50 Years Since Wilt Scored 100

For 50 years, one mighty number has stood as the Mount Everest of sport’s records and milestones.
Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points.

It was a game played in front of no TV cameras. Sports writers were few, and so were the fans. Only 4,124 (at $2.50 a ticket) attended the game, in fact, between the Warriors and the New York Knicks as the final stretch of the 1961-62 season dwindled down. The number of people who claimed they were there to witness history, however, could have stretched the East Coast.

All because of 100 points.

“The 100-point game was a hyperbolic announcement of the rise of the black athlete in basketball,’’ said author Gary Pomerantz, who wrote the complete narrative of that game in the 2005 book, “WILT, 1962:

The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era.

Chamberlain played all 48 minutes in Philadelphia’s 169-147 win over the Knicks. He shot 36 of 63 from the floor and an un-Wilt like 28 of 32 from the free-throw line. Chamberlain, a woeful 51.1 percent career shooter from the line, attempted his free throws underhand against the Knicks.

“I personally don’t think it will ever happen again,’’ said Chamberlain’s Warriors’ teammate, Al Attles. “I don’t know if a team will allow it to happen now.’’

Kobe Bryant came close, well sort of.  Bryant scored 81 on Jan. 22, 2006. Michael Jordan never topped 69. David Robinson once tipped in 71.

It's something I don't think we'll ever see again.  I guess few actually saw it the first time.

Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points.