USPS Wilt Chamberlain

USPS issued on 5 December 2014, in Philadelphia, PA, two First Day Cover stamps commemorating basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain. 

The cachet on the card shows a montage of Wilt Chamberlain as a Laker, a Harlem Globetrotter, and the record-setting 100-point game, a feat accomplished on 2 March 1962. The nickname "The Big Dipper," which Chamberlain preferred, is prominently displayed at the top of the card. 

Known by friends and fans as the “Big Dipper,” “Goliath,” or “Wilt the Stilt,” Wilton Chamberlain (1936-1999) stood a towering 7'1" tall. With such height and an arm span of over seven feet, he was built for basketball.

Chamberlain set several records in his first few years with the National Basketball Association (NBA). Although a formidable scorer, it was his defense that eventually won him a championship. In 1967, he averaged career-low points per game but led the league in rebounds, taking the 76ers to a title win that year. Again focusing on defense in 1972, he led the Lakers to their first-ever NBA title.

With numerous records, four MVP titles and two NBA championships under his belt, Wilt retired in 1973. His 1978 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame forever memorialised Chamberlain.

The two Wilt Chamberlain stamps issued show him in his L.A. Lakers uniform and wearing his Philadelphia Warriors uniform. The extra tall stamps pay tribute to Chamberlain’s height – 7’ 1”.

The First Day of Issue ceremony took place during a Philadelphia 76ers game. Banknote Corporation of America for Sennett Security Products print d the stamps, using a Lithographed method.