On this day March 2, 1926, Wilt Chamberlain became the first (and only) professional American basketball player to score 100 points in a single game. It happened In Hershey Park Arena in Pennsylvania where the Philadelphia Warriors took on the New York Knicks. The 7'1" Center broke his own record of 78 points in a single game which he established earlier in the season.
Chaimberlain was born in 1936 and was a stand out athlete by the time he was a teenager. He competed in high jump and long jump in college as well as basketball. He left college a year early and toured with the harlem Globetrotter's before turning professional in 1959. As a 23 year old, Wilt was named Rookie of the Year in 1960. he was also named Most Valuable Player for that season. During his third season, the 25 year old phenom averaged a whopping 50.4 points per game and an astounding 27 rebounds.
His career was marred, however, by frustrations over the continued physical abuse he received at the hands of other players, particularly the Boston Celtics led by Wilt's good friend, Bill Russell. Chamberlain was also terrible at freethrows which led to constant heckling by both the media and fans.
He retired at the end of the 1972-1972 season after leading both the Philly 76ers and the LA Lakers to the NBA championship. Chamberlain was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978 and he still holds a number of NBA records including Most Points Per Game for a season (50.1), Most Rebound Per Game for a season (27) and Most Career Rebounds, a whopping 23,924.
Wilt gained notoriety later in life when he claimed in his autobiography entitled, "A View From Above" that he had slept with over 20,000 women throughout his lifetime. He died on October 12, 1999 from a heart attack. He was 63 years old.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wilt-chamberlain-scores-100-points
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_basketball_players_who_have_scored_100_points_in_a_single_game