19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

WILT
Sir:
Wilt Chamberlain is right about being un-worried about his place in history books because he is a legend in his own time (My Impact Will Be Everlasting, Oct. 7). Without a doubt he is the greatest man ever to play the game.
JEFFREY VERLANDER
Weems, Va.

Sir:
Mr. Chamberlain is indeed one of the greatest ever to play basketball. It is sad to say, however, that Wilt cannot let his actions speak for themselves. He states that Bill Russell has a "thing" about Wilt the Great. But it's Wilt who forever brings up the specter of Russell, who retired at the end of a successful season, and did so with the style he displayed on and off the court. Wilt retires bemoaning everything and everyone who, he believes, tried to do him in at every turn. It can be honestly said that the exits of these two great stars from basketball symbolized their careers. Bill Russell left as a winner in all respects; Wilt Chamberlain departed as a poor loser.
EDWARD J. FENNELL
Stratford, Conn.

Sir:
Was happy to read that Wilt is in such great physical shape. I thought he might have developed severe muscle strain of the arm and shoulder from patting his own back.

Sorry, Wilt, Bill Russell was quite a few championships better.
B. R. THORNTON
Auburn Heights, Mich.

Sir:
Just think of the state of our country if all our loaders in Washington, D.C. sat down with a writer for a national publication and reflected on their careers without trying to "cover up" their actions.

Keep it up Wilt! Your being honest with your life makes it easier to read the morning paper.
FRANK A. KAUFMAN
Albany, N.Y.

Sir:
As one who has followed Wilt's basketball career since he was a sophomore in high school, 1 feel that he is quite modest in his appraisal of his own abilities. As he admits, his opinions are not humble, but I can think of no other sport where one individual has established as many records. He has always borne the rap of a loser, but how many NBA championships did Jerry West or Elgin Baylor win at Los Angeles before Wilt arrived?
DAVID W. BONNER
Hatboro, Pa.

Sir:
I'd like to know what Wilt Chamberlain gets out of cutting up the greatest guard to ever play the game of basketball, Jerry West. West is the third-leading scorer of all time, fifth in assists and made the All-Star team 10 times.

West's career was continuously hampered by injuries, but when things got rough he didn't switch teams and cry that he never got a night. Doesn't Chamberlain think that the people who paid his outrageous salary know who deserves it and who doesn't?
CHARLES D. LAMBERT
Lynchburg, Va.

Sir:
I'm writing to inform you of Wilt's most recent record-setting performance. In his 10-column, 4,256-word essay on how great he was, is and ever will be, Wilt manages to utilize the personal pronouns I, me or my no less than a whopping 349 times for a stupendous, record-breaking average of one personal ego-satisfying pronoun for every 12.2 words uttered!
LARRY TOLBERT
Knoxville, Tenn.