The lip service was all fun and games. The stool, which came into play during Game 5 of the 1962 Eastern finals, was self-defense.
“For some reason,’’ Jones recalls, “I hit Wilt exceptionally hard, and I knew I had made a mistake.’’
Chamberlain, 7 feet 1 inch and 275 pounds, started chasing Jones.
Jones, 6-4, 205, started running.
“Wilt was coming over to try to shake Sam’s hand,’’ said K.C. Jones, Sam Jones’s backcourt partner. “But Sam thought he was coming after him.’’
“I had to get something to help me fight off this big person,’’ Sam Jones said. “I knocked a photographer off his stool, then I picked up the stool and he stopped in his tracks.’’
By that time, the court had turned into a mob scene.
“I did regret it,’’ Jones said. “But I probably would have hit him in his knees and took off again.’’
Two days later, the teams played in Philadelphia, and Chamberlain took Jones out for dinner before the game. They laughed about the whole thing.
The Celtics went on to win the NBA title that year. In Game 7 against Philly, Jones hit the game-winner with two seconds left to push the Celtics into the Finals against the Lakers. Of course, he hit it over Chamberlain.
“He loved picking on Wilt,’’ said Bob Cousy. “There’s not too many guys that would taunt Wilt. But Sam had that kind of confidence in his shot.’’
When the Sports Museum honors Jones Wednesday at TD Banknorth Garden as part of the eighth annual Tradition, it recognizes a player who made his name in Celtics history by taking big shots regardless of the situation or who was in front of him.
He finished his 12-year career with 10 NBA titles. The only player with more was his teammate and friend Bill Russell, who left the game with 11.
He is a five-time All-Star, a Hall of Famer, one of the league’s top 50 players, and his game-winning shot in the 1969 Finals against the Lakers - taken off the wrong foot with seven seconds left, bouncing around the rim and in - is one of the greatest in playoff history.
But if you call Sam Jones “the forgotten Celtic,’’ no one would really argue.
