Chamberlain Becomes Ill at Reunion

A night that was supposed to involve reliving happy memories took on a more serious side when Wilt Chamberlain, at the Forum for a reunion of the 1972 Laker championship team Wednesday, never got to the ceremony. Instead, he was taken to Centinela Hospital, where he was admitted for observation after complaining of feeling ill.

Chamberlain, 55, experienced high blood pressure and an accelerated heartbeat. He left 30 minutes before the ceremony and was driven to the hospital by a Laker staff intern.

The night of nostalgia was for more than just the return of former Laker coach Pat Riley, also a member of the 1972 team.

A trading card company, Upper Deck of Carlsbad, used the Knick-Laker game to honor the 20th anniversary of the 1972 Lakers.

The real stars of the 1971-72 team that not only won 69 games in the regular season and an NBA championship but also ran off a record 33 consecutive victories, were Jerry West, Chamberlain and Gail Goodrich.

Attending Wednesday--in addition to West, Chamberlain and Goodrich--were Keith Erickson, LeRoy Ellis, Flynn Robinson, Jim Cleamons, Jim McMillian, John Q. Trapp and Elgin Baylor, who retired eight games into that season. The only missing player was Happy Hairston, the team’s power forward. Coach Bill Sharman, assistant coach K.C. Jones, head scout Bill Bertka and trainer Frank O’Neill also were included in the ceremonies.