Quick Take

    Thanks to my longtime friends, Hank and Audrey Bierman of St. Louis and Southern California, for sending this to me.

Back straight, knees bent, feet shoulder-width apart.

Form a loose grip.

Keep your head down.

Avoid a quick back-swing.

Stay out of the water.

Try not to hit anyone.

If you’re taking too long, please let others go ahead of you.

Don’t stand directly in front of others.

Quiet, please, while others are preparing to go.

Don’t take extra strokes.

Well done! Now flush the urinal, go outside, and tee off.

Story of the Week

Wilt Scores 100 Points

    Today’s article deals with the only game in NBA history in which a player has scored an incredible 100 points. Heading into a late-season game against the N.Y. Knicks, Philadelphia Warriors center, Wilt Chamberlain, already held the top two single-game scoring records. His performance on March 2, 1962 would eclipse them both.

    The game was played in Hershey, Pennsylvania’s Fairgrounds, the venue where the Warriors played several home games. Only 4,124 fans were there for this historical event. Wilt was unstoppable, scoring 41 points by the half. The Knicks tried to stop Wilt’s amazing game progress by holding possession of the ball each time they touched it for the 24-second-clock duration.

    Philadelphia responded to the Knicks’ stall tactics. Warriors coach, Frank McGuire, sent in players from the bench to foul N.Y. players, regain possession, and feed the ball to "the Big Dipper." With 1:19 left in the fourth quarter, Wilt registered his 98^th. point of the game.

    The Knicks then had possession of the ball, but lost it to Wilt. Wilt took a shot from the foul line, but missed. The next time Philadelphia got the ball, Chamberlain missed two consecutive shots. The ball ended up in the possession of the Warriors’ Joe Ruklick, who hurled it at the backboard where Wilt caught the ball and buried it.

    The crowd, already on its feet, ran onto the court to celebrate. They paid little attention to the fact that time remained on the game clock. After a five-minute delay to clear the court, the teams finished the game. The Warriors had defeated the Knicks, 169-147.

    It should be noted that Wilt Chamberlain was never known to be a good shooter from the foul line. This game had clearly been an aberration from that standpoint. Wilt sunk 28 of 32 shots from the charity stripe, a tremendous free-throw shooting performance that greatly enhanced his record-setting performance. He scored on 36 of 63 shots from the field, also a stellar production. In each quarter, Wilt never shot less than 50% from the field.

    I firmly believe that, had Wilt Chamberlain determined to score 100 points in a game more often, he could have. He was a basketball scoring machine. Living proof of that statement lies in the many offensive records he set as well as the many rules that were changed by the NBA because of his presence. Please refer to my feature story on this great athlete dated 8-23-01.

    Bill Russell took it a step further, in fact many steps further. He recently told the New York Post, "Wilt Chamberlain was far and away the best offensive player to ever play any game. He played good defense as well, but he was more prolific as an offensive player than any player in the history of any sport."

Last Week’s Trivia

    Tom Heinsohn. In 1956-57, he was Rookie of the Year with Boston, and 1973, he was Coach of the Year for the Celtics.

Trivia Question of the Week

    Who was the last catcher to win a MLB batting title? See next week’s Sports Junkie for the answer.