D4
THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012
Chamberlain Continued from D1 But sometimes interesting questions about that game and its implications arise: What happened in Chamberlain’s next game? Why hasn’t any NBA star come close since? How many others at any level have scored 100? Here are some answers:
The next game For Chamberlain, the day of the Warriors’ next game began with a newspaper columnist calling him a monster. March 4, 1962, two days after his astonishing performance, should have been the biggest day in Chamberlain’s big life. Instead, the aftermath of his 100-point performance was marred by the same kind of small-minded scorn the 7-foot-1 Philadelphian had long endured from a world that continued to view him as a physical freak. The Warriors on March 4 met the same team they’d thumped on March 2 — the Knicks. But it wasn’t on a Friday night in Hershey. This game took place on a Sunday afternoon when basketball had the sports calendar to itself. It was played in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in New York, in the nation’s largest city, the world’s media capital. On the surface, it all looked like a perfect storm of good timing. Surely New York’s fans, its TV cameras, and sports writers would swarm to the event. Yet hardly anyone cared. Only 9,346 fans, about half of what the 18,496-seat facility could hold, showed up to see the man who had made history on Friday. The city’s nine major newspapers, far from ballyhooing Chamberlain’s appearance, greeted it with more cynicism than awe. Like so many at the time, they completely missed Chamberlain’s remarkable athleticism and saw only his size. “Basketball is not prospering because most normalsized American youngsters or adults cannot identify themselves with the freakish stars,� wrote New York Daily News sports editor Jimmy Powers that morning. “You just can’t sell a sevenfoot basket-stuffing monster to even the most gullible adolescent.� There were no elaborate pregame ceremonies marking the feat, no filmed tributes, no testimonials. Without much time to digest its significance, fans, like the writers, appeared to view the 100-point game as a comical fluke. So when Knicks center Darrell Imhoff, who had fouled out trying to cover Wilt two nights earlier, left this game late, he got a standing ovation for having helped limit the Philadelphia center to a mere 58 points. The Warriors won again, 129-128. Chamberlain’s 58 points marked the fifth straight game he had scored 50 or more. Chamberlain, who oddly lived in New York while playing in his hometown, was asked to take a bow that night on TV’s popular Ed Sullivan Show. When the perpetually stiff host, a former sports writer, introduced the player, the sight of the nattily attired giant towering over Sullivan stirred the audience to giggles. The giggles turned into a roar when Johnny Puleo, a tiny harmonica artist who was performing that night, dashed onto the stage and glared up at Chamberlain. Perplexed, the basketball star assumed a boxer’s pose until Puleo lunged at him and bit his thigh. As the audience roared at the vaudeville-like antic, Chamberlain tried to make a joke. “If he grows up,� he said to Sullivan, sounding slightly embarrassed by the whole demeaning bit, “I might lose a job.� Only three games remained in the regular season, and Chamberlain finished with 30, 44, and 34 points. Remarkably, those totals created statistical neatness for his unparalleled regular season — final per-game averages of 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds.
The Bristol stomper Two years before Chamberlain’s 100-pointer, a 6-
foot-2 basketball player for tiny Bristol High scored 114 points in a game. Though he and his exploits have been largely forgotten, Pete Cimino remains one of the most remarkable athletes the Philadelphia area has ever produced. How many others, after all, can say they scored 114 points in a high school basketball game, threw a perfect game that spring for the school’s baseball team, struck out 20 batters in a minor-league game two years later, and pitched three seasons in the majors? On Jan. 22, 1960, in Bristol High’s Lower Bucks County League matchup with Palisades High, Cimino erupted. He hit on 44 of 79 shots from the field and 26 of 29 free throws as Bristol romped, 134-86. Afterward, he was almost apologetic. “All I wanted to do was break the league mark of 62,� he said. “But the guys on the team kept getting rebounds, and I was able to score a lot on the fast break.� The new high school scoring record he set lasted four days. On Jan. 26, 1960, Danny Heater of Burnsville, W.Va., scored 135 in a game his team won by 130 points, 17343, a total that still stands as the most ever in a sanctioned high school game. That spring, Cimino threw his perfect game for Bristol. In June, the hard-throwing right-hander signed with the Washington Senators for a $12,000 bonus. On April 30, 1962, pitching for the Class B Wilson Tobs of the Carolina League, Cimino struck out 20. In 190 innings that season, he fanned 190 batters. He pitched one season for the Minnesota Twins (1966) and parts of the next two with the California Angels. He is 69 now and lives in Kingsport, Tenn.
The century mark From various lists, it seems 19 or 20 boys and five girls have scored 100 or more points in officially sanctioned varsity games. In college, Rio Grande’s Bevo Francis did it twice and Frank Selvy of Furman once. While three of the girls — Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie and Linda Page — moved on to great success at the next levels, you’ve probably heard of few of the boys. In addition to Cimino, the list of long-forgotten youngsters who hit triple digits in high school games — the first in Indiana in 1913, the most recent 2006 in Manhattan — includes such obscure names as Ed Vondra, Dick Bogenrife, Cedrick Hensley, and Dickie Pitts. But of all those scholastic performances, perhaps none topped Leslie’s. Playing for Morningside (Calif.) High on Feb. 7, 1990, she scored 101 points in the first half — 49 in the first quarter, 52 in the second. Trailing, 102-24, at intermission, South Torrance High School decided to forfeit.
Never again No NBA player, not even the prolific Chamberlain, challenged the 100-point mark again. The closest that Wilt, who had a 78-point outing in 1961, ever got to his own record afterward was the 73 he scored on Nov. 16, 1962. He soon grew weary of scoring records and turned elsewhere for on-court satisfaction. In the two seasons he played on championship teams — the 1966-67 Sixers and 1971-72 Lakers — he averaged just 24.1 and 14.8 points a game, respectively. So why has no one else approached 100? Well, the pace of NBA basketball, with its penchant for isolation offense, has slowed considerably since 1962. And defenses have gotten much tighter. The 316 points the Warriors and Knicks combined for on March 2, 1962, would be inconceivable today. This season, to this point, just three of the NBA’s 30 teams even average 100 points a game — Miami, Denver and Oklahoma City. It was 44 years after Chamberlain in Hershey before someone even got to 80 points. Kobe Bryant scored 81 on Jan. 22, 2006, in the Lakers’ 122-104 win over Toronto. No NBA player has ever finished in the 90s.
FLY-TYING CORNER
Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin
It has a buggy profile, suggestive of big caddis, stoneflies, ants and hoppers, dependent on the time of year. Scott Cook, owner of Fly & Field Outfitters in Bend, says he likes this pattern because it is imitative of any number of trout foods, and the way it is tied lends to the versatility of Swisher’s Foam PMX. “I like to have the rubber legs because I can cut them off or leave them on, dependent on the hatch,� Cook says. “If the fish are feeding on stoneflies, I leave the legs on. If there are ants on the water, I cut the legs off.� Tie this pattern with black thread on a No. 10 hook. Trim black foam to shape and secure with thread to the hook. Tie in an underwing of black Krystal Flash. For the wing, tie in black deer hair. Use two-tone rubber for the legs. Tie in a wingpost of white calf tail or a synthetic substitute. Craft the thorax with peacock herl and finish with a black hackle tied parachute style.
Swisher’s Foam PMX, courtesy Fly & Field Outfitters.
— Gary Lewis
Steelhead fishing heats up on the Hood River Here is the weekly fishing report for selected areas in and around Central Oregon, provided by fisheries biologists for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife: BEND PINE NURSERY POND: The pond is open to fishing year-round but may be iced over in winter. CRESCENT LAKE: The lake is accessible at the resort only. CROOKED RIVER BELOW BOWMAN DAM: Anglers have been catching good numbers of fish mixed with some nice trout. DESCHUTES RIVER (Mouth to the northern
FISHING REPORT boundary of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation): March is a great time to visit the lower Deschutes for some spring-like weather and good trout fishing. Green grass, sunny skies, and rising trout can all be found on a good day in the Lower Deschutes in March. HOOD RIVER: Winter steelhead fishing on the Hood River is shifting into high gear as returns of both hatchery and wild fish are entering in good numbers. Anglers are reporting a few bright fish.
METOLIUS RIVER: Trout fishing has been good. Insect hatches should offer lots of opportunities for good dry-fly fishing. PRINEVILLE RESERVOIR: Anglers have reported catching larger trout than in recent years. Anglers should consult the 2011 Sport Fishing Regulations for maximum length requirements and bag limits for both largemouth and smallmouth bass. SHEVLIN YOUTH FISHING POND: The pond is open to fishing year-round but may be iced over in winter. Shevlin Pond is open to children 17 years old and younger with a bag limit of two fish.
H & F C Please email Hunting & Fishing event information to sports@bendbulletin.com or click on “Submit an Event� on our website at bendbulletin.com. Items are published on a space-availability basis, and should be submitted at least 10 days before the event.
FISHING DESCHUTES CHAPTER OF TROUT UNLIMITED: Meets on the first Monday of each month at the Environmental Center in Bend; meeting starts at 6:45 p.m. for members to meet and greet, and discuss what the chapter is up to; 541-3064509; communications@deschutestu.org; www. deschutestu.org.
HUNTING CENTRAL OREGON CHAPTER OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION: Meets at the VFW Hall in Redmond at 6:30 p.m. on the following Wednesdays: March 7, 14, 21 and 28, April 4 and 11; all volunteers welcome; 541-447-2804. HIGH DESERT FRIENDS OF NRA: Annual banquet and auction at the Riverhouse Convention Center in Bend on Saturday, March 31, 5:30 p.m.; proceeds benefit the NRA Foundation, and will help promote such projects as youth firearms safety and education, hunter training, shooting range development, marksmanship training and conservation projects throughout Oregon; contact Jennifer Babcock at 541-369-5366; friendsofnra.org. LEARN THE ART OF TRACKING ANIMALS: Guided walks and workshops with a certified professional tracker; learn to identify and interpret tracks,
Goose Continued from D1 Lew Lemon and Kyle Ramos, hunters from the Sacramento, Calif., area, were along for their last fling of the season. Like us, they’d had the 2:40 a.m. wakeup call at the lodge at the Running Y Ranch and now they stepped into Darren’s boat. We eased through the shallow water among the tules and seeded the marsh with more decoys for a plastic flock of 200 counterfeit birds. When we returned to the blind, my shotgun was underwater. In its case, it had been on top of a chair, but when the chair blew over, the gun went in the drink. I brushed off the new Weatherby autoloader, thumbed two rounds into the tube and closed the chamber on a third. Silhouetted against the dark sky, the tules towered overhead. We hunched into our island in the marsh, just 40 yards out from the decoys. In the Klamath Basin they call it the spring goose season, but technically it’s a late-winter hunt, focused on snow geese, Ross and greater white-fronts. There are hundreds of thousands more white-fronted geese than called for in the management objective. Snow geese are just as numerous. In late winter and early spring when the farmers’ fields are starting to show green, the birds hit the winter wheat, alfalfa and orchard grass. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists use hunters to shift crop damage pressure from private lands to the refuges in the Klamath Basin. Darren stowed his boat and walked back through the knee-high water. Georgie, the Chesapeake, took her place next to Darren and Ethan.
sign and scat of the animals in Central Oregon; two or more walks per month all year; $35; ongoing, 8 a.m. to noon; 541-633-7045; dave@ wildernesstracking.com; wildernesstracking.com. THE BEND CHAPTER OF THE OREGON HUNTERS ASSOCIATION: Meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the King Buffet at the north end of the Wagner Mall, across from Robberson Ford in Bend; contact: Bendchapter_ oha@yahoo.com. THE OCHOCO CHAPTER OF THE OREGON HUNTERS ASSOCIATION: Meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Prineville Fire Hall, 405 N. Belknap St.; contact: 447-5029.
SHOOTING TRADITIONAL ARCHERS OF CENTRAL OREGON: Offering shooting classes in traditional archery; meets twice a month; all equipment and instruction is provided at no charge; open to all families and ability levels; this is a noncompetitive event that emphasizes fun while using traditional gear; 541-480-6743. COSSA KIDS: The Central Oregon Shooting Sports Association’s NRA Youth Marksmanship Program is every third Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon at the COSSA Range; the range is east of Bend off U.S. Highway 20 at milepost 24; contact Don Thomas, 541-389-8284.
“Guys, guys, guys, load your guns,� Darren hissed. Five speckled-belly geese flew in out of the south and made a high circle as they checked out our spread. Known as the greater whitefront, they are also called specks for their black-speckled bellies. They have an understated beauty with a brown head and a white forehead. Their wings are dun-colored, their tails banded, dark green, black and orange. Not as big as the Canada geese Darren calls “heavies,� greater white-fronted geese tip the scales at about 6 pounds, with a wingspan of 53 to 62 inches. In flight, they move like Canadas with rapid beats of their long, pointed wings. Their call is a distinctive bark that sounds like a laughing “kla-ha� or “kla-hah-luk.� “Don’t look at them,� Darren whispered. Their second pass was lower. They cupped their wings and banked into the wind like they were climbing down a shifting staircase, out front, over the open water. “Take ’em. Take ’em!� The first one sagged and the last one crumpled and the rest put on the brakes and wheeled. Georgie charged out into the dark water and brought back our first birds of the day, two speckled-belly geese. Darren smoothed out the feathers of the first bird and started talking about garlic, butter, orange sauce and red and yellow peppers. We call the specks the “flying filet mignon.� Other groups of birds passed by overhead. We heard the crump of guns from the next property. Two snows showed low in the sky out of the southeast and on their second pass, we dropped one in the water and one in the tules behind us.
BEND TRAP CLUB: Trap shooting, five-stand and skeet shooting are all open Thursdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m; located east of Bend off U.S. Highway 20 at milepost 30; contact Bill Grafton at 541-383-1428 or visit www.bendtrapclub.com. CENTRAL OREGON SPORTING CLAYS AND HUNTING PRESERVE: 13-station, 100-target course and 5-stand open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to dusk, and Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to dusk (closed Wednesday); located at 9020 South Highway 97, Redmond; www.birdandclay.com or 541-383-0001. REDMOND ROD & GUN CLUB: Rifle and pistol are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; skeet is Tuesdays and Sundays beginning at 10 a.m.; trap is Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to closing, and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 2011 family memberships now available for $50; non-members are welcome; www.rrandgc.com.
SHOWS CENTRAL OREGON SPORTSMEN’S SHOW: March 8-11; noon to 8 p.m. on March 8-9, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 10, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 11; at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond; discover cutting-edge sporting and outdoor equipment and meet the industry’s most renowned experts; boat show and RV sale, head and horns competition, kids’ trout pond, 3-D popup archery; admission is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 6 to 16, and free for age 5 and younger; www. thesportshows.com.
Georgie shouldered through the reeds and returned with snow on her back and a snow goose in her mouth. We watched skeins of honkers against the sky and hooted to swans that circled over our decoys. We added to the bag of specks and snows, but the bird I will remember best was the lone speck that cupped his wings over our decoys in the middle of the morning. We fired four guns, three
rounds apiece, and missed him clean. Pathetic. Beautiful. He caught a gust of wind. With our guns empty, we watched him wheel and fly out of range, encouraged back to the refuge where he belonged. — Gary Lewis is the host of “Adventure Journal� and author of “John Nosler — Going Ballistic,� “Black Bear Hunting,� “Hunting Oregon� and other titles. Contact Lewis at www. GaryLewisOutdoors.com.