The following is The Associated Press story filed March 2, 1962, the night Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks. HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) -- Wilt Chamberlain set a National Basketball Association scoring record of 100 points tonight as the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the New York Knickerbockers, 169-147. The combined score was an association record, too. Chamberlain toppled many records with his awesome display. The 7-foot-1-inch Warrior center set a league record for field goals (36), free throws (28 of 32), most points for a quarter (31), and most points for a half (59). The 316 points by the two teams surpassed the record of 312 made in Boston's victory over Minneapolis on Feb. 27, 1959, at Boston. The Celtics set a single-team record in that game, when they beat the Lakers, 173-139. The crowd of 4,1214 shrieked, "Give it to Wilt, give it to Wilt," as the Philadelphian scored again and again on his fallaway shots. The Warriors realized early that Chamberlain was hot. So they fed him the ball repeatedly. The Knicks tried to stall and then tried to mob Chamberlain with defense in an effort to slow his scoring. In the final period, Darrall Imhoff, who had been assigned to guard Chamberlain most of the night, fouled out. When Wilt hit 100, a few seconds before the end, the fans swarmed onto the court. The game was held up until they were removed. The Warriors seemed determined to run away with the game, scrambling to a 19-3 advantage. However, with Richie Guerin hitting, the Knicks drew closer, and it was 79-68 at the half. But Guerin, with 39 points, Cleveland Buckner (33), and Willie Naulls (31) couldn't overcome the lift given the Warriors by Wilt Chamberlain, who had 25 rebounds. Chamberlain's effort broke the league scoring record of 78 points, a mark he had set earlier this season. The recognized collegiate scoring record also is 100 set by Frank Seivy for Furman against Newberry in 1954. Seivy now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. Two over-100 efforts by Paul Arizin of Villanova and Bevo Francis of Rio Grande (Ohio) College are not recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association because they were made against junior-college teams. Among the records set tonight was one by the Knickerbockers. Their 147 points was the most ever scored by a losing team, topping the previous mark of 139 by Minneapolis against Boston in 1959. Wilt said, "I wasn't even thinking of hitting 100 but after putting in nine straight free throws I was thinking about a foul-shooting record. It was my greatest game." He credited his teammates with helping him set the record. "It would have been impossible to score this many if they hadn't kept feeding me," he said.
yeah, no video, what a shame. Plus I'm sure that is a typo and it was only 4 thousand and not 41 thousand in attendance, although probably 400 thousand now claim to have been in attendance that night.
Yeah, attendance was just over 4,000 -- they say the place was half full. Man, teams used to score points didn't they? I really wish there was video of that game. I don't exactly think of the NBAers of the early 60s as athletic guys flying up the floor putting up shots. Weren'y guys still shooting the set shot then? I'd love to see how the teams combined to score 316 points -- especially since NY went into stall mode at one point to prevent Wilt from getting more points. Here's a great interview about the night: (Interesting to see Wilt go out of his way to give props to Darrel Imhoff, who's gone down in history as the guy that Wilt dropped 100 on.) In 1987, on the 25th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, Bill Barnard of The Associated Press wrote the following story on his milestone. Wilt Chamberlain was humble. "I couldn't have come close without my teammates' help because the Knicks didn't want me to make 100." He was contemptuous. "They were willing to do anything to stop me." And he was supremely arrogant. "Scoring 100 points is a lot, but ... I maybe could have scored 140 if they had played straight-up basketball." Once the Goliath of basketball, Chamberlain may be an enigma as a man, but, as a player, he was one of the greatest ever to wear an NBA uniform. His record of 100 points in one game for the Philadelphia Warriors on March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pa., against the New York Knicks may stand forever. When discussing the subject, the 7-foot-1 Chamberlain gives much of the credit to his teammates, who rallied to his support as the Knicks held the ball, swarmed around him defensively and committed repeated fouls to try to stop him. The Warriors won the game 169-147. "It was a challenge to my teammates to help me," Chamberlain said in a telephone interview on the 25th anniversary of his remarkable game. "Once we were far ahead, the Knicks disregarded trying to win the game and concentrated on stopping me. "If they hadn't just tried to stop me without regard to whether they would win or not, I could have scored a lot more." Chamberlain said two or three Knicks told him later that they were ordered to play defense that way by their coach, Eddie Donovan. "It just wasn't right the way they were behind by 25 points and then they're told to hold the ball," Chamberlain said. "They must have considered it a stigma to let me score 100." According to Donovan, however, the fouling worked both ways. "They would foul us and we would foul them," Donovan said. "The game became a farce, but you try to keep anyone from scoring the best you can." Chamberlain said that what his teammates did for him during the game "was way beyond the call of duty. They were so clever finding ways to get me the ball. They had to do more than just give up open shots. They had to avoid fouls and pass me the ball in traffic." Although he was disgusted with the Knicks' play in general, Chamberlain said 6-foot-10 New York center Darrall Imhoff should not be labeled as "the man who let me score 100 points." "He played me as well as anyone," Chamberlain said. "He fouled out in the fourth quarter, and that's when I really started getting points. He was no more at fault than anyone." While unflagging in praise of his teammates, there is a side of Chamberlain that shrugs off the feat as not particularly significant for someone like him. "As outstanding as it may seem, it's really a normal thing that I did it," he said. "You have to remember that I averaged 50 points a game that year. Players that average 16 or 17 points usually have at least one game during a season when they score 35. That's just what I did; I doubled my average." He bristles at suggestions that scoring 100 points in a game might be called the ultimate selfish act by a basketball player. "Lots of people look at scoring as selfish," Chamberlain said. "When you go out there and do the things you're supposed to do, people view you as selfish. "They don't look at you that way if you're O.J. Simpson or Eric Dickerson or Walter Payton and you're trying to get as many yards as you can every time you touch the football. But when you're a scorer in basketball, you can get labeled a gunner or a selfish player." Chamberlain realizes that although he is more proud of averaging 50 points for an entire season, he is more remembered for 100 points in a single game. "I get constant reminders from fans who equate that game and my career as one and the same," he said. "People don't talk about the 50-point average, the 69-13 Lakers championship team I played for. They talk about the night I scored 100. "That's my tag, whether I like it or not."
Check out the box score: Looks like one way they scored all those points was with a ton of free throws -- the two teams shot almost 100 FTs combined. (Lots of NY players in foul trouble.) That would've stopped the clock a lot. Also, check out the dude with 20 assists. Probably one of the easiest 20 assist games of all time!
What a bummer that they didn't keep stats on blocks during Wilt's day. Man, his numbers had to have been incredible!
The Knicks actually had more FGAs. 233 combined shots with 93 combined FTs (which amounts to about 46 FGAs). So almost 270 shots in 48 minutes is 5.6 shots per minutes, or a shot about every 10 seconds. And that was with the Knicks *stalling*!
Ah, the aspect of Wilt that so many still don't realize... the fallaway was his go-to shot. He wasn't just some brute who scored because he was bigger than everyone else.
Guy Rodgers was quite a dude. "PhiSlammaJamma The other 69 points from his teammates could win a few nba games this year." GREAT! __________________
