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**Coatesvillain** · 06-23-2004, 07:14 AM

Quote:

A memorial sculpture of Wilt Chamberlain will be unveiled at 4 p.m. on Monday at the Wachovia Center.

Created by world-renowned sculptor Omri Amrany, the statue was commissioned by the Wilt Chamberlain Memorial Fund and will be the first commemorative statue outside of the Center.

The statue stands 18-feet and weighs close to three tons. A quote at the base of Wilt's statue reads: "The worth of a man is measured by the size of his heart."

LINK

Wow, was I sleeping under a rock or something, I hadn't even heard that they were doing this. Now that I hear about it, I can't wait to see what it looks like.

**Kunlun** · 06-23-2004, 07:20 AM

Wow, Wilt deserves this I guess for what he's done for basketball and for Philly basketball. His stats will keep people in awe for generations to but so will he contributions to the game.

**walkon4** · 06-28-2004, 09:55 AM

I wanted to get down to this today, however I didnt know the exact details or time.

I was going to wear my Overbrook High School Wilt, to commerate his accomplishments.

R.I.P. Wilt. We miss you and you will always be remembered!

**Coatesvillain** · 06-29-2004, 09:43 AM

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Jackie Joyner-Kersee, a fixture in the track and field record books, took time out of her schedule yesterday to fly to Philadelphia and honor the memory of Wilt Chamberlain, thanking him for the way his generosity accelerated her path to success in her sport.

Mike Bantom traveled from his office at NBA headquarters in New York to remember Chamberlain as the man who presented him with the Wilt Chamberlain Award at a Sonny Hill League function and still remembered Bantom's momentous day 25 years later.

Joyner-Kersee, Bantom and about 100 other dignitaries were at the Wachovia Center yesterday for the unveiling of an 18-foot, 7,000-pound bronze statue of Chamberlain, the 7-foot-1 basketball legend from Philadelphia who died in October 1999 at age 63. The statue was the first artwork to be placed outside the South Philadelphia arena in its eight-year existence.

The 21/2-year statue project was spearheaded by the Wilt Chamberlain Memorial Fund, cochaired by Billy Cunningham, a former teammate of Chamberlain's on the 76ers, and Steve Cozen, the Philadelphia lawyer whose father, Sam, was Chamberlain's first coach at Overbrook High School.

The plaque at the base of the statue reads: "The worth of a man is measured by the size of his heart."

And that's how those in attendance remembered Chamberlain. Sure, they were there to honor the man who set more than 100 NBA records and revolutionized basketball, but they were there more to honor Chamberlain the philanthropist, the gentleman, and the all-around good guy.

"There has never been a guy with a kinder heart than Wilt," said Willis Reed, the former New York Knicks center who is now a special basketball adviser to the team. "Wilt did so much for a lot of people, gave to different causes, helped people out, and nobody knew about it. He'd give without any flair or telling anybody about it."

LINK (reg. req.)

**Coatesvillain** · 06-29-2004, 09:54 AM

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THE STATUE unveiled yesterday outside the Wachovia Center is made of two Wilts, one with the other on his back.

Two Wilts. And five hands.

One hand dunks as the other extends downward to his side. One hand holds a ball out for the world to see. One hand extends as if bracing for a gentle descent.

The fifth hand is holding a broken basketball, symbolizing all those broken records our native son - "Dippy,'' from Overbrook High - owns. The fifth hand also suggests to me how another recital of the many records he set and the many rule changes he necessitated during his college and professional basketball career is unneeded.

Those numbers, which make "Ruthian'' seem like a small word, weighed heavily on him. They really don't tell us much about a man who still helps in gargantuan ways, almost 5 years beyond his untimely death. Wilt Chamberlain left millions to charities, charities that help kids strive, charities that help kids dream.

Billy Cunningham, his former 76ers teammate and the co-chair of the Wilt Chamberlain Memorial Fund, said during the ceremony, "Trying to give a 5-minute speech about Wilt Chamberlain is almost impossible.''

Even the fund's construction of a striking bronze statue - created by sculptor Omri Amrany - seems incomplete. Because the more you linger on his 127 basketball records, the less you spend on whom he was as a man. The more you compare him to Russell, or Jordan, the less you understand his empathy and affinity with the average Joe.

"Wilt was the kind of guy who had compartments,'' said Sy Goldberg, the attorney who handled Chamberlain's affairs before his death in October 1999, and the executor of his estate. "There are a number of people who would say that I knew more about him than anybody in the world.

"Let me tell ya. I didn't know much.''

Goldberg says this now, as he distributes The Dipper's wealth to children's centers in Philadelphia and New York, as he comes across people with stories of his client and friend, stories that he never before heard.

Stories of generosity - not just of wealth, but spirit, too.

Paul Arizin, Chamberlain's former Philadelphia Warriors

teammate, told again the story of his granddaughter Stephanie, diagnosed with brain cancer, who became a cross-country phone pal with Chamberlain - and later, their spontaneous date at the 1997 All-Star festivities honoring the 50 greatest players in NBA history. Chamberlain pushed her wheelchair from legend to legend for signatures, even twisting the arm of old nemesis Bill Russell, as resistant to the autograph practice as they come.

Not knowing about Stephanie, not knowing this compartment of his encompassing life, Willis Reed recalled the relationship between Chamberlain and Russell with an anecdote from the same night.

"He was standing for a long time,'' Reed said. "And I saw Russell go over somewhere and get him a chair.''

Maybe it was because of their longstanding friendship, a friendship that resembled battling, but loving, brothers. Or maybe Russell watched that 7-1 frame push a wheelchair around all night and felt his pain.

LINK

Like the previous one I linked, it's a great article. It's just a shame we had to wait for a moment such as this to hear more about some of the great things Wilt did.

TheRifleman · 06-30-2004, 09:20 PM

Like Bird & Magic, and Stockton to Malone, I always say, Russell & Chamberlain.

Wilt was something to see, as was Russell. Knowing the friends they were, I can bet Russell was thrilled when he heard about that great statue of his buddy.

Wilt, like some other of the 50 greatest is/was so much more than an NBA player. His middle name should have been "compassionate".

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