Private Chamberlain Remembered Warmly

By now, the world knows that Wilt Chamberlain died Tuesday at 63 of heart failure.

But only those closest to the basketball superstar know just how big that heart was.

While the public mourns the 7-foot-1 giant who set records on the court that may never be broken, friends and family mourn the private Chamberlain. The man they knew was generous, intelligent and complex, a braggart about his sex life who preached the value of a normal relationship, a knowledgeable, concerned citizen who closely followed public affairs, but stayed out of politics after feeling he had been embarrassed by former president Richard Nixon, a star who demanded the spotlight on the court but shunned it when it came to his many charitable endeavors, a very public figure who was very much a loner.

And there was more. Just recently, the ever-inquisitive Chamberlain was learning to play the saxophone, making plans to write a new book and working hard to become comfortable with his computer.

Chamberlain, who died of congestive heart failure, had had fluid drained from his legs in recent days, a side effect of the heart problems.

Chamberlain, who once scored 100 points in a game and once averaged 50.4 points a game over an entire season, will also be forever linked with another number: 20,000. That was the number of women he claimed in a book to have slept with.

“That number was taken out of context,” said Seymour Goldberg, Chamberlain’s attorney and friend for 40 years. “What was lost was the message he was trying to send that it was better to be with one woman 1,000 times than with 1,000 women one time. Unfortunately, that message never came through.

“Was he exaggerating [about the 20,000]? Sure. Was he with a huge number of women? Sure. I was around him enough to know that he was a magnet to women. I remember one trip to Las Vegas watching women come up to him and he would line them up, one for 10 o’clock, one for 11 o’clock and one for 12.”

Those close to Chamberlain say that there was only one true love in his life, an unidentified movie star. But when that relationship didn’t result in marriage, Chamberlain remained a confirmed bachelor.

“He was so independent,” said Yvonne, Chamberlain’s youngest sister, “that it would have taken a special woman to deal with that independence.”

When Goldberg, who is Jewish, asked Chamberlain when he was going to get married, the Hall of Famer would say, “I’m looking for a rich, Jewish girl. When I find one, I’ll get married.”

Chamberlain not only didn’t marry, but didn’t even like the idea of having a live-in.

“He hated to have anyone else stay in his house,” Goldberg said. “He never even had a live-in housekeeper. When guests would come from back East, he would feel uncomfortable. When you were a guest in his house, he treated you like a king. But if people stayed at the house, he would sometimes leave town just to get away.”

Chamberlain spent much of his time alone reading on a variety of subjects.

“He studied history a lot,” Goldberg said. “He could tell you all about things like Napoleon’s wars.”

So it should be no surprise that Chamberlain involved himself in politics early in his career. What raised a few eyebrows was the fact that Chamberlain, a big admirer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a strong advocate for the disadvantaged, endorsed Nixon in 1968.

It was a decision Chamberlain soon came to regret. He felt that Nixon’s attitude toward him changed once Nixon got the Republican nomination for president.

“Wilt felt used,” Goldberg said. “He told me, ‘I’m so embarrassed.’ He came to feel Nixon was using everybody, that he was a phony.”

Goldberg said that when the White House called to talk to Chamberlain before Nixon’s re-election campaign in 1972, Goldberg, acting on Chamberlain’s orders, refused to divulge the basketball player’s whereabouts.

“They threatened to call the FBI in to find him,” Goldberg said.

Chamberlain refused to get involved in that campaign and had remained apart from politics ever since.

But he certainly didn’t remain apart from charity work. Leery of organized charities run by large bureaucracies, Chamberlain hand-picked the organizations he dealt with. He donated to Operation Smile, a group that funded medical help for youngsters in Third World countries with facial problems, the Special Olympics for the mentally retarded, and the Maurice Stokes charity basketball game, which benefited needy former players. Chamberlain also gave money to a group in his native city of Philadelphia who worked with underprivileged children, and a group in Miami who aided high-school students.

Chamberlain touched many lives and some of those people came by his Bel-Air home Wednesday. While Yvonne talked to a couple of reporters, a neighbor, a landscaper and a passer-by all stopped for a moment to offer their condolences to the family.

“I’m devastated,” Yvonne said. “He didn’t smoke, he didn’t drink. He went to the gym every single day. He lived a clean life, stayed active, but, at 63, he’s gone.”

There will be a memorial service for him beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday at the City of Angels Church of Religious Science, 5550 Grosvenor Blvd., off Jefferson Boulevard in West Los Angeles. There will be limited seating for the public. For full directions, call (310) 577-3366.

Cards and messages can be sent to the Chamberlain family care of Seymour Goldberg, 13470 Washington Blvd., Suite 201, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292. The family asks that flowers not be sent, but a list of Chamberlain’s favorite charities will be distributed at the service.

“I had no idea people would say all the wonderful things they have over the last few days,” Yvonne said. “He would have been touched. They don’t usually build a black man up this much, and believe me, I’m not being racist. He would have been elated by all this. I didn’t realize how much of a legend he was.”

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GIANT FOOTPRINTS

Writers reflect on the greatness and meaning of Wilt Chamberlain. Page 8

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RUSSELL REMEMBERS

One-time rival Bill Russell recalls his “dear and exceptional friend.” Page 8