How old was Wilton Norman Chamberlain?
Wilt Chamberlain
Chamberlain had a history of heart trouble. In 1992, he was briefly hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat.[172] According to those close to him, he eventually began taking medication for his heart troubles.[173][174] In 1999, his condition deteriorated rapidly. During this time, he lost 50 pounds.[175] After undergoing dental surgery in the week before his death, he was in great pain and seemed unable to recover from the stress. On October 12, 1999, Chamberlain died in Bel-Air, California, at the age of 63.[2][176] He was cremated.[177] His agent Sy Goldberg stated Chamberlain died of congestive heart failure.[178] He was survived by his sisters Barbara Lewis, Margaret Lane, Selina Gross and Yvonne Chamberlain, and brothers Wilbert and Oliver Chamberlain.[2]
Wilt Chamberlain
Chamberlain joined a squad which featured Hall-of-Fame forward Elgin Baylor and Hall-of-Fame guard Jerry West, along with backup center Mel Counts, forwards Keith Erickson and Tom Hawkins and talented 5'11" guard Johnny Egan. The lack of a second guard next to West (and thus, the lack of speed and quickness) concerned coach Butch Van Breda Kolff; after losing Clark and Gail Goodrich, who joined the Phoenix Suns after the 1968 expansion draft, he said: "Egan gets murdered on defense because of his [lack of] size...but if I don't play him, we look like a bunch of trucks."[82] In addition, Cherry observed that Chamberlain was neither a natural leader nor a loyal follower, which made him difficult to fit in.[81] While he was on cordial terms with Jerry West, he often argued with team captain Elgin Baylor; regarding Baylor, he later explained: "We were good friends, but... [in] black culture... you never let the other guy one-up you."[81] The greatest problem was his tense relationship with Lakers coach Butch Van Breda Kolff: pejoratively calling the new recruit "The Load", he later complained that Chamberlain was egotistical, never respected him, too often slacked off in practice and focused too much on his own statistics.[81] In return, the center blasted Van Breda Kolff as "the dumbest and worst coach ever".[33][81] Laker Keith Erickson observed that "Butch catered to Elgin and Jerry...and that is not a good way to get on Wilt's side...that relationship was doomed from the start."[81]