Wilt Chamberlain Kansas Jersey Retirement Ceremony

Wilt Chamberlain gets his jersey retired at at Allen Fieldhouse in 1998.
Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

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Sports

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• Wilt
• Chamberlain
• Kansas
• Jayhawks
• KU
• Basketball

[redfanrod]

Okay... I just checked and found out that Kansas did not start retiring jerseys until 1992... Wilt's was retired in 1998, over 40 years after playing his last game at KU. About darn time, Jayhawks...

[neilsterKS]

It's because Wilt didn't return to Lawrence during the basketball season until 1998. (except for a single visit in the mid-70's to visit an old teammate)

There was once a story in the Kansan about Wilt's jersey, framed and sitting in a closet of Allen Fieldhouse, just waiting for Wilt to return & receive the honor, and how KU officials initally thought his would be among the 1st to be retired.

Wilt said it was simple scheduling conflicts that kept him from coming back for the ceremony.

[danno131305]

The best player ever...PERIOD!

[tank3ful]

Wilt certainly wasn't feeling well at this point. he had congestive heart failure and was in need of a pacemaker, which he kept putting off. having said that, after the game, big Wilt signed autographs for hours while sitting under the basket at a table. he continued until everyone got a chance to meet him. He signed a basketball for me which I will always treasure. He was the Babe Ruth of Basketball.

[boxersdrule]

Tears to my eyes...

[SpartaeDei]

That day, when he finally came back to KU.. was an emotional one. So much time was lost, nearly 50 years because he had thought he wasn't liked here.

And yet when he came back to us in 1998, it was so emotional for everyone there as he had explained why he was gone on the radio. My grandfather, who was one of Wilt's young highschool fans when he played at KU, was there. At the game tonight, he told me that when Wilt came back, he signed his signature to every single person in that building..

[dantheman9758]

@neilsterKS I wonder if Wilt waited because he hid from his self-guilt of losing to NC. The way he chokes up it looks like he was a lot harder on himself than Kansas was. You can tell he's a big softy, this is such a great video.

[d820m]

@ddenuci...btw....anyway you could post the article?

[d820m]

@ddenuci Pluto's book says that Red Auerbach wouldn't continue the game until Wilt was thrown out, but Earl Strom just said, "Red, get this stiff(Lovellette) out of here so we can finish the game" Red said the game wouldn't continue until Wilt got tossed, whereupon Wilt tapped Red on the shoulder and told Auerbach that if he didn't shut up he would be on the floor with Lovellette...Red allegedly told Wilt to pick on someone his own size....

[ddenuci]

@ddenuci THe fight started after Clyde fouled Wilt. Believe it or not, after Wilt punched Clyde and bloodied his nose, the refs did not call anything on Wilt ! Wilt calmly went to the free throw line and sank his free throw.

[ddenuci]

@d820m I've now found a few newspaper articles, and it confirms that the punch was thrown in Game 2. From Associated Press 4/21/1964 " SF's Wilt Chamberlain floored Boston's Clyde Lovellette with a punch in the nose last night, but the Celtics floored the Warriors 124-101 and took a two-game lead in the final NBA playoffs. The Lovellette-Chamberlain incident, at the foul line in the fourth period, touched off a near riot"

[d820m]

@ddenuci i mentioned that because what wilt told him "Look Clyde, you guys are the champs, we just want to get out of here, so cut that crap out or I'll knock you out....."

[kuwinsitall]

My brother was there that day (I didn't start at KU til 2000, so missed it...) and he has his game ticket framed with Wilt's autograph. What a great memory!

[phillysportsfan99]

it will always kill me that i never got to see him play live