Anyone who followed the career of Wilt Chamberlain knows he is defined by two historic numbers: 100 and 20,000.
The first figure is the number of points he scored in a single game, an NBA record that has stood for 49 years.
The second number is unofficial, but if accurate, might be even more impressive, perhaps dating all the way back to Giacomo Casanova in the 18th century.
According to Wilt’s auto­biography, 20,000 is the number of women he, um, got to know.
The 7-foot-1, 300-pound superstar distinguished himself in another arena as well.
“He had good taste in cars,” says Myron Vernis, general manager of Glenmoor Country Club in Jackson Township, where the 17th annual Glenmoor Gathering of Significant Automobiles rolls into action this weekend.
Wilt was partial to Italian bodies (so to speak). He not only owned Maseratis, as did many other wealthy folks, but also for 30 years he drove an Italian car unlike any other.
His customized, bright-red Ghia 450 SS is among a vast array of amazing vehicles that will be on public display at Glenmoor, which annually hosts one of the best car shows in the nation.
The hand-built Ghia 450 SS was sold for just one year, 1966. Only 52 were built — and this was the first.
The car originally was owned by Hollywood producer Burt Sugarman, who essentially created the model.
At an auto show in Geneva in 1964, Sugarman fell in love with a Ghia 230 S. But the manufacturer had no plans to sell those in the United States because they weren’t powerful enough for American highways. So Sugarman asked the company to create something similar but with a big V-8 engine.
Ghia agreed, and Sugarman set up a dealership in Beverly Hills. Most of the buyers were friends of his, generally TV and movie stars.
The Glenmoor car was the prototype and Sugarman’s personal car for three years. He sold it to his pal Wilt in 1969, while the Big Dipper was employed by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Now, when somebody measures 85 inches from head to toe, a bit of customization is in order. The big man retained the original black-leather seats, but had them moved waaaaay back. How far? Well, with the driver’s seat rolled all the way back, a 6-foot-1 man can’t even reach the pedals.
Chamberlain also customized the wooden dash, adding gauges that were more contemporary and installing a new stereo, “the best Craig cassette player available in the mid-’70s,” Vernis jokes.
Most of all, big Wilt wanted a bigger engine. The original 273 cubic-inch four-barrel was just too wimpy. So he swapped it out for a modified Chevy small-block that pushed the horsepower from 250 to 350.
In 1999, after Chamberlain went off to that big locker room in the sky, Vernis bought the car from his estate at an auction.
The fact it had been owned by a basketball icon didn’t influence his decision, says Vernis, who is well-known among collectors.
“It was available, and I had always liked these cars.”
Vernis got lucky, paying only $23,000. Today, it’s worth $110,000 to $125,000. The Wilt connection adds little to the relative value because the 26 still in existence “were pretty much all celebrity-owned,” he says.
Among serious collectors, the real magic of this car comes from its status as the prototype.
Vernis doesn’t baby his gem. Of the 35,000 miles on the odometer, about 10,000 are his. Recently he drove it to a show in northern Michigan and back, racking up 1,000 miles in one day.
“It’s not a great handling car, but it’s very, very fast, and a great cruising car.”
That’s for sure. On Thursday, despite intermittent rain, Vernis tossed me the keys and let me cruise.
The Ghia is indeed fast and fun. And the handling didn’t seem bad, either. Of course, I wasn’t exactly spoiled — the last time I was at Glenmoor, I drove a 1939 Rolls-Royce Phantom III that handled like an apartment building.
As I was zooming around in Wilt’s old car, terrorizing the Glenmoor residents, I was tempted to pull over and look under the seat for a little black book. But then I realized Wilt’s book probably wouldn’t even fit in the trunk.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com.