Wilt Chamberlain

November 13th: From the USPS:

The Wilt Chamberlain Forever stamps will be dedicated during halftime at center court of the Dec. 5 Philadelphia 76ers/Oklahoma Thunder game that starts at 7 p.m. ET. The stamp ceremony is not open to the public but the Postal Service has obtained a limited number of free tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis by emailing NationalEvents@usps.gov before Mon. Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. ET. One ticket per email request. Tickets are not transferrable once confirmed. Additional tickets may be purchased at www.sixers.com

The game takes place at:

The Wells Fargo Center
3601 S. Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA 19148

Stamp sales will be available inside and outside of the Wells Fargo Center along with First-Day covers and other philatelic (stamp collecting) products.

There will not be an autograph session due to logistical challenges.

October 30th – From the Postal Bulletin (first day postmarks follow this entry):

wiltchamberlain02On December 5, 2014, in Philadelphia, PA, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Wilt Chamberlain stamps, in two designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 18 stamps (Item 472400).

The stamps will go on sale nationwide December 5, 2014.

This year, the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the life of basketball superstar Wilt Chamberlain (1936–1999). The 7-foot-1-inch center set a plethora of records and, as a pro, led his teams to two NBA championships. Two new stamps feature portraits of Chamberlain by artist Kadir Nelson. One stamp portrays Chamberlain in a Philadelphia Warriors uniform, and the other stamp shows him in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. The selvage features photographer Ken Regan’s image of Chamberlain in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps and pane.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store® website at http://www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Wilt Chamberlain Stamps
Retail Manager
Philadelphia Metropolitan District
3190 South 70th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19153-3244

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by February 3, 2015.

There are nine philatelic products for this stamp issue:

472406, Press Sheet w/Die cut, $70.56, (print quantity 1,000).
472408, Press Sheet w/o Die cut, $70.56, (print quantity 1,500).
472410 Digital Color Postmark Keepsake, set of 2, $12.95.
472416 First-Day Cover, set of 2, $1.86.
472421 Digital Color Postmark, set of 2, $3.28.
472424 Framed Art, $39.95.
472430 Ceremony Program, $6.95.
472431 Stamp Deck Card, $0.95.
472432 Stamp Deck Card w/ Digital Color Postmark, $1.99.

Technical Specifications:

wiltchamberlain01Issue: Wilt Chamberlain Stamps
Item Number: 472400
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever®
Format: Pane of 18 (2 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: December 5, 2014, Philadelphia, 
PA 19153
Designer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Art Director: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Typographer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Artist: Kadir Nelson, San Diego, CA
Modeler: Donald Woo
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America/SSP
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Pane: 18
Print Quantity: 50 million stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive adhesive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit SC
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.84 x 1.93 in./21.34 x 48.97 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 0.98 x 2.07 in./24.89 x 52.52 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 9.25 x 6.88 in./234.95 x 174.63 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 18.5 x 27.5 in./469.90 x 698.50 mm
Plate Size: 144 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “S” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings: © 2014 USPS • USPS logo • Plate position diagram • UPC Code 
• Promotional text • NBA Information • Wilt Chamberlain bio.

First day postmarks:

wilt_dcp_vscDCP Size: 1.81″ x 1.46″

wilt_bw_vscBlack & White Pictorial Size: 2.73″ x 1.23″

wiltchamberlain02October 16th: The first day ceremony for Wilt Chamberlain during halftime of the 76ers game will be short, because the teams get half the halftime to warm up for the second half.

Also, there will be a dedication ceremony on December 10th at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, where Chamberlain went to school. It will start at 2 p.m. and there will be a special postmark. The school’s website gives the address as 5898 Lancaster Avenue.

October 1st: Stamp designs and details added. Note the issue date: December 5th at a Sixers game in Philadelphia. Click on the pictures  for a larger view.

From the USPS:
Basketball icon Wilt Chamberlain will be immortalized on two towering Limited Edition Forever stamps Dec. 5.

The U.S. Postal Service and Philadelphia 76ers, in conjunction with the National Basketball Association (NBA), will formally dedicate the Wilt Chamberlain Forever stamps — the first of its kind featuring an NBA player — in a halftime ceremony featuring a special three-dimensional tribute video using the team’s state-of-the-art court projection system. Throughout the night, the Sixers will celebrate the life and legacy of the legendary Chamberlain with videos during breaks in play. Tickets for this 7 p.m. game will be available to the general public beginning Oct. 8 via Sixers.com.

As a 7-foot-1-inch center, Chamberlain dominated the NBA for more than a decade, setting a plethora of individual records. As a pro, Chamberlain led his teams to two NBA championships and in 1962, scored an NBA record 100 points in a single game.

The stamps, just over two inches tall each, are about a third taller than a typical commemorative stamp height of approximately 1.5 inches. Kadir Nelson, of San Diego, CA, created the two stamp image portraits of the NBA superstar. One is based on a photograph of Chamberlain in a Philadelphia Warriors uniform; the other is based on an image of Chamberlain in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. The word “Wilt” is featured in either the top right or left corner of each stamp. Art director Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, VA, designed the stamps.

wiltchamberlain01Born Aug. 21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Chamberlain excelled in track and field, but basketball eventually became his sport of choice. By the time he was 10, Chamberlain was six feet tall. He was nearly unstoppable at Philadelphia’s Overbrook High School, scoring more than 2,200 total points, a Pennsylvania record. People began calling him “Wilt the Stilt” and “The Big Dipper,” possibly because his height sometimes forced him to dip under doorways. He preferred the latter nickname.

He attended the University of Kansas where he averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 rebounds per game before turning pro in 1958. Chamberlain spent a season with the Harlem Globetrotters before joining the Philadelphia Warriors.

During his rookie season with the Philadelphia Warriors, he averaged 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds per game to win both the league’s Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards. Chamberlain led the NBA in scoring his first seven seasons, and on March 2, 1962, during a game against the New York Knicks in Hershey, PA, scored an NBA record 100 points — a monumental feat that has not been matched since.

The Warriors moved to San Francisco in 1962, and in 1965 Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. In 1966–67, Chamberlain led the 76ers to an NBA record 68 regular-season wins and an NBA title.

In 1968, Philadelphia traded Chamberlain to the Los Angeles Lakers. His winning ways continued in L.A. In 1971–72, he led the Lakers to a stellar 69–13 regular-season record — the best regular-season mark in NBA history — and an NBA title. L.A. won the championship that year, defeating the Knicks in five games in the NBA finals. Chamberlain, who was nursing a broken bone in his hand, captured the series MVP Award. Like the
’66–’67 76ers, the ’71–’72 Lakers are still considered one of the best NBA teams of all time.

When the 13-time NBA All-Star retired in 1973, he held a record number of NBA records, including most total points (31,419), average points per game (30.1), total rebounds (23,924) and rebounds per game (22.9). He won the NBA MVP Award four times (1960, 1966–68), and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979.

In 1996, as part of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary season, Chamberlain was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

September 18th: The Postal Bulletin says there will be two designs. VSC confirmed this on October 1st.

August 21st: The art for this stamp is not yet, but we were told it would be a taller-than-usual vertical design in a unique size: “different from anything we’ve ever done….vertical and a little oversized.”

It will be issued in December, probably at a Philadelphia 76ers home game.

Some stats from the USPS about Chamberlain’s career:

  • The 7-foot-1-inch center dominated the NBA for more than a decade, setting a plethora of individual records
  • As a pro, he led his teams to two NBA championships, and in 1962 he scored an NBA record 100 points in a single game.
  • Chamberlain chose to attend the University of Kansas and turned pro in 1958
  • Chamberlain spent a season with the Harlem Globetrotters before joining the Philadelphia Warriors
  • The Warriors moved to San Francisco in 1962, and in 1965 Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers
  • Chamberlain led his new team to a then-NBA record 68 regular-season wins and an NBA title
  • In ’68, Philadelphia traded Chamberlain to the Los Angeles Lakers where his winning ways continued
  • The 13-time NBA All-Star retired in 1973, holding a record number of NBA records, including most total points (31,419), average points per game (30.1), total rebounds (23,294), and rebounds per game (22.9). He won the NBA MVP Award four times (1960, 1966-68), and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978.

More about Chamberlain (1936-1999) at Wikipedia.

10 thoughts on “Wilt Chamberlain

  1. From USA Philatelic (2014 vol 19) Quarter 4 and holidays, page 4:
    472404 PANE OF 18 $8.82; #16 FDC-2 $1.86; #30 Cmy Pgm $6.95; #21 DCP-2 $3.28; #10 DCP Kpsk (2 DCP) $12.95; Framed stamps with FDoI plaque $39.95 visit usap.co/framed to see.

  2. Does anyone know where I can buy the press sheet of wilt chamberlain stamps? I have not been able to find them any where. There are 8 of the regular sheet in one.

    Thank you

  3. Do you people think it is a fair market value for Wilt Chamberlain Press Sheet for $200?? He has one and its uncut version. Please let me know.
    Thanks

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