How Wilt Chamberlain and NBA Player Tom Meschery Became Friends

How Wilt Chamberlain and NBA Player Tom Meschery Became Friends.

Part of Only A Game’s Thanksgiving Leftovers Show is this narrative. The entire episode can be found here.

There are moments when you pose a question and instantly know where it will lead.

When I spoke with Tom Meschery, that was not the case.

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“So, what was your relationship with Wilt like?” I enquired.

“Well it was — it was … it turned out be — he was a very distant guy,” Meschery says.

Eventually, Wilt and Meschery grew close. However, it was not how they began.

Although Wilt Chamberlain was a kind guy, he was also a self-centered player. I therefore asked Tom Meschery: Was there ever a time, during a game, when you realized that you two would be more than just colleagues who put up with one another?

Meschery remarked, “I think we really—it’s hard to say.”

He hesitated for a long moment. He then started telling me a story that I had never heard before.

That wasn’t a moment, though. Actually, there was an incident,” he stated. This is a remarkably unknown tale. I was on an aircraft headed back to Philadelphia with Wilt. Both of us were unmarried. Both of us were attempting to speak with the stewardesses. Is that how you phrased it? I suppose. Wilt suggested that we go on two dates after we were given our dates. And I thought, “That’s awesome.”

Given that Wilt Chamberlain famously claimed to have slept with 20,000 women, you probably believe you understand why Meschery was hesitant by this point.

However, Meschery isn’t genuinely hesitant to share this tale for that reason.

Considering that he returned home and informed his roommate of his plans.

Meschery remarked, “My roommate gave me so much trouble.” “And I realized, without a doubt, that he was a racist, and he believed that I was, in a sense, pimping Wilt’s attraction to white women. Back then, this was a highly contentious issue. And I recall thinking, “Oh my god, I really don’t want to get into this.” I called Wilt and myself, making up a reason to do so. It remains one of the most embarrassing things I have ever done in my life. Thinking about that just makes me feel ashamed of myself because, you know, here I am, hailing from the liberal West. Yes, that’s correct.

Wilt, nonetheless, realized. He was aware of the situation. Thus, he confronted me the following day. And we talked about this for a long time; I won’t go into too much detail about what we said to each other. He was incredibly kind and sympathetic of my situation, which wasn’t really a situation at all. I shouldve told my roommate to go screw it, you know. Nevertheless, Wilt was aware of it and comprehended it. And from that moment on, I knew Wilt and I would be friends, and we were, right up to the day of his passing.”

What others will think of this story is unknown to me. Will it rekindle the Wilt Chamberlain controversy?