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| | Wednesday, October 13 | |||||
Associated Press | ||||||
| PHILADELPHIA -- They are still telling stories about Wilt
Chamberlain here, the way they have since he first picked up a
basketball at Shoemaker Junior High School when he was 15.
His greatness is unquestioned, most of his records untouchable.
His prowess looms so large in this basketball town that he seems to
have eclipsed the game.
"Coming into Philadelphia," Julius Erving said, "the aura of
Chamberlain was there."
Still is.
Flags were lowered to half-staff Wednesday in remembrance of
Philadelphia's native son. Newspapers published special sections to
commemorate his life. Fans flooded the switchboards at radio and TV
stations to pour out their thoughts about the giant who died
Tuesday at 63.
Most wonderful of all, the basketball stories are flowing. And
few cities have as many stories as this place, where the most
dominant player who ever lived was born.
"He knew who he was and he was loved by everybody," said Cecil Mosenson, who coached Chamberlain at Overbrook High School. "What people don't know about him was, he was a gentle giant. He said a
lot of things people didn't like, but I never saw him demean
anybody. I never saw him hurt anybody, especially when he was
playing basketball."
Chamberlain became part of Philadelphia basketball lore when he
starred at Overbrook in the early '50s. The city's basketball
history already was rich with high school rivalries and the college
Big 5 series.
Chamberlain towered over it all. He'd earned enough respect to
leave Philadelphia -- for the University of Kansas and a
barnstorming tour with the Harlem Globetrotters -- and come home
again to play for the Philadelphia Warriors, and later the Sixers.
But he is remembered by many as a man with incredible individual
skills who should have won more. Chamberlain's teams lost four
seventh games to Bill Russell's Boston Celtics, winning two
championships during his prolific 14-year career.
"He was beat up a little bit by the media, even though he was
absolutely as great a basketball player as ever lived," said Billy
Cunningham, Chamberlain's teammate.
Erving, Philadelphia's next flamboyant basketball star, was
aware of Chamberlain's legacy. Sixers general manager Pat Williams
warned him to learn from it.
"We had this very specific conversation about kind of blending
in, that the era of a dominant guy like Chamberlain was over,"
Erving said. "That doesn't work in Philadelphia anymore.
Chamberlain had the individual honors, and the Celtics had the
championships."
As it turned out, Erving's Sixers won only one title, in 1983.
They lost in the finals to the Lakers of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and
Magic Johnson in 1980 and '82.
"So in the end, we actually accomplished the same thing Wilt
did," Erving said.
Still, with his Dr. J nickname and high-flying style, Erving
played his entire NBA career in Philadelphia. By and large, he
didn't hear the same criticism Chamberlain did.
"I don't think anyone was really treated quite like Dr. J,"
said Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News. "He couldn't do
anything wrong. Even to Wilt, he was a Philly guy, but there was a
reaction to him because he was so big. It was sort of, 'Why didn't
he win all the time?' "
Unlike Erving, Chamberlain's days in Philadelphia were not
always smooth.
A year after leading the Sixers to a 68-13 record and the NBA
title in 1966-67, Chamberlain's team lost again to Russell's
Celtics.
According to one version, Chamberlain, who made $180,000 in
1967-68, asked for a $1 million, three-year contract. The legend
also has it that he wanted to be named player-coach to replace Alex
Hannum and wanted a share in ownership of the team.
Chamberlain disputed this in one of his final interviews,
produced by the Sixers in May. He said general manager Jack Ramsay
and owner Irv Kosloff called him into their offices and offered him
the job of player-coach. Chamberlain said he declined, went home to
California and told his family he was quitting basketball.
"I came out here and I just told my family, 'Well, I've had
just about enough basketball. I'm going to give it up,' "
Chamberlain said. "I was gone. Totally gone."
Chamberlain was traded to the Lakers, leading them to the NBA
title in 1971-72. The Sixers were 9-73 the following season, the
worst record in NBA history. The Dr. J era began three years later.
Erving, who had grown close with Chamberlain over the years,
wishes he had one more chance to thank him for paving the way.
"He had nowhere to hide," Erving said. "At 6-6, I could hide.
I could have some sense of normalcy. I don't think Wilt was allowed
that." | ALSO SEE Wilt's agent says heart failure claimed NBA legend
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