Winning That Kewpie Doll Was Portent of Night’s Success

Wilt Chamberlain’s No. 13 jersey was hoisted to the rafters during a retirement ceremony Monday night in Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Inquirer recalled some of his feats--on and off the court.

Two things Chamberlain did on the day he scored a record 100 points against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962:

--Played an air-rifle game in a pinball arcade and set a scoring record.

--Read in the New York papers that the Knicks had predicted they would “run Wilt ragged” in that night’s game.

Add Wilt: Darrall Imhoff, the opposing center, formerly played for Coach Pete Newell at California.

Newell sent Imhoff a telegram after Chamberlain’s 100-point game, congratulating him on maintaining the high standards of defensive basketball that he learned at Cal.

Trivia time: How many times has a USC basketball team reached the Final Four?

Gulfmania: The Gulf War has inspired horse owners to name their thoroughbreds or quarter horses after people or events in the conflict.

For example, Bomb Saddam is a filly owned by an Iowa couple. Unfortunately, many of the Gulf War-related names being requested, such as Stormin’ Norman, Desert Storm and Yellow Ribbon, were taken many years go.

However, Martha Wells, a horse breeder in Orange, said she was “thrilled and shocked” when she opened an envelope and saw that the name Desert Shield had been approved.

Back door: In 1944, the University of Utah basketball team was eliminated in the first round of the NIT.

Utah had originally turned down a bid to play in the NCAA tournament. However, when Arkansas dropped out of the NCAA field, the Utes were invited again and they accepted.

Result? Utah went on to win the NCAA championship, defeating Dartmouth, 42-40, and then beat St. John’s, the NIT champion, 43-36, 10 days later in a benefit game at Madison Square Garden.

Makes sense: Bill McArthur retired as a football coach in 1982. Now, at 72, he’s returning to coach at Western Oregon State College. Why?

“Well, my golf game is lousy, my wife won’t let me fly planes anymore, and all the handball players have died, so why not?” McArthur said.

Soap opera: In the Incomplete Book of Baseball Superstitions, Rituals, and Oddities, it is reported that pitcher Jim (Mudcat) Grant would spend up to 30 minutes rubbing soap all over his uniform.

During a game, when he was innocently wiping sweat, or dirt, off his pitching hand, he actually would be loading up with soap, a variation of the spitter, or Vaseline ball.

Grant reported that on one particularly hot day his uniform began bubbling.

Trivia answer: USC reached the Final Four in 1940 and 1954.

Quotebook: Chicago Sun-Times columnist Ray Sons, on the city’s sports image: “We have been a City of Losers much of the time since the militia lost to the Indians while retreating from Ft. Dearborn.”