this stuff. Your observations are priceless.
I remember the game at the Cow, but did not attend. Best memories from up close viewing of these remarkable athletes: Brooks Hall, SF and San Jose Civic Auditorium where games were played by "candle light".

I remember watching one of those Sunday Celtic vs Sixers games when Wilt went for a slam and Russell blocked it, bending the rim with the back of his forearm....they had to stop the game and replace the rim....

bearister said:

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concordtom said:

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I imagine you have memories as a kid of Wilt playing?

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Well, in the mid to late 1960's it seemed like ABC put the Celtics (Russell) vs. 76ers (Wilt) on every Sunday afternoon. I was 17 by the time Wilt played his last season with the Lakers (1973).
I never saw Wilt play in person but I saw him off the court in person twice. I saw him at the finish line of the Bay to Breakers in 1968 (only a few thousand runners then. Race won by Kenny Moore, U.S. Army/Oregon ...his first of 6 consecutive wins).
I saw Wilt again at a track meet at Edward's Stadium in the mid 1970's and took a picture of him. I would post it here but I can't post attachments (maybe Premium can).

I never saw Bill Russell play in person but I hit balls next to him at Metropolitan 15 years ago or so. He is a lefty and I am a righty so we were looking at each other face to face. When I finished I was tempted to wish him well on the course but was too intimidated.
I spoke to Joe Montana once because our sons played hoop at DLS. He seemed like a humble and nice man that was slightly embarrassed by his celebrity.

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Regarding the Bay to Breakers. When I was a sophomore in high school (1964) our cross country team decided to run in the race and I tagged along. (Wasn't good enough for the team but I wanted to get in shape for basketball and the coach let me train with them) It gave me to opportunity to boast that I once finished in the top 100. (I sometimes don't mention that there we so few running that I also finished in the bottom 100.) I'm not even sure it was called Bay to Breakers back then.

Second the comment about Montana. I was watching my son at a summer basketball tournament when I suddenly realized I was sitting next to him. The tournament alternated boy's and girl's game and his daughter's game was in process. I wasn't going to bother him but he turned to me and said that he got way more nervous watching his kids than he did in his own games. He was also swamped by the knuckleheads on my son's team (Berkeley High) and was very gracious about it.

As for Wilt, I saw play in person twice. Seemed like he could do anything he wanted to, that he'd be in the league if he were 6'3". I think he'd be just fine today.

joe amos yaks said:

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SFCityBear said:

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HearstMining said:

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SFCityBear said:

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puget sound cal fan said:

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The Wilt vs. Russell match-ups in the NBA were epic battles.

---

The first time I saw Russell and Wilt go at it mano a mano was a NBA league game played in the Cow Palace to test the Bay Area market to help the NBA decide whether to let the Warriors move from Philadelphia to San Francisco. The Celtics had the two local former USF stars in Russell and KC Jones, while the Warriors had local boy Tom Meschery along with Wilt, so there was a lot of local interest in the game, but the main draw was Wilt.

The arena was packed. A friend and I bought General Admission tickets, and my friend was pretty brash, so we walked down to the floor in the 2nd row behind one basket, and sat in two empty seats. We got thrown out twice by the ushers, but by the 3rd time, the usher gave up and we watched the entire game from those seats, sitting about 15 feet from Wilt and Russell jockeying back and forth for position. They were both so strong and both so agile, it was like watching ballet and basketball, played by a couple of amazing athlete-artists.

Russell had been interviewed the day before in the Chronicle, where he said that no one could stop Wilt, and his job was to slow Wilt down just enough to give the Celtics a chance to win. Wilt had been averaging about 45 points a game, and Russ held him to 39, I think, and the Celtics won by a point or two, as I recall. The other bonus of sitting so close to the basket, was to see a superlative performance by the Celtics' forward Tommy Heinsohn, who scored 44 points on a dazzling array of shots, jumpers, layups with either hand, floaters, bank shots, hook shots, you name it.

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Years ago, I had similar seats at a Sonics/Nets game to yours - second row under the hoop. The players' combination of size and athleticism was astounding. Two things stood out: Joe Barry Carroll (who nobody would confuse with Wilt) moved quicker than I could imagine for a man his size, and Xavier McDaniel's vertical leap when he took a jump shot - there was an incredible amount of space between his feet and the floor. It's a completely different game when viewed up close and even the most pedestrian player is orders of magnitude more athletic than a normal person.

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Games are so much better and real when seen from up close, just like when we used to play the game ourselves and were right in the middle of the action. Only then can we fully appreciate the athleticism, skill, and talent of the players. I know I miss so much by watching games on TV, and I refuse to watch the games streamed on a PC, Laptop, or heaven forbid, on a cell phone. What can you see? So what is the point? For those games I mail it in and check the score afterwards, and maybe a box score. Radio is superior to any of those options, because at least the announcers are closer to the action and many are quite good a describing plays and picking up the nuances. But nothing beats in- person-up-close seats for the best fan experience.

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Thank you both for sharing this stuff. Your observations are priceless.
I remember the game at the Cow, but did not attend. Best memories from up close viewing of these remarkable athletes: Brooks Hall, SF and San Jose Civic Auditorium where games were played by "candle light".

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Thanks,and you're welcome. Here is one of my favorite clips of Wilt, winning a $5 bet by swishing 4 straight hook shots from the corner, now known as 3-point land. 4 straight, and nothing but net.

Kareem's Skyhook was the most money in the bank shot of all time. He would have knocked Wilt out of a HORSE game pretty quickly with it. helltopay1? Not so much.

I'm trying to remember if I ever lost a single game of HORSE.

Re: KC Jones & Bill Russell

I'm familiar with many guys who played with and against Jones & Russell when they played for USF

KC???Sweetest guy on earth

Russell??Next question...

Kareem???Excellent hook from within 15 feet...

Anyone remember bob 'hooks" Houbregs from the Washington Huskies???Drilled them regularly from 20 feet....

when Russell was a Junior at mcClymonds High school, he was second-string. That year they beat SI by one point in the TOC championship game at Harmon 31-30.

helltopay1 said:

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Kareem???Excellent hook from within 15 feet...

Anyone remember bob 'hooks" Houbregs from the Washington Huskies???Drilled them regularly from 20 feet....

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Houbregs was a great player who led the Huskies to two Pacific Conference titles, and was named 1st team consensus All-American in 1953 and 2nd team in 1952, and made All PCC in 0951, '52, and '53. In 1953, UW was ranked #2 and lost to LSU in the NCAA Final. In 1953, he averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds. Houbregs' Husky teams were 8-0 vs Cal over the 3 years.

And later, from 1957 through 1959, the Huskies had a duo, 6-7 center Doug Smart and 6-9 forward Bruno Boin, who knocked down a bundle those 20 foot hook shots, mostly from the corners. Smart averaged 19 points and 14 rebounds over 3 years, and was named to the All-PCC team in all three years. Boin averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds, and was named All-PCC in 1956. As good as Smart and Boin were, Cal was 5-1 vs those Washington teams from 1957-59. The Husky teams of Smart and Boin were 1-5 vs Cal over the three years.

bearister said:

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Kareem's Skyhook was the most money in the bank shot of all time. He would have knocked Wilt out of a HORSE game pretty quickly with it. helltopay1? Not so much.

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For that game of Horse between Kareem and Wilt, it might have depended on the coin flip as to who got the ball first. If Wilt got the ball first, he could have started with any kind of a 3 point shot, a hook or a jumper, and would have knocked Kareem out of the game just as quickly.

Wilt's main shooting weakness was his free throw shooting. I often felt he was just too strong to be shooting accurately from the free throw line. I think he might have shot his free throws at a better percentage if he moved back, say 15 feet from the line and shot them from there, in the range where Curry usually shoots his threes today.