Recalling a Complex, Vivid Life

Friends and family, old teammates and competitors came to Marina del Rey on Saturday to say goodbye to Wilton Norman Chamberlain, a towering man remembered both for his record-breaking dominance at basketball and his inquisitive and fiercely independent spirit off the court.

More than 700 people--including former teammates Meadowlark Lemon, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West--attended the memorial services at City of Angels Church of Religious Science.

Those who spoke joked about Chamberlain’s bluster, his love for talking about anything from public affairs to trivia to racism, and, of course, his notorious claim of having had sex with 20,000 women.

“My memory, first of all, was that he put me through hell so many nights,” said Bill Russell, the former Boston Celtic who was Chamberlain’s archrival throughout much of their careers. Chamberlain won when it came to scoring and rebounding, but Russell and the Celtics generally took the titles.

As the two titan centers grew older, Russell said Saturday, they became close friends, bound by their shared experiences of growing up tall and becoming superstars.

“The only person who understood what we were doing was the other guy,” he said. “He and I will be friends through eternity.”

Other attendees included basketball greats Connie Hawkins, Bill Walton, Nate Thurmond, Bob Lanier and Al Attles; Alex Hannum, who coached Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA title in 1967; former football stars Jim Brown and Bernie Casey, and Los Angeles Councilman Nate Holden.

The 63-year-old Chamberlain was found dead at his Bel-Air home Tuesday after a long history of heart problems. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Chamberlain reached 6-foot-11 by age 14, led his high school basketball team to victory after victory, and continued to dominate the hardwood as he went on to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, the Philadelphia Warriors and the 76ers and, finally, the Los Angeles Lakers.

To many, the hall of famer is considered the best basketball player of all time, and many of his records still stand--one of the most remarkable being his 100-point performance on March 2, 1962.

“He was the center who led the NBA into modern times,” said Tommy Hawkins, a former Laker, on Saturday. “He was the pied piper.

“We salute the young guys . . . Michael Jordan. But look at the record book. Wilt owns it.”

In fact, much of the chatter among players outside the church was about comparing the basketball greats of today to those of earlier generations. Some noted that no current NBA players or Laker stars from the ‘80s came to pay respects to Chamberlain.

Inside, the tone was mostly light. Lemon, who played with Chamberlain on the Globetrotters in the late 1950s, limited his comments to his friend’s stellar performance on the court. “I don’t know about the 20,000,” joked Lemon. “I’m not going into that.”

Lemon said he once saw Chamberlain--the Big Dipper to those who knew him--dunk a ball so hard it slammed against the floor and came right back through the hoop. Outside the service, he smiled as he recalled one of their stock acts on the Globetrotters, in which Lemon would fall like he was injured and “Dippy” would pick him up and cradle him like a baby in his arms, always to great laughter from the stands.

Most speakers talked about Chamberlain’s life outside the arena. He could be intimidating and outspoken at times, some said, but was always generous and good-hearted. As a child, he had a remarkable curiosity and energy that never flagged.

“Can you imagine a 5-year-old kid sneaking out at 5 in the morning to help the iceman, the milkman, the ragman,” recalled his sister Barbara Lewis. “My mother would say, ‘Wilton, what are you doing? You’re just 5 years old.’

“ ‘But I’m strong, Ma,’ Wilt would reply. ‘I’m strong. And I’m smart. I can’t stay in bed. I’ve got things I got to do.’ ”

He was always a “bigmouth,” she said. When a freeloading neighbor conspicuously appeared at the Chamberlain home before dinner time every day, Wilt was the one to finally blurt out her intentions to get a free meal, she said.

Others said his outspokenness stayed with him through life, and that when they got on the phone with Chamberlain, he did all the talking. They said he often called his friends late at night to quiz them on trivia--asking about the population of Shanghai or the height of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

“When I was little, my uncle would come to my house,” recalled his nephew Lamont Lewis. “I knew it was time to hit the books because I was going to get quizzed.”

With such far-reaching interests and a sense of irony about his own celebrity, Chamberlain was always more than a great athlete, his friends said.

“He wasn’t a basketball player,” said his longtime attorney and friend Seymour Goldberg. “That didn’t define him. He was a great human being who happened to play basketball.”