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Chapters: Wilt Chamberlain's 100-Point Game, 1962 Nba Draft, 1962 Ncaa Men's Division Ii Basketball Tournament, 1962 Ncaa Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Fiba European Champions Cup 1962-63, 1962 Naia Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Fiba European Champions Cup 1961-62, 1962 Nba All-Star Game, 1961-62 Cincinnati Royals Season, 1962 Nba Finals, 1962 National Invitation Tournament, Fiba Africa Championship 1962, 1962 Nba Playoffs, 1961-62 Boston Celtics Season, 1962 Fiba European Champions Cup Final. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 70. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, named by the National Basketball Association as one of its greatest games, was a regular-season game between the Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks held on March 2, 1962 at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Warriors won the game 169147, setting what was then a record for the most combined points in a game by both teams. The game is most remembered, however, for the 100 points scored by Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain. This performance ranks as the NBA's single-game scoring record; along the way Chamberlain also broke five other NBA scoring records, of which four still stand. As Chamberlain broke several other scoring records during the 196162 NBA season, his 100-point performance was initially overlooked. In time, however, it became his signature game. Chamberlain, the Warriors' star center, was on a unique scoring spree. He had already scored 60 or more points a record 17 times during the 196162 NBA season and had set a new NBA record by scoring 78 points in a triple overtime game versus the Los Angeles Lakers. There was little advance excitement about the Warriors-Knicks game, which was a meaningless late-season match. Chamberlain had spent ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=9499391 ... Read more

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Chapters: Wilt Chamberlain, Dean Smith, Darrin Hancock, Kirk Hinrich, Paul Pierce, Mark Turgeon, Adonis Jordan, Ralph Miller, Drew Gooden, Mario Chalmers, Paul Randall Harrington, Danny Manning, Scot Pollard, Adolph Rupp, Jacque Vaughn, Sherron Collins, Ron Kellogg, Walter Sutton, Raef Lafrentz, Jerod Haase, Keith Langford, J. R. Giddens, Billy Thomas, Xavier Henry, Nick Collison, Julian Wright, Darnell Jackson, John D. Douglas, Darrell Arthur, Kevin Pritchard, Jo Jo White, Jeff Boschee, Wayne Simien, Rex Walters, Clyde Lovellette, Aaron Miles, Brandon Rush, Hal Patterson, Cole Aldrich, Sasha Kaun, C. J. Henry, Dave Robisch, Ray Evans, David Padgett, Greg Ostertag, B. H. Born, Wayne Hightower, Thomas L. Kivisto, Russell Robinson, Maurice King, Otto Schnellbacher, Tyshawn Taylor, Tad Boyle, Leonard Gray, Isaac Stallworth, Ron Franz, C. J. Giles, Ben Davis, Carl Henry, James Bausch, Mark Randall, Eric Chenowith, Darnell Valentine, Paul Mokeski, Dutch Lonborg, John Bunn, Forrest Debernardi, Rick Calloway, Scooter Barry, Skinny Johnson, Bill Bridges, Norm Cook, Walt Wesley, Ryan Robertson, Charles Black, Greg Dreiling, Bill Hougland, Walter Roger Brown, Bob Kenney, Paul Endacott, Brian Martin, Dean Kelley, John Keller, Cedric Hunter, Charlie Hoag, Bill Lienhard, Riney Lochmann. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 362. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Harlem Globetrotters (19581959)Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (19591965)Philadelphia 76ers (19651968)Los Angeles Lakers (19681973) Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain (August 21, 1936 October 12, 1999) was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; and also played for the Harlem Globetrotters. The 7 foot 1 inch Chamberlain, who weighed 250 lb...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=255645 ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Nathaniel "Nate" Thurmond (born July 25, 1941, in Akron, Ohio) is a retired American basketball player, feared and praised by legends including Bob Pettit, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain. His nickname during his playing years was "Nate the Great". He played in high school with another future NBA star, Gus Johnson, at Akron Central. Their powerful team went undefeated before losing to Middletown, led by Jerry Lucas, in the Ohio state high school playoffs. Passing on a scholarship offer to Ohio State, to avoid becoming Lucas's backup there, the 6'11" Thurmond chose Bowling Green. He was named a first-team All-American by The Sporting News in 1963, and was drafted by the San Francisco Warriors later that year. ... Read more

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A BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE NBA’S GLORY DAYS, AND THE RIVALRY THAT DOMINATED THE ERA

In the mid-1950s, the NBA was a mere barnstorming circuit, with outposts in such cities as Rochester, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Most of the best players were white; the set shot and layup were the sport’s chief offensive weapons. But by the 1970s, the league ruled America’s biggest media markets; contests attracted capacity crowds and national prime-time television audiences. The game was played “above the rim”–and the most marketable of its high-flying stars were black. The credit for this remarkable transformation largely goes to two giants: Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.

In The Rivalry, award-winning journalist John Taylor projects the stories of Russell, Chamberlain, and other stars from the NBA’s golden age onto a backdrop of racial tensions and cultural change. Taylor’s electrifying account of two complex men–as well as of a game and a country at a crossroads–is an epic narrative of sports in America during the 1960s.

It’s hard to imagine two characters better suited to leading roles in the NBA saga: Chamberlain was cast as the athletically gifted yet mercurial titan, while Russell played the role of the stalwart centerpiece of the Boston Celtics dynasty. Taylor delves beneath these stereotypes, detailing how the two opposed and complemented each other and how they revolutionized the way the game was played and perceived by fans.

Competing with and against such heroes as Jerry West, Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, and Elgin Baylor, and playing for the two greatest coaches of the era, Alex Hannum and the fiery Red Auerbach, Chamberlain and Russell propelled the NBA into the spotlight. But their off-court visibility and success–to say nothing of their candor–also inflamed passions along America’s racial and generational fault lines. In many ways, Russell and Chamberlain helped make the NBA and, to some extent, America what they are today.

Filled with dramatic conflicts and some of the great moments in sports history, and building to a thrilling climax–the 1969 final series, the last showdown between Russell and Chamberlain–The Rivalry has at its core a philosophical question: Can determination and a team ethos, embodied by the ultimate team player, Bill Russell, trump sheer talent, embodied by Wilt Chamberlain?

Gripping, insightful, and utterly compelling, the story of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain is the stuff of sporting legend. Written with a reporter’s unerring command of events and a storyteller’s flair, The Rivalry will take its place as one of the classic works of sports history.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

A great read, but accuracy is suspect
This appears to be a thorough, thoughtful examination of the Russell-Chamberlain rivalry and what it did for pro basketball (much as Bird-Magic would do years later), but its sloppiness makes its accuracy on any given anecdote suspect. Given that some of the inaccuracy involves some of the better-known, most easily researched moments -- mistakes that literally jump out for their amatuerishness -- I went from initially being fascinated by Taylor's compilation of behind-the-scenes insights to wondering whether I could trust any of it.

Here are some examples that came to mind as I read The Rivalry:

* Taylor's depiction of one of the most celebrated shots in NBA history, Don Nelson's desperation foul-line set shot that bounced freakishly high off the rim before falling through the net just as the Lakers were making their Game 7 comeback in 1969, is available from many film sources, and yet Taylor gets it all wrong. He say Keith Erickson "blocked a shot" and Nelson "recovered" the ball, when in fact, Erickson clearly reached from behind Havlicek in an attempt to steal the ball and poked it loose. The ball went directly to Nelson's hands some 10 feet away as if it were a pass (yet another freakish twist to the play) -- Nelson didn't "recover" the ball, he had it plop into his open hands like a gift from the basketball gods.

* Taylor correctly depicts Sam Jones' rattling game-winner triple-pick jumper on the "Ohio" play that pulled out Game 4 for the Celtics in the first telling, but later in the book refers to it as having happened in Game 5. Did anyone edit the book or even proof it? This is basic stuff, folks, and if you can't trust the simple things to be accurate, can you trust Taylor's accuracy on the more sophisticated events described in the book?

* For instance, Taylor goes into great detail about the injuries and strategies of both the Celtics and Lakers leading into the 1969 finals, yet leaves out one of the most crucial factors and a pretty well-documented one: Although Havlicek had been the team's famed Sixth Man throughout his career to that point, Russell moved him into the starting lineup for that series because he felt the Celtics needed to get off to faster starts. That, more than anything, may have made the difference in the series because in most of those games the Celtics jumped out to early big leads and put the Lakers in the position of constantly having to play catchup. The psychological implications of this dynamic can't be overstated, as the Lakers (and Wilt, with the exception of 1967) had perpetually lost to the Celtics and to trail early in most of the championship games had to reinforce likely presumptions that once again the Celtics couldn't be beaten.

As I say, these are just simple, obvious things that jumped out as I read -- and things any reasonable student of the game should have gotten right. I'd like to think they're just minor dumb oversights, but I can't help but wonder if the rest of the so-called facts in this book are as dubious.

The book is a good read -- I just don't trust it.

The Irresistable Force Vs. the Immovable Object
There have been many head-to-head rivalries in professional sports, but perhaps none has been so compelling as the NBA rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.In "The Rivalry", author John Taylor examines the battles between the two superstars that helped put pro basketball on the map of American sports.

The book recalls the paths that Russell and Chamberlain took to the NBA, and details how different the league was in the 1950s and 1960s.Stars in the league had different lives than pro basketball players do today, and Taylor recounts developments that in time changed the league, such as the civil rights movement, television contracts, and conflicts between the players' union and the owners.

Taylor describes Chamberlain's 100-point game, the many playoff battles between Russell's Boston Celtics and Chamberlain's squads, and some of the playoff battles that the Celtics had with some of the other noteworthy teams of the era such as the St. Louis Hawks and the pre-Wilt Los Angeles Lakers.Chamberlain was notorious for feuding with his coaches, and the author recalls many of those incidents.Russell, on the other hand, had a positive force on the chemistry of his teams, and won many more championships.

This well-researched book is a first-rate history of the NBA of the Fifties and Sixties.

Russell-Chamberlain
Pretty straightforward but it did bring me back to my youth loving Russell and hating Wilt.A fair amount of good information.

A fascinating look at Russell, Chamberlain and the NBA
Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, two giants of the NBA, first competed against each other on Nov. 3, 1959.They would go head-to-head many more times over the next decade, which author John Taylor dubs "The Golden Age of Basketball."

The study of Russell and Chamberlain, two very different personalities and competitors, is fascinating.Their matchups were classic and helped shape play in the NBA.Russell and Chamberlain collided for the first time, just five years after the 24-second clock was introduced and the NBA was known for its "blood and thunder" style play.

While Chamberlain was recruited by 200 colleges, Russell, a late bloomer, received one college offer.Celtics coach Red Auerbach told Russell to focus on defense and not to worry about how many points he scored.Chamberlain, on the other hand, was obsessed by his scoring.Although he possessed a prickly personality, Russell was much more coachable and team-oriented than Chamberlain.Wilt was constantly clashing with his coaches.Russell earned the "winner" label, while Chamberlain was forever known as a "loser." Chamberlain's offense wasn't nearly as influential to the game or his team's performance as Russell's defense was.Russell focused on blocked shots and rebounds.He changed the game from layups to outside shooting, screens and picks.

The seventh game of the NBA championships in 1969 exemplifies the difference between Russell and Chamberlain.Taylor excitingly recreates the playoff battles between the Lakers and Celtics.

Besides Russell and Chamberlain, Taylor presents interesting profiles of Auerbach, Butch Van Breda Kolff, Alex Hannum, Bob Cousy, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and several other key figures of the era.

Taylor's coverage of the formation of the players' union and the possible All-Star boycott in 1964 also is interesting.

Very Impartial Accunt Of These Guys
What I most appreciated about this book was the objectivity of the author John Taylor.You don't find this often this day: a totally unbiased account of people.Here, we see the good and bad of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Red Auerbach along with other notables of the 1950s and 1960s NBA.

Taylor simply points out the things that happened to Wilt, Russ, Bob Cousy, Jerry West, Tom Heinsohn and others, letting us - the reader - make up our own minds about these people.One thing for sure: you never get a boring account of anything that happened or was said by guys like Chamerberlain and Auerbach.Some of things those two did were unbelievable!

Almost all the stories in here are amazing and even if you think you know a lot about these famous basketball players, you'll be surprised at all the new inside information provided in this book - all of it very interesting and impartial. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Wilt Chamberlain, Jim O'brien (Basketball, Born 1949), Caldwell Jones, Lee Davis, Warren Jabali, Bob Nash, Billy Harris, Billy Shepherd, Travis Grant, Jerry Chambers, Gene Moore, Red Robbins, Stew Johnson, Mike Barrett, Bo Lamar, Larry Miller, Flynn Robinson, Art Williams, Ollie Taylor, Chuck Williams, Simmie Hill, Craig Raymond, Tim Bassett, George Adams, Paul Stovall, Henry Bacon. Excerpt:Point guard Arthur T. Williams (born September 29, 1939 in Bonham, Texas ) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'1" guard from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona , Williams played seven seasons (1967-1974) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the San Diego Rockets and Boston Celtics . He averaged 5.3 points per game in his career and won an NBA Championship with Boston in 1974. Williams also played briefly with the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association in 1974-1975. Websites (URLs online) A hyperlinked version of this chapter is at Billy Harris (November 12, 1951 January 3, 2010) was an American basketball player. Harris grew up in Chicago , where he earned a reputation as a streetball star. A prolific long-range scorer, he was nicknamed "Billy the Kid " and "Shotgun". Scoop Jackson of the magazine SLAM later dubbed him the best playground basketball player ever. "No one has ever claimed to have seen, heard about or witnessed Billy having a bad game. Not one story, not one game," wrote Jackson. Harris graduated from Dunbar High School in Chicago in 1969, having averaged about 33 points per game as a senior. After being recruited by many colleges, including the University of Kansas , he played at Northern Illinois University from 1969 to 1973. During his junior season at NIU, he led the team to a 21-4 record, which wa... ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Coach and Athletic Director, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1032 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Where there's a Wilt ...(HERE BELOW)(accomplishments of Wilt Chamberlain)(sportsmanship in high school basketball)(New York Giants owner Wellington Mara)
Author: Herman L. Masin
Publication: Coach and Athletic Director (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 75Issue: 10Page: 5(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
8.5" x 11"; 72 pages plus the cover. Includes a high school all-star section featuring Alcindor and Unseld. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An oddity worth checking out
He discusses at length how opposing players would try to rattle him by snapping a rubber band he would customarily wear on his wrist.

Of an early coach he had who claimed he could "handle" his players, Wilt averred: "You handle horses. You don't handle players. You work with players."

He revels us with tales of driving from coast to coast while chugging large bottles of 7-Up. After learning he can't fit into the sports car of his dreams, he weeps.

He named one of his dogs Kareem. The book contains plenty of pictures, too, mostly of his ostentatious home.

Wilt Chamberlain...The "Loser"
I feel that this book truly portrays the life of an African-American superstar in the 60's and 70's.He is a bit egotistical at times, but is always truthful (except for the part about all the women).All through his career, he is called a loser because of what his team is accomplishing and not him.In his first several years, his teams consistently played the Celtics in the playoffs, and instead of the Warriors vs. the Celtics, it became Bill Russel vs. Wilt Chamberlain.Wilt would consistently beat out Russel in every category, yet his team would still lose.When this happened, Wilt was called the loser.He was told that Russel schooled him time and time again, when really, it was the other way around.
This book accurately portrays what it would be like to face the "Loser" label your whole life.It wasn't fair at all, but Wilt successfully had a good season after another.I definately reccomend this book to anyone who likes success stories or if you like sports biographies.In fact, I recommend it to anybody

Wilt Can Write
Over twenty-five years ago, Wilt Chamberlain took the belief that professional athletes are dumb and flushed it like a loose stool.In this book, he shares truths about his groundbreaking NBA salaries, his views on dating, and other famous basketball personalities.His sense of humor entertains his readers, while his intelligence, clearly evidenced by his vocabulary, constantly enlightens.For everyone old enough to vote, this book will be a wonderful experience. ... Read more

Product Description
Destroying a dynasty.That was the mission of Wilt Chamberlain and 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers.For eight straight years, the Boston Celtics had dominated the National Basketball Association. Each and every season during that stretch, a new NBA championship flag was hoisted to the top of the hallowed Boston Garden. No team had been able to stop them. Nobody thought any team could or would.Season of the 76ers, The Story of Wilt Chamberlain and the 1967 NBA Champion Philadelphia 76ers, chronicles the unprecedented, record-setting championship journey of the team that finally stopped the Celtics and became the new kings of the NBA. It tells the story of the legendary Chamberlain's personal triumph over Boston and their leader, Bill Russell, arch rivals who had annually thwarted Chamberlain's championship dreams and had left him branded a loser.But Chamberlain couldn't defeat the Celtics alone. He was reunited with fiery and focused Coach Alex Hannum, the only NBA coach ever to have beaten Boston for the championship. He was surrounded by the best supporting cast of his career: Hal Greer and Chet Walker, two talented offensive stars transplanted from a bygone NBA franchise; Luke Jackson, the league's first true power forward; Billy Cunningham, a sixth man loaded with instant energy and offense; Wally Jones and Larry Costello, a pair of basketball reclamation projects; and, Matty Guokas and Bill Melchionni, a couple of hometown rookies.Chamberlain remade his game, forsaking his own incredible scoring prowess in favor of handing out assists to teammates. In turn, the 76ers remade basketball history, rocketing to an unmatched 46-4 record out of the gate and not stopping until they reached 68-13, a regular season mark never previously achieved in NBA history--or even imagined back then.The book gives fans a fascinating, month-by-month look at the team's amazing season, a season that also saw Chamberlain pursued by both a rival basketball league and the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. It also recounts in vivid, play-by-play detail one of the most historic playoff series in the annals of the NBA.The 76ers battled the Celtics again in a much-anticipated post-season confrontation. But this time the results would be different. Amid chants of "Boston is dead" from the long-suffering, Celtics-hating fans at Philadelphia's Convention Hall, the 76ers won the series quickly and decisively. They went on to defeat sharp-shooting Rick Barry and the San Francisco Warriors for the NBA title.In 1995, the 76ers took their place among the top ten teams in NBA history. Season of the 76ers makes the strong case that they are the best NBA team of all time. Packed with pictures, playoff box scores, and reproductions of the 76ers' championship yearbook, the book is not only the biography of a great team, it is a fun- and fact-filled sports collectible.The NBA's 2001-2002 season marks the 35th anniversary of that special "Season of the 76ers"--a fitting time to relive this team's unforgettable achievements. AUTHORBIO: Wayne Lynch became a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers in the mid-1960s as a teenager growing up in Pittsburgh. He started a small scrapbook about the team back then, but it was not until more than three decades later that he decided to tell the full story of the 1967 championship team he loved so much. Mr. Lynch is a longtime television journalist who is now Vice President of News and Programming at Newschannel 8, the 24-hour cable news service for greater Washington, D.C. He lives with his wife, Karen, in northern Virginia. His son, Matthew, lives and works in Philadelphia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Games Do Not Tell The Entire Story
Entering the 1966-1967 season, Wilt Chamberlain was at the crossroads of his storied NBA career.

Criticized by many inside and outside the NBA as being a selfish player who only cares about his scoring statistics - at the expense of team honors - a frustrated Chamberlain publicly lashed out at players, coaches and league officials in an April 1965 interview in Sports Illustated, entitled, My Life In A Bush League.

But one season later, Chamberlain seemingly revamped his game - notching MVP honors by leading the league in scoring and rebounds, but also ranking third in assists and playing a tenacious defense - as the Philadelphia 76ers put together arguably the greatest NBA season ever by winning regular season 68 of 81 games enroute to the championship, defeating the San Francisco Warriors in six games.

To put the regular season in perspective, the 76ers captured the Eastern Division by eight games over Boston and would have won the Western Division by 24 games over San Francisco.

In a flawed account of the season, author Wayne Lynch places the focus on Chamberlain, though what coach Alex Hannum assembled proved to be a historic lineup of talent, which included Chet Walker, Hal Greer, Wali Jones, Billy Cunningham and Lucious Jackson.

Lynch relies heavily on game-by-game accounts and fails to breath life into the statistics through oral histories or previous accounts by 76er players and opponents. He sacrifices what could have been truly an outstanding overview for just the facts surrounding jump shots, rebounds and layups.

Games alone do not tell the entire story of a championship season. And without a perspective from the hardwood floor and locker room, the stats overwhelm a text that essentially is without the sweat and heart of a team.

A Celtics Fan speaks (s/b 4.5 stars)
Although I disagree that the 1967 76ers are the Greatest Team ever, I feel that this team is at least Top 3 and probably the most underrated of all the serious teams in the discussion. This is the year that Wilt (who actually led the league in assists this season) and the 76ers finally broke through and won two championships [ 1) by winning the NBA title and 2) by dethroning the Celtics]. For a team that was named the Greatest Team ever at the league's 25th anniversary (even above all the Bill Russell-led Celtics teams), this team gets almost no respect today. This may have something to do with the fact that they were unable to repeat and lost to an aging Celtics team in 1968. Still it's hard to argue against the 1967 76ers being the best team ever (I know it's tough for me to argue against it, and I feel that the 1985-86 Celtics are the Best Team ever).

I do have some problems with the overall credibility of the author when he says that the only two teams that are in the discussion with this Sixers team are the 1972 Lakers (which is fine) and the 1996 Bulls (which is just preposterous) and his rationale was based on record which was inflated due to the increase in expansion teams. There are three teams from the 1980s that should definitely be in the discussion (1983 Sixers, 1986 Celtics, 1987 Lakers) for Greatest Team ever. However, he did put the 2001 Lakers in their place by saying that really great teams get it done throughout the season (despite the team's 15-1 playoff record). Overall this book, much like Peter May's book on the 1985-86 Celtics, is good as a chronicle for a great season but is flawed when the authors try to analyze why their subjects are the greatest team ever.

Long Overdue Book on a legendary team
Only Philadelphiacould totally neglect the greatest NBA team of alltime for over thirty years. I remember going to the old Convention Hall in Philly and watching Wily, Chet, Hal, Billy and Luke and the boys obliterate opposing teams. Big Luke was my favorite player---he set picks for Cunningham, Greer, and Walker; he played tenacious defense, and rebounded like a demon. He sacrificed much of his own scoring production for the good of the team. Wilt said Luke was the most intimidating player in NBA history. Wilt recalled with a laugh that whenever Willis Reed saw Jackson walking done the tunnel onto the court during warmups, Reed began to visibly shake. A nice little ditty; I highly recommend it. Now I wish someone in Philly would produce a DVD highlighting that same 1966-67 season. That would be fun to watch.

THE TELLING OF A SEASON OF GREATNESS
THIS IS THE STORY OF ONE OF THE MOST DOMINATING TEAMS IN ANY SPORT. THE SIXERS WERE PRACTICALLY UNBEATABLE DURING THEIR INCREDIBLE SEASON OF 66-67. THIS IS A MONTH BY MONTH SUMMARY OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AND EVENTS WHICH BROUGHT THE SIXERS TO THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP. THE FIRST PART OF THE BOOK LEADS UP TO THE EVENTS WHICH BROUGHT THE TEAM TOGETHER. IT PROVIDES AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL GAMES, ESPECIALLY THE PLAYOFFS. ALSO AN AFTER SEASON SUMMARY OF HOW THE TEAM LOST TO THE CELTICS IN 67-68 AND THE EVENTUAL BREAKUP OF THIS GREAT DYNAMO. ALSO SOME GREAT STATS AND SOME NOSTALGIC PHOTOS PROVIDE US WITH A GOOD BOOK. RECOMMENDED.

Something to celebrate!
... it's a book about a championship season in Philadelphia, and that's certainly something to celebrate ... and there's also some very interesting commentary thrown in from Bill Cunningham ... ... Read more

Product Description
The former basketball star speaks out on Bill Russell, race relations, the NBA, sex, women, Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, and many other hot topics. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Wilt Chamberlain: Always Interesting
It's ironic than Wilt Chamberlain was a long-time rival of Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach. They might have been "enemies" but both men are very opinionated and write extremely-readable, fun books. Red's "Let Me Tell You A Story" and this book by Wilt are both told as if the men who sitting opposite you in your living room just shooting the bull.

That approach makes this book a lot of fun to read. It's also ironic that almost all of Wilt's comments about the NBA stiil hold true today! He was right on the money on most things.Regarding his boasting, well, this guy was the greatest player of all time - no question about it - and never really got enough praise....and it bothered him, big-time. You can read it throughout the book but, frankly, I have to agree with him.

I really didn't give two hoots what Wilt thinks of telephone services or waiting in line at the checkout counter or other inane things, but they were still fun to read. Most, though, I appreciate his insight into basketball and why certain players were either great or overrated.Wilt's honesty and frankness was refreshing.

Chamberlain's sense of humor was good, too, and there is plenty of it here in this book.This is simply a great read and I regret Wilt is no longer with us to keep giving his outlook on the present culture, whether it was outragous or not.

DEFIES MATHEMATICS
EASY READING AND GOOD INSIGHT AS TO WHAT HAPPENS TO AGING JOCKS.HE COMES ACROSS MOSTLY AS A BRAGGART AND MISSING THE GLORY DAYS; AND THE THING ABOUT 20,000 WOMEN...GIVE ME A BREAK!DID HE EVER HAVE A BAD DAY, LIKE BEING TIRED FROM THE ROAD, STD'S, HAVING A COLD/FLU/INJURIES, OR TAKING IN TOO MANY CALORIES, ETC.? THEN IF YOU MISS A DAY OR TWO, THERE'S A LOT OF CATCH-UP TO KEEP THE NUMBERS STRONG. OVERALL I LIKED THE BOOK AND HAVE TO STATE, "HE WAS A TERRIFIC, TALENTED BASKETBALL PLAYER." IT'S NOW TOUGH TO FIND THE BOOK BUT WORTH A LITTLE EFFORT AND TIME.

A View into Wilt's Head!
Some of the reviewers have given Wilt's book a hard time, but I felt he accomplished what he set out to do. He has given us a glance into his thoughts and ideas about so many different things. We truly have a look at the way he thought, whether we agree with his opinions or not. I certainly did not agree with everything he had to say, but gained insight into his life and saw that some of his opinions were filled with good insight. I found it interesting to see how he and other NBA stars interacted according to him. I'd love to hear their opinions as well. I enjoyed hearing about some of the stars from the old days. Wilt stood up for them and how they should be better recognized today. I'd love to see DVD's available with clips from all of the old stars. Wilt thought highly of himself and that is obvious. But, let's face it, who else ever scored 100 points in a game? He does deserve some recognition. Wilt certainly did not live a perfect life, but he enjoyed himself and experienced much and you can learn about many details if you read this book. You'll find it interesting.

INTERESTING
WILT HAS MANY OPINIONS AND THOUGHTS. IN THIS BOOK HE EXPRESSES THEM FROM START TO FINISH. I AGREE WITH MANY OF HIS INSIGHTS. HE WAS A VERY INTELLIGENT GUY WHO ENJOYED THE FINE THINGS IN LIFE, CARS, WOMEN, FINE WINES, LARGE HOUSE ETC. WILT LIVED LARGE. THIS IS A NICE READ FOR FANS OF THE GREAT WILT. NICELY PUT TOGETHER.

GREAT BOOK
WILT CHAMBERLAIN was THE GREATEST NBA PLAYER PERIOD.He Has TOO Mention Himself Because He has Never Gotten His Fair Shake.WHen He talks About Issues He Really Hits HOme.as For All THe Women He Slept With was He AnyWorse than JFK OR BILL CLINTON? way overblown.Acknowledge His Impact as aGreat Athlete&Great Minded Person.Very Intelligent Human Being. ... Read more

Product Description
Includes 30 minutes of genuine radio broadcast from the 4th quarter of Wilt Chamberlin's 1962, 100-point game!

On the night of March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, right up the street from the chocolate factory, Wilt Chamberlain, a young and striking athlete celebrated as the Big Dipper, scored one hundred points in a game against the New York Knickerbockers.

As historic and revolutionary as the achievement was, it remains shrouded in myth. The game was not televised; no New York sportswriters showed up; and a fourteen-year-old local boy ran onto the court when Chamberlain scored his hundredth point, shook his hand, and then ran off with the basketball. In telling the story of this remarkable night, author Gary M. Pomerantz brings to life a lost world of American sports.

In 1962, the National Basketball Association, stepchild to the college game, was searching for its identity. Its teams were mostly white, the number of black players limited by an unspoken quota. Games were played in drafty, half-filled arenas, and the players traveled on buses and trains, telling tall tales, playing cards, and sometimes reading Joyce. Into this scene stepped the unprecedented Wilt Chamberlain: strong and quick-witted, voluble and enigmatic, a seven-footer who played with a colossal will and a dancer’s grace. That strength, will, grace, and mystery were never more in focus than on March 2, 1962. Pomerantz tracked down Knicks and Philadelphia Warriors, fans, journalists, team officials, other NBA stars of the era, and basketball historians, conducting more than 250 interviews in all, to recreate in painstaking detail the game that announced the Dipper’s greatness. He brings us to Hershey, Pennsylvania, a sweet-seeming model of the gentle, homogeneous small-town America that was fast becoming anachronistic. We see the fans and players, alternately fascinated and confused by Wilt, drawn anxiously into the spectacle. Pomerantz portrays the other legendary figures in this story: the Warriors’ elegant coach Frank McGuire; the beloved, if rumpled, team owner Eddie Gottlieb; and the irreverent p.a. announcer Dave “the Zink” Zinkoff, who handed out free salamis courtside.

At the heart of the book is the self-made Chamberlain, a romantic cosmopolitan who owned a nightclub in Harlem and shrugged off segregation with a bebop cool but harbored every slight deep in his psyche. March 2, 1962, presented the awesome sight of Wilt Chamberlain imposing himself on a world that would diminish him. Wilt, 1962 is not only the dramatic story of a singular basketball game but a meditation on small towns, midcentury America, and one of the most intriguing figures in the pantheon of sports heroes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

An excellent account of an amazing feat and the early days of the NBA
In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain, the 7-foot-1 superstar, was in his third year in the NBA.It was a time when the game "straddled two NBA eras with isolated images of the game's past and future," according to author Gary Pomerantz.

But Chamberlain "did to the NBA game what Elvis did to traditional popular music; he placed it in a new context," writes Pomerantz.Chamberlain moved the game above the rim and quickened the scoring pace.

Chamberlain averaged an amazing 50 points a game during the 1961-62 season for the Philadelphia Warriors.The highlight came on March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pa., when he scored 100 points against the New York Knicks.

Pomerantz uses Wilt's 100-point game as the "Dawn of a New Era."He does an excellent job of putting the reader in the game (although there was no television coverage and no New York papers covered the game).Pomerantz interviewed 250 people for the book, including 56 who were among the scant crowd of 4,124 in attendance.

A reader will learn a lot about the early days of the NBA and the culture of the 1960s through this book.In 1962, the NBA struggled with attendance, often having doubleheaders (two games for the price of one).Sometimes, the Harlem Globetrotters would be the first game and the NBA teams would match up in the nightcap.On Wilt's 100-point night, the NFL Philadelphia Eagles played the Baltimore Colts in an exhibition prior to the Warriors-Knicks matchup.High-scoring NBA games were frowned upon, and Chamberlain,who was not a gate attraction, was frequently criticized for his scoring and number of shots taken.Unbelievably, there were only 37 blacks in the NBA.

Pomerantz offers interesting profiles of the players and coaches involved in Wilt's 100-point game.Wilt's drive to 100 points is vividly and excitedly recreated.He had 69 points entering the fourth quarter, and the Knicks felt like he was embarrassing them.They were determined to keep him from scoring 100.It was 1 vs. 5 down the stretch.There were no easy shots.Chamberlain earned every point.

Any basketball fan should find this book fascinating.

Everything Adds Up Well In This Book
Outside of Babe Ruth, I can't think of a more interesting American athlete than basketball star Wilt Chamberlain.Anything about him is usually a fascinating read, and this account of the night he scored 100 points in one game (still a record) is terrific.

You can't write an entire book on one 48-minute contest so the author gives us interesting profiles of some of the other players and coaches who played in this particular game and in the NBA in general.We also get some fascinating accounts of what the fans did in Hershey, Pa., this night when the Sixers and Knicks played on a "neutral" court. The account of what happened to the ball used to score the 100th point, alone, is fascinating reading.We also get a feel of pro basketball and the American culture during the year 1962, just before race relations exploded in the '60s.

It all adds up - as Chamberlain's points did in this historic game - to a great read. One doesn't have to be a follower of Wilt to enjoy this book written by Gary Pomerantz.It's good stuff!

GOOD READ
THIS IS ABOUT THE NIGHT WILT CHAMBERLAINSCORED 100 POINTS IN AN NBA GAME. I FOUND MOST OF THIS BOOK TO BE GOOD BUT AT TIMES IT HAD ALOT OF THINGS THAT WERE JUST PLAIN BORING. THE AUTHOR TRIES VERY HARD TO GIVE US THE NOSTALGIA AND ATMOSPHERE OF 1962, BUT I FOUND THE DETAIL TO THE GAME TO BE LACKING. I REALLY DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT MUCH ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP OF GOTTLIEB AND ZINKOFF. SEEMS IT WAS USED TO FILL SOME PAGES. WHEN THE BOOK STICKS TO GAME ACTION AND DETAILS THE BOOK EXCELS. BUT THE ONLY REAL DETAIL OCCURS IN THE 4TH QUARTER. I ALSO LIKED THE INTERVIEWS WITH VARIOUS PLAYERS AND COACHES WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS GAME. ALSO LIKED THE STORY OF THE STOLEN BASKETBALL AND THE LATER YEARS OF WILT'S LIFE. OVERALL THIS IS A GOOD READ AND I RECOMMEND FOR ALL NOSTALGIC BASKETBALL FANS. ALSO A BOX SCORE OF THE GAME WOULD HAVE BEEN A NICE TOUCH.

Wilt's era and big night
This is a fascinating read about one of the most charismatic personalities to play basketball on the professional level, Wilt Chamberlain. Although the book focuses on the night the record was made when Wilt scored 100 points the book reads like a sophisticated movie complete with flashbacks into Wilt's past. This allows the reader to see Wilt in very real terms in spite of the superhuman feats he performed, culminating with the 100 point game. There are many anecdotes that bring the story to life for a compelling portrait of the man and his times. This is a thoroughly good book that can be enjoyed by a variety of levels of reading ability. With slightly over 200 pages of interesting material this is a good book for the student of the game of basketball who may be attending high school. This book would be good for writting a book report on a sports biography.

And Whatever Happened To That Basketball?
In the early 1960s - light years before the era of 24 hour cable sports coverage - most pro basketball games might as well have been played on the Moon due to the lack of national media interest and with "home" games being played at neutral sites for bigger gates.

That was the case for the 1962 Philadelphia Warriors, a franchise on the brink of being sold, though it featured a hometown legend, Wilt Chamberlin, and had a history of legendary high-school and college teams.

On March 2 in Hershey, Pa., Wilt accomplished the impossible; scoring 100 points versus the New York Knickerbockers. The arena - with a capacity of 8,000 - was about half-full, the game was not televised and there were no New York sportswriters in attendance. Author Gary M. Pomerantz breaths life into the grainy photos from the event through interviews of referees, players, fans, reporters and team officials.

Though the book breaks the game down into four quarters, it is not simply a history of that night. The early 1960s was a bridge for many black athletes to articulate about the rampant racism in society and sports. Pomerantz aptly writes about Wilt the individual - who was very vocal about the racial quotas on NBA clubs - and businessman as much as Wilt the athlete.

And Pomerantz outlines the biggest controvery from the game; who got possession of the basketball.

It is a record that may never be broken, but there was more to that evening than the game on the court. Wilt, 1962, again shows how sports mirrors society and even the greatest feats on a field of play cannot escape the reflection in black & white. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 530 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Signed essays ranging from 500 to 2,500 words, written by subject experts and edited to form a consistent, readable, and straightforward reference. Entries include subject-specific bibliographies and textual cross-references to related essays. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, 2nd ed., brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 682 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the regions of the American continents in which two of the world's first civilizations developed: Mesoamerica (the name for the lands in which ancient civilizations arose in Central America and Mexico) and the Andes Mountains region of South America (in present-day Peru and parts of Bolivia, northern Argentina, and Ecuador). In both regions, the history of civilization goes back thousands of years. ... Read more