Why do some people say that Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game didn’t happen?
March 2, 1962, saw the greatest single performance in NBA history, if not in all of professional sports, take place in a drafty ice hockey stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania. In a game involving his Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points using a variety of moves, including fadeaway jumpers, finger rolls, and “Dipper dunks.”
More than just a stunning statistical accomplishment, Chamberlain’s 100-point performance brought renewed attention to the NBA, which was previously a marginal draw that was having trouble drawing in fans. Oscar Robertson claimed that the game, along with Chamberlain’s season-long 50.4 point scoring average, attracted enough attention to keep the league from going extinct.
1921: In the Southern Intercollegiate Men’s Basketball Championship game held in Atlanta, Kentucky defeats Georgia 20–19. The official regular season standings are not maintained by the 14-team conference. It’s the inaugural college basketball tournament.
1929 — The Chicago Black Hawks break their eight-game NHL record scoreless stretch with a goal. Chicago defeats the Montreal Maroons 2-1 after scoring twice.
1940: In his final race, Seabiscuit wins the Santa Anita Handicap under Red Pollard’s ride. After losing by a nose to Kayak II in the 1937 and 1938 Santa Anita Handicaps, Seabiscuit goes on to retire as the world’s most successful money-winning horse by a margin of 1 to 2 lengths.
1951 — In the first NBA All-Star Game, Ed Macauley of the Celtics scores 20 points to lead the East to a 111-94 victory at Boston Garden.
1951 — St. John’s Bob Zawoluk scores 65 points to lead the Redmen to a 105-61 rout of St. Peters. It’s the first time in its 43-year history that St. John’s scores over 100 points in a game.
1962 — Wilt Chamberlain scores an NBA-record 100 points to lead the Philadelphia Warriors to a 169-147 triumph over the New York Knicks. Chamberlain scores 59 second-half points and 28 points from the free-throw line for records.
1966 — Chicago’s Bobby Hull becomes the first NHL player to have two 50-goal seasons when he scores a third-period goal in the Black Hawks’ 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
1969 — Boston’s Phil Esposito becomes the first NHL player to score 100 points in a season, scoring a goal in the Bruins’ 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
1991 — Chris Corchiani of North carolina State becomes first player in NCAA history to hand out 1,000 assists in a career. Corchiani, who has 12 assists in the game, gets the milestone with 1:16 left in the first half on a pass to Rodney Monroe. Wake Forest spoils the day with an 89-84 win.
