1961–62 Philadelphia Warriors season

The 1961–62 Philadelphia Warriors season was the sixteenth season for the National Basketball Association franchise in Philadelphia, and the last before their relocation to San Francisco, California, for the following season.

1961–62 Philadelphia Warriors season
Head coachFrank McGuire
ArenaPhiladelphia Civic Center
Results
Record49–31 (.613)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishEast Finals
(Eliminated 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWPTZ/WCAU/WFIL
RadioWIBG
(Bill Campbell)

Wilt Chamberlain had the most dominating season in NBA history. Chamberlain led the league with an NBA record 50.4 points per game.[1] In one eight-day stretch in January, Chamberlain participated in three games, where he scored at least 63 points.[2] On March 2, 1962, the Warriors played the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Chamberlain had one of the most dominating performances in NBA history as he notched 100 points before 4,124 fans.[2] The game was actually played at the Warriors training facility. Despite his high scoring, Wilt would not win the NBA MVP. The award was given to Bill Russell. The Warriors finished 2nd behind Russell's Boston Celtics with a 49–31 record.[2] In the playoffs, the Warriors would defeat the Syracuse Nationals in five games. Russell and Chamberlain would meet in the Eastern Division Finals. The series would go seven games. In Game 7, Sam Jones would hit the winning shot with 2 seconds remaining.[2]

Roster
Roster listing
Philadelphia Warriors roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F 11 Arizin, Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Villanova
G 16 Attles, Al 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) North Carolina A&T
C 13 Chamberlain, Wilt 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Kansas
G/F 7 Conlin, Ed 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fordham
G/F 15 Gola, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) La Salle
G 34 Larese, York 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 183 lb (83 kg) North Carolina
F 12 Luckenbill, Ted 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Houston
F 14 Meschery, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Saint Mary's
F 9 Radovich, Frank 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Indiana
G 5 Rodgers, Guy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Temple
F 17 Ruklick, Joe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Northwestern
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, named by the National Basketball Association as one of its greatest games,[3][4] took place between the Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The Warriors won the game, 169–147, setting what was then a record for the most combined points in a game by both teams. But the game is most remembered for the 100 points scored by Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain, who set the NBA single-game scoring record. The next leading scorer for Philadelphia was Al Attles with 17 points.[5] The Knicks leading scorer was Guerin with 39 points. In that game, Chamberlain also broke five other NBA scoring records, of which four still stand.

Season standings
Eastern Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Boston Celtics6020.750–23–526–1211–326–10
x-Philadelphia Warriors4931.6131118–1119–1912–118–18
x-Syracuse Nationals4139.5131918–1011–1912–1017–19
New York Knicks2951.3633119–152–238–1311–25

Record vs. opponents
1961–62 NBA records
Team BOS CHI CIN DET LAL NYK PHI STL SYR
Boston —9–17–15–36–38–48–47–210–2
Chicago 1–9—1–93–72–86–40–104–61–9
Cincinnati 1–79–1—6–65–75–43–59–35–4
Detroit 3–57–36–6—4–85–41–77–54–5
Los Angeles 3–68–27–58–4—6–26–310–26–2
New York 4–84–64–54–52–6—4–84–43–9
Philadelphia 4–810–05–37–13–68–4—6–36–6
St. Louis 2–76–43–95–72–104–43–6—4–4
Syracuse 2–109–14–55–42–69–36–64–4—

Season Schedule

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN=Minutes; FG= Field Goals; FT= Free Throws; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

= Indicates team leader
Player GP MIN FG FT REB AST PTS
Wilt Chamberlain803882159783520521924029
Paul Arizin
Tom Meschery
Al Attles
Tom Gola
Guy Rodgers802648267121348643655

[6]

Postseason

East Division Semifinals

(2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals: Warriors win series 3–2

  • Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 111, Syracuse 103
  • Game 2 @ Syracuse: Philadelphia 97, Syracuse 82
  • Game 3 @ Philadelphia: Syracuse 101, Philadelphia 100
  • Game 4 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 106, Philadelphia 99
  • Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 121, Syracuse 104

Last Playoffs meeting: 1961 Eastern Division Semifinals (Syracuse won 3–0).

East Division Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Philadelphia Warriors: Celtics win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 117, Philadelphia 89
  • Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 113, Boston 106
  • Game 3 @ Boston: Boston 129, Philadelphia 114
  • Game 4 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 110, Boston 106
  • Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 119, Philadelphia 104
  • Game 6 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 109, Boston 99
  • Game 7 @ Boston: Boston 109, Philadelphia 107

Last Playoffs meeting: 1960 Eastern Division Finals (Boston won 4–2).

Awards and honors

Relocation to San Francisco

Following the season, the Warriors moved west to San Francisco. Edward Gottlieb sold the team to a Bay Area Credit Card company.[2] Despite the loss, Philadelphia would only be without pro-basketball for just that one season. The Syracuse Nationals, who challenged the Warriors in the playoffs for many years had moved to the city the Warriors vacated in 1963, becoming the Philadelphia 76ers.[2]

References
  1. Numbelievable!, p.20, Michael X. Ferraro and John Venziano, Triumph Books, 2007, Chicago, Illinois, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
  2. Philadelphia Warriors (1946–1962)
  3. "Wilt Scores 100!". ESPN.com. 2007-02-14.
  4. Bork, p. 33-35
  5. Numbelivable!, p.23, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
  6. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHW/1962.html
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