tallest heavyweights

[Conewago]

I was reading about Wilt Chamberlain recently. Guys who are themselves legends - Pat Riley, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Bill Walton, et al - have told stories about Wilt as if he were a Greek god.

His high school track and field numbers (in shot put, high and long jumps, discus throws, and mid-distance runs) probably wouldn't win a state title today, but would most likely still be top 5-10 or so. That's just preposterous athleticism, considering those are from 1950s nutrition and physical training standards. His finesse is well known, but his pure explosiveness, speed, dexterity, and so on jumps out on film like lightning.

My grandfather was at Fort Riley in the Army in the 50s. He and his buddies drove the 100 miles to Lawrence because they had heard all about Wilt.

It made me wonder, could a guy like that be a good wrestler? I mean a guy without a conventional wrestling body with simply outlandish athleticism? (Wilt's listed weight was 275 pounds)

Who are some of the taller/leaner heavyweights you can remember?

 

[oldcougar65]

Train him for a week and Wilt would be a national contender at heavyweight. He may have been the most amazing athlete that ever lived.
He was a track star. He was a 275 pound high jumper! He carried that massive body over hurdles. Seems to me he won the Big 8 or whatever conference Kansas was in at the time.

When he retired from basketball he became a professional volleyball player and hall of famer in that sport.
I seem to remember a time when Wilt said, "I'm going to set an assists record" and promptly did so.
I listened to Bill Campbell broadcast the 100 point game from Hershey Arena in HS. I remember one year when Wilt AVERAGED 50 points a game. Try to take that in.
He was a lousy free throw shooter but I vaguely recall that he set the record for the most free throw points in a game as well.
I've read stories of Wilt picking up 250 pound basketball players easily and carrying them around for a while, just for the heck of it. So I guess he could handle a heavyweight wrestler.
Stories told that in HS he would help people change tires by lifting the car and holding it up while the person change the tire. Even that's hard to believe.

And the '67 Sixers were the best team in history up to that point.
so yeah, Wilt would have been a hell of a wrestler.

 

[tullfan68]

Train him for a week and Wilt would be a national contender at heavyweight. He may have been the most amazing athlete that ever lived.
He was a track star. He was a 275 pound high jumper! He carried that massive body over hurdles. Seems to me he won the Big 8 or whatever conference Kansas was in at the time.

When he retired from basketball he became a professional volleyball player and hall of famer in that sport.
I seem to remember a time when Wilt said, "I'm going to set an assists record" and promptly did so.
I listened to Bill Campbell broadcast the 100 point game from Hershey Arena in HS. I remember one year when Wilt AVERAGED 50 points a game. Try to take that in.
He was a lousy free throw shooter but I vaguely recall that he set the record for the most free throw points in a game as well.
I've read stories of Wilt picking up 250 pound basketball players easily and carrying them around for a while, just for the heck of it. So I guess he could handle a heavyweight wrestler.
Stories told that in HS he would help people change tires by lifting the car and holding it up while the person change the tire. Even that's hard to believe.

And the '67 Sixers were the best team in history up to that point.
so yeah, Wilt would have been a hell of a wrestler.

Celtics wom 9 titles in 10 yrs philly won 1 they are far from being close to those Celtis teams!

 

[nittinsc]

Here's a few:
Adam Coon, Chris Taylor - 6' 5";
Bobby Telford, Tony Nelson, Charlie Getty, Steven Neal -6'4"

 

[DELion]

André the Giant
7'-4", 520 lb

 

[mcpat]

Wilt was the Big 8 high jump champion 3x

 

[BigFella235]

There was a kid from Chambersburg named Dawson Peck who was somewhere around the 6’6”-6’8” range. He was a 2x state medalist and wrestled at VT, UTC and Maryland

 

[oldcougar65]

Celtics wom 9 titles in 10 yrs philly won 1 they are far from being close to those Celtis teams!

If you remember the late 60's, you will remember that EVERYONE thought the 67 SIxers were the best team of all time.
Later the 67 Sixers were chosen as the greatest individual team for the NBA 35th Anniversary team in 1980.
That was the NBA's opinion. I'm sure yours carries more weight.

I did some consulting for Billy Cunningham in the late 70s. My son went to practice with me at Weidner one year before the playoffs. Dr J made sure he walked all the way across the gym, talked to my 9 year old son, patted him on the head and wished him well. My son didn't want to wash his hair for six months.

 

[baccafarmer]

Celtics wom 9 titles in 10 yrs philly won 1 they are far from being close to those Celtis teams!

You would be more on target to mention 50’s and 60’s Celtics enforcer Jim Loscutoff. At 6’5” and 230 lbs he fought his way to the heavyweight title 7 times.

 

[El-Jefe]

There was a kid from Chambersburg named Dawson Peck who was somewhere around the 6’6”-6’8” range. He was a 2x state medalist and wrestled at VT, UTC and Maryland

Peck was 6-8 or maybe 6-9. I remember his state finals match vs. 2x champ Averee Robinson -- Peck lost but it was one of the more exciting HWT finals ever. High scoring match, and Peck nearly pinned Robinson with bars coming out of a scramble.

He was a string bean -- wrestled HWT his last 2 years but really was a 215-220. Possibly because he was only 1 year older than some Thomas Haines guy, and in the same regional.

He struggled somewhat in college. Tall guys have a reach advantage from a distance, but are at a disadvantage in close. Plus sometimes lighter HWTs lose quickness when they bulk up -- an extra tall guy can't afford to lose that quickness.

 

[AgSurfer]

Back in the 80s in San Diego, I went to a charity function for the San Diego Zoo and animals in general. It was at the ballroom of a big hotel and in the lobby, there was an assortment of really nice pedigree dogs that were mildly sedated so everyone could walk up and pet them. I was petting one particular long haired dog and someone behind me asked politely if they could pet him too. I turned around to say no problem and I was looking into the person’s mid chest! When I looked up, it was none other than Wilt Chamberlain! My jaw dropped and I couldn’t think of anything to say after that.

 

[BigFella235]

Peck was 6-8 or maybe 6-9. I remember his state finals match vs. 2x champ Averee Robinson -- Peck lost but it was one of the more exciting HWT finals ever. High scoring match, and Peck nearly pinned Robinson with bars coming out of a scramble.

He was a string bean -- wrestled HWT his last 2 years but really was a 215-220. Possibly because he was only 1 year older than some Thomas Haines guy, and in the same regional.

He struggled somewhat in college. Tall guys have a reach advantage from a distance, but are at a disadvantage in close. Plus sometimes lighter HWTs lose quickness when they bulk up -- an extra tall guy can't afford to lose that quickness.

Being a 6’4” ex-heavyweight, I can attest to this. Length comes in handy a lot, but can get you into trouble at times also.

I was in the same Freestyle states bracket as Dawson back when I was in HS and he’s definitely taller than me by a few inches. Watching him and Robinson scrap in the state finals was highly entertaining.

Another very tall heavyweight I recall from my HS days was a kid by the name of Matt Mongera from Seneca. He was a state finalist at 215lbs as a sophomore, then took 4th and 3rd as a junior and senior, respectively. He never went on to wrestle in college for whatever reason. He just went to work on the family farm near as I know. I think by the time he stopped growing, he was easily 6’8” and strong as an ox.

 

[Conewago]

Back in the 80s in San Diego, I went to a charity function for the San Diego Zoo and animals in general. It was at the ballroom of a big hotel and in the lobby, there was an assortment of really nice pedigree dogs that were mildly sedated so everyone could walk up and pet them. I was petting one particular long haired dog and someone behind me asked politely if they could pet him too. I turned around to say no problem and I was looking into the person’s mid chest! When I looked up, it was none other than Wilt Chamberlain! My jaw dropped and I couldn’t think of anything to say after that.

Michael Jordan was visibly nervous when he met Wilt.

 

[Conewago]

Train him for a week and Wilt would be a national contender at heavyweight. He may have been the most amazing athlete that ever lived.
He was a track star. He was a 275 pound high jumper! He carried that massive body over hurdles. Seems to me he won the Big 8 or whatever conference Kansas was in at the time.

When he retired from basketball he became a professional volleyball player and hall of famer in that sport.
I seem to remember a time when Wilt said, "I'm going to set an assists record" and promptly did so.
I listened to Bill Campbell broadcast the 100 point game from Hershey Arena in HS. I remember one year when Wilt AVERAGED 50 points a game. Try to take that in.
He was a lousy free throw shooter but I vaguely recall that he set the record for the most free throw points in a game as well.
I've read stories of Wilt picking up 250 pound basketball players easily and carrying them around for a while, just for the heck of it. So I guess he could handle a heavyweight wrestler.
Stories told that in HS he would help people change tires by lifting the car and holding it up while the person change the tire. Even that's hard to believe.

And the '67 Sixers were the best team in history up to that point.
so yeah, Wilt would have been a hell of a wrestler.

I'm convinced Chamberlain was the greatest athlete in recorded history.

At over 270 pounds, he had a 53' shot put, 22' long jump, and a sub 2 minute 800.

As a friend of mine said, "If such a claim was in classical literature, we'd assume it was an exaggeration."

 

[Conewago]

Wilt Chamberlain and Lenny Moore, whom JoePa called the best athlete he ever coached, both went to high school in eastern PA at about the same time. Must have been some good drinking water in 1940s-50s eastern PA.

 

[PASLP2]

Reading High graduate Lenny Moore! I was able to get his autograph on a bobble head a few years back at a Reading Phillies game. I gave it to my father for his man cave. Happy Father’s Day everyone.

 

[Psalm 1 guy]

Back in the 80s in San Diego, I went to a charity function for the San Diego Zoo and animals in general. It was at the ballroom of a big hotel and in the lobby, there was an assortment of really nice pedigree dogs that were mildly sedated so everyone could walk up and pet them. I was petting one particular long haired dog and someone behind me asked politely if they could pet him too. I turned around to say no problem and I was looking into the person’s mid chest! When I looked up, it was none other than Wilt Chamberlain! My jaw dropped and I couldn’t think of anything to say after that.

I was stuck in traffic in San Diego about two years ago and Bill Walton was next to me on his bicycle, so that was cool : ) My Dad still has a poster in his garage of the 1977 Trailblazers Championship team. At his peak Bill was such a phenomenal player. I can't think of any Big Man who was as adept at starting a fast break after a rebound as he was. I loved watching him pass the ball downcourt while still in the air after a rebound.

 

[creamery freak]

I recall Rick Petersen, the Lock Haven Heavyweight during the mid 80's, being pretty tall and built like a wedge.

 

[AgSurfer]

I was stuck in traffic in San Diego about two years ago and Bill Walton was next to me on his bicycle, so that was cool : ) My Dad still has a poster in his garage of the 1977 Trailblazers Championship team. At his peak Bill was such a phenomenal player. I can't think of any Big Man who was as adept at starting a fast break after a rebound as he was. I loved watching him pass the ball downcourt while still in the air after a rebound.

Back around the same time that I saw Wilt, some people I knew opened up a new and popular bar/restaurant in Mission Valley. I remember going there for their grand opening and seeing Bill Walton as well as Ben Davidson from the Raiders along with a few other well known sports personalities that I don’t even remember.

In those days, you would see a lot of well known people quite often. I think that was before the paparazzi and ambulance chasers were so popular.

PS - don’t forget that Bill Walton is from San Diego. He went to either Helix High or Patrick Henry - I can’t remember which one. The local schools also graduated Stephan Neal and Marcus Allen. Probably some others too that I’ve forgotten about.

 

[oldcougar65]

I was stuck in traffic in San Diego about two years ago and Bill Walton was next to me on his bicycle, so that was cool : ) My Dad still has a poster in his garage of the 1977 Trailblazers Championship team. At his peak Bill was such a phenomenal player. I can't think of any Big Man who was as adept at starting a fast break after a rebound as he was. I loved watching him pass the ball downcourt while still in the air after a rebound.

I went to high school with a Trailblazer. He missed Walton by a year, but ended in the Trailblazer HOF; Geoff Petrie. He was a great athlete. He lead the Ivy League in ERA. He left Princeton as the 3rd leading scorer in Princeton history in BB still top 10. While QB on our HS team, I saw him throw the ball from our 45 yard line while running full-speed to his right. The receiver caught the ball in the back of the end zone. He was NBA rookie of the year, later NBA Executive of the year as Prez of the Sacramento Kings. I sat next to him at a banquet once.

 

[voltz99]

Wilt won the B12 high jump three years in a row but there was NO way he 275 back then.