NBA stars have always been celebrities, even before the modern era of content took it to the next level. A lot changed after Michael Jordan and his success as an ambassador for various brands, but even before then, basketball’s biggest stars always had everyone’s eyes on them. Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell had a lot to deal with off the court, but the opportunities to be in different types of entertainment and endorsement productions were available to them as well.
And Wilt, who enjoyed a prolific life off the court in terms of entertainment, indulged in a few of these skits and videos. He was famously quite funny in many ways. In a skit for Dan Rowan and Dick Martin’s variety show, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, Chamberlain appeared alongside famous singer and comedian Sammy Davis Jr. The two played out a boxing match between a challenger and champion, with Chamberlain’s character ironically named, ‘The Tiny Irish Bob Murphy.’
Sammy Davis Jr.: “Who’s he? He ain’t tiny, and I have a sneaky suspicion he ain’t even Irish.”
Wilt Chamberlain: *sings a line from an Irish song*.
Sammy Davis Jr.: “You old son of a gun, you. You’re the champ. He’s Irish. But he ain’t tiny, he definitely ain’t tiny.”
Wilt Chamberlain: “Don’t bet on that (it is a 15-round fight). I have a date in 10 minutes. And I’ll be showered, shaved, and dressed, and 5 minutes early.”
The fight hilariously went on for a while, with Davis Jr. making jokes and Chamberlain using his stoic and huge presence to rebuff him again and again. The big man lost at the end of the skit after Sammy Davis Jr. told him another joke that made him quit the fight entirely. The video clip is an excellent piece of nostalgia for the sort of simple and fun comedy that was a hallmark of the 60s and 70s.
Wilt Chamberlain wasn’t necessarily the most likable superstar, many didn’t see eye to eye with him. He had disagreements with his fellow NBA greats as well, but there is no denying that he was an icon in his time. His size was only a part of what made him so dominant, there is probably no other player in the league’s history that had the natural ability in every aspect that Wilt did. And while he will always be remembered for his exploits on the court, his colorful personality should not be forgotten either.
