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| | Wednesday, October 13 | |||||
| SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- With flags lowered outside the
Basketball Hall of Fame, dozens of visitors paid respects to Wilt
Chamberlain on Wednesday at a special display in his honor.
The exhibit was quickly assembled following Chamberlain's death
Tuesday at 63. The memorabilia featured sneakers, jerseys and his
uniform from his 100-point game in 1962.
A small black wreath and the date of his death were placed
beneath a silver medallion bearing his likeness. The three flags
outside the building were lowered. Chamberlain was inducted into
the shrine in 1978.
Questioned by Hall of Fame staffers, about 50 visitors said they
stopped by specifically to pay tribute to one of basketball's most
formidable players.
"They wanted somehow to be close to him," said Kimberley Lee,
a Hall of Fame spokeswoman. "These are not necessarily basketball
fanatics, but simply fans of a man who graced courts across America
with a talent that will probably never be seen again."
Attendance at the Hall will not be totaled until the end of the
week, but traffic was unusually high for a weekday, Lee said.
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