Of all the most impressive records in the history of sports, one clearly stands out from all the rest — Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points in a single game.
It was 55-years-ago Tuesday when Wilt “the Stilt” dropped a hundie in front of just 4,124 fans in Hershey, Penn.
Chamberlain’s season was record-breaking as well, a historic 1962 season in which he averaged 50.4 points per game. But on March, 2, 1962, the Philly star made 36 of 63 field goal attempts and 28 of his 32 foul shots en route to a 169-147 win over the Knicks.
Teammate Al Attles claims Wilt wasn’t going for the record — that it was mostly teammates who were determined to keep feeding him the ball.
“When he scoerd 100 points, he was probably the least excited about it,” Attles said. “We were in the locker room going crazy and he said, ‘I never thought I would take 63 shots.’ But we all said, ‘Wilt, you scored 100 points.’ ”
Attles, the Warriors’ second-leading scorer that night with 17 points on a perfect 8-for-8 on field goal attempts and 1-for-1 from the line, has for many years boasted about what happened that night.
I don’t buy it. Wilt was obsessed with records. He loved every second of attention and fame it brought him– even though he was outnumbered in NBA titles 11-2 compared to ultimate foe Bill Russell. But that’s a story for another day.
Unfortunately there is no video footage of the game and just a couple minutes of audio from the fourth quarter exists. There are some fun witness accounts here.
Wilt’s 100 point game is the most spectacular achievement in sports history not captured by the media (other than the post-game picture above).
The only other player to get semi-close to Wilt’s 100-point feat was Kobe Bryant, who sunk 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. He even had the advantage of the 3-point shot — something Wilt didn’t have.
Current day Warrior Klay Thompson was on pace to tie Wilt’s record back in December, scoring 60 points in 29 minutes, before sitting on the bench.
It’s clear Wilt’s 100-point clinic is an accomplishment that we likely won’t ever see repeated.
An amazing graphic from ESPN tells you all you need to know:
Josh Helmuth is the editor of Crave Sports.
Photo: Getty
