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It was incredible -- and pressed Harvey Pollack into service.
Pollack started the night as the public relations director for the Warriors and the game statistician. With each milestone basket putting Chamberlain closer to triple digits, Pollack knew his job titles were about to expand. He wrote or dictated the game story for The Associated Press, The Philadelphia Inquirer and United Press International.
His son, Ron, who now joins Pollack on the Philadelphia 76ers statistics crew, ran the copy to Western Union. When the game was over, Pollack stuffed the game ball -- it is now lost -- into Chamberlain's duffel bag and organized a famed photo.
AP photographer Paul Vathis, who attended the game as a fan, rushed to a car for his equipment. Pollack said he squashed an idea of posing Chamberlain with the ball and wanted something more unique to preserve the moment.
"Why don't we do something to show the 100 points," Pollack said.
So Pollack, who turns 90 in March, wrote "100" on a piece of paper and gave it to Chamberlain to hold for the classic black-and-white snapshot.
Outside of a few still photos, it was nearly the lone remembrance of the game.
Campbell called Wilt's classic for WCAU and was startled after the game by more than just the whopping point total. He saw Chamberlain hitch a ride back to New York (where he lived) in a Cadillac with members of the Knicks. And, he had a fearful realization on his own ride home.
"All of sudden it dawned on me, a guy just scored 100 points in a game and I didn't even tape it, Campbell said.
Campbell was bailed out by a fan who recorded the fourth quarter at home and preserved the historic call.
"If it happened today, everyone would go bananas," Campbell said. "There was a certain excitement about it, but nobody went completely stir crazy about it. The reaction was not as big as I expected it to be. It seems bigger now."
Chamberlain, who starred at Kansas and died in 1999, will have his achievement get its due this week.
The Wilton Norman Chamberlain Postal Stamp Committee is holding a luncheon to continue their push to put Chamberlain on a stamp. "Wilt 100," an NBA TV original film narrated by Chamberlain's chief rival and good friend, Hall of Famer Bill Russell, premieres at 7 p.m. Friday.
For more, the website http://www.nba.com/warriors/history/Wilt-Chamberlains-100-Points-Anniversary.html was launched.
The Sixers recently purchased the court that was stored in Hershey. The Sixers donated part of the court to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and all fans at Friday's game vs. the Warriors will receive a mounted 2"x2" piece.
Sixers CEO Adam Aron wants to incorporate other parts of the court at their new practice facility, expected to be built in the next few years. Aron said part of the floor will be given to Chamberlain's three sisters at halftime of Friday's game against the Warriors.
"It's going to be all Wilt, all night long," Aron said.
Chamberlain still looms large in the NBA -- no matter there's no video of his feat or he can't be around to celebrate the mark at 50.
"You can't see him scoring 100 points," Pomerantz said, "but you feel his presence."
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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