Chamberlain, Wilton "Wilt" Norman (1936-1999)

Wilt Chamberlain was already a national basketball phenomenon by the spring of 1960. After rising to prominence at Overbrook High School, starring at the University of Kansas, spending a season with the Harlem Globetrotters, and entering the NBA with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959, Chamberlain stunned the sports world by announcing a brief retirement, citing both financial concerns and the physical punishment he endured from opposing players. He soon returned to the game by organizing a traveling All-Star team and launching a barnstorming tour that brought him to Englewood on April 18, 1960. More than 1,000 fans filled the auditorium at Dwight Morrow High School to see Chamberlain score 36 points as his All-Stars defeated the Jersey Titans, 119–101. The matchup carried special significance: Chamberlain finally had the chance to play against his high-school idol, Sherman White, who returned to the court where he had first made his name in the late 1940s and scored 17 points for the Titans. White’s team was coached by Tom Morgan, the longtime Dwight Morrow coach who had guided White during his record-setting school years, further anchoring the exhibition in Englewood’s basketball history. Later that summer, Chamberlain returned to the NBA, signing a three-year, $375,000 contract with the Warriors that made him the highest-paid athlete in American history at the time.


"White Faces Challenge in Big Wilt Tomorrow." The Record, April 7, 1960.

"Chamberlain Expected To Play Full Contest." The Record, 8 Apr. 1960, p.55.

“Wilt Chamberlain.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Aug. 2024.

Bill Allen

Associated Press

January 19, 1960.

Public Domain

1936-08-21

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1999-10-12

“Wilt Chamberlain.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Aug. 2024.