It’s safe to say that it was nearly impossible for Overbrook High School to hide their biggest star anywhere on the court. That’s quite apparent when you take a look at this Panthers’ team picture, which features the 1953-54 Overbrook line-up with a towering Wilt Chamberlain at the end.
The RMY Auctions Photo of the Day is a rare find. Understood to be the only Overbrook High School (Philadelphia, Penn.) team photo featuring Chamberlain in existence, this makes it one of the more significant basketball photos ever to hit the auction block.
The 8×10 vintage double-weight photo, which was graded 9 out of 10, features a line-up of the Overbrook team from that year out on the court, including their coach and what was most likely a team manager. Chamberlain is at the end in his No. 5 jersey opting not to smile like some of his teammates.
The lower right corner features a handwritten “1953-54” to indicate the year the photo was taken. The clarity of the photograph is supreme.
This piece offers a vivid look at one of the squads that Chamberlain took the floor with to unleash his scoring prowess during his three seasons at Overbrook. Even at this young age, Chamberlain was a dominant force on the court. In his second season with the program, he scored 71 points in a single game.
Not to be outdone, in his third and final season at Overbrook, he eclipsed the 70-point mark three times, turning in a 90-point Tour de Force in one outing. Chamberlain led the program to three-straight Philadelphia city title games, winning two of them.
Out of high school, Chamberlain turned down UCLA and instead chose Kansas, where he would play two seasons, put up a ton of points, but was unable to help the Jayhawks secure an NCAA title.
The auction comes to a close on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. Bidding on the photo started at $25, but at the time of publication, 21 bids had pushed it to $230.
The photo is a part or RMY’s Winter Premier Auction , featuring over 1,400 vintage sports photos.
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