Wilton Norman Chamberlain, born in Philadelphia, didn't come from a race of giants as many thought. Both his parents were no bigger than 5-9, but as a young boy he began a growth spurt which would eventually stop when he reached 7-1. That height made him legendary in sports history as arguably the greatest basketball player ever. Chamberlain played at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, and collegiately at Kansas University, where he led the Jayhawks to the NCAA finals. Kansas lost in title game to North Carolina and that game haunted Chamberlain throughout his career and gave birth to the unfair image of him as a "loser." He left Kansas as an underclassman to play professionally for the Harlem Globetrotters, and after a year with them, signed to play with his hometown team in the NBA, the then-named Philadelphia Warriors. With the Warriors he performed some astonishing feats that no NBA player before or since accomplished.


Hated the nickname 'Wilt the Stilt.' Only player to ever score 100 points in a pro game (1962). Never married. Spent one year with the Harlem Globetrooters, for salary of $65,000 Enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. University of Kansas (1955-58). The Sporting News First Team All-America (1958). All-Big Seven (1957, 1958). NBA Rookie of the Year (1960). All-NBA First Team (1960-62, 1964-68). NBA All-Defensive First Team (1972, 1973). NBA All-Star Game MVP (1960), after scoring 23 points with 25 rebounds. NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team (1980) and 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996). Chamberlain and Bill Russell were known as fierce competitors on the court, but they were also good friends Never fouled out of a game in his NBA career. Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 106-109. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. At his athletic peak, he was said to have been measured with a vertical jump of 48-50 inches. Is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Only player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring average and rebounding average in the same season, which he accomplished five times. Four of the five seasons were his first four NBA seasons.