April Stools Day: Sam Jones versus Wilt Chamberlain

It was Celtics versus Warriors - Bill Russell against Wilt Chamberlain. But one incident stole the show.

Sam fouled Wilt - hard - and Chamberlain thought the hit was over the hill and went after Boston's shooting guard. Wilt was pissed! He hated getting fouled because that meant he probably had to go to the foul line. Chamberlain was a menace on offense close to the hoop, but he shot better from the field (.540) than from the foul line (.511).

What fans may have been watching was an early version of "Hack-a-Shaq", a strategy to foul Shaquille O'Neal and send him to his personal torture chamber, the foul line. I can picture Coach Red Auerbach possibly telling his guys, "When you foul Chamberlain, make sure he doesn't score. Send him to the foul line. He can't hit shit from there."

The confrontation came down to a "David-vs.-Goliath" scenerio, and Sam's only weapon was a wooden photographer's stool. It slowed the giant's menacing approach enough to allow Russell and other Celtics players to calm the fiery situation.

Much of this information came from Mark C. Bodanza's excellent bio of Sam - and my interview with the Celtics legend. Happy April Stools Day.

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