It’s one of the holy grails of sports memorabilia. Along with Bill Mazeroski’s Series-winning ball in 1960 and before that, the Shot Heard Round the World in ’51, the basketball used in the Wilt Chamberlain 100 point game 50 years ago is still missing. Or is it?
What really became of the ball after that historic night in Hershey Pa., in 1962 has been lost over time. Sports memorabilia–even important items like Wilt’s 100 point ball–just weren’t that highly thought of in the decade or so that followed. Not until the 70s did folks even begin to truly value items of such historic importance…and it still wasn’t that big of a deal.
Did a young kid steal it out of Wilt’s hands and escape? Was it turned over to a team official? Or did another player wind up with it?
It all depends on who’s doing the recollecting. The stories and the theories are interesting, though.
It’s a feat that has never been duplicated. Kobe Bryant scored 81 in a game a few years ago but no one has approached what’s considered one of the most unbreakable records in sports.
On the 50th anniversary of the 100-point game in Hershey, Pa., NBA.com goes in search of basketball’s lost ark.
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