by Jerry Curtis

Created on: June 14, 2008   Last Updated: January 23, 2009

Wilt Chamberlain hated his nickname "Wilt The Stilt." One the other hand, he did not mind so much his lesser known nickname "The Dipper" or "Dippy," that his high school teammates gave him because of his tendency to crouch as he guided his skinny 6 foot 11 inch height through door transoms. When he reached his full 7 foot 1 inch height as a professional player, however, he crouched for no one. He became one of the best basketball players in the world. He retired in 1973, but he still holds records that may never be broken.

In his prime, Wilt absolutely dominated the sport. Many of today's NBA basketball rules changes were a result of the way Chamberlain could play. For example, offensive goal tending was once legal. Wilt's inside domination of any offensive shot near the rim resulted in an astonishing accomplishment of scoring records in every level he played. One of his biographers tells how Wilt's high school teammates would get aggravated as he intercepted free throws in flight and dunked them for two points. Basketball's free throw lane was also widened and rules for throwing inbound passes were changed because of Wilt's dominance.

A Philadelphia native, Wilt opted to play his collegiate basketball for the University of Kansas. Back in the 50's, freshmen players could not play on the varsity squad. Nevertheless, Chamberlain led his freshman squad to a ten-point victory over the varsity in an intra-squad game with a 40-point scoring spurt. In his second year, Chamberlain quickly dominated his team and became his conference's MVP, leading the Jay Hawks to the NCAA finals where they lost by one point in triple overtime. In college, Wilt was also a champion field and track star. He won the Big Eight high jump championship, clearing 6 feet six inch bar.

In 1958, Wilt decided he would rather go pro than play out his senior year. Rules then were that no collegiate player could sign on to an NBA team until a date when the player would have completed four years in college. So while waiting out his year's eligibility, Chamberlain signed on with the Harlem Globetrotters for $50,000 - an enormous amount in those days.

Wilt eventually signed on with the Philadelphia Warriors (today's Golden State Warriors). It was with the Warriors that Wilt scored 100 points in a single game against the New York Knicks (March 2, 1962, a 169-147 win in Hershey, PA). This record may never be broken. He would go on to score 31,419 total points in his career, a record that would eventually

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