A dedication to basketball history, catalogued and ranked for posterity, then presented in convenient list form

On this date in basketball history: November 24

Don Otten commits eight fouls in one NBA game; Wilt Chamberlain grabs 55 rebounds; sentencing in the Boston College point shaving scandal

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1949

Don Otten of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks sets the NBA record with eight personal fouls in a single game, a 120-113 loss to the Sheboygan Redskins. Otten was able to commit more than six fouls due to an NBA regulation that a team must always field five players on the court, meaning that if enough players foul out, one of them must remain active to finish the game.


1938

Oscar Robertson is born in Charlotte, Tennessee. His parents moved to Indianapolis when Oscar was 18 months old and he was raised in the basketball hotbed.

1943

Dave Bing is born in Washington, D.C. He was childhood friends with legendary Motown singer Marvin Gaye.

1957

Naismith Hall of Fame coaching inductee Rudy Tomjanovich is born in Hamtramck, Michigan.

1949

Charles “Henry” Bibby is born in Franklinton, North Carolina. His older brother, Jim, was an MLB All-Star in 1980 while pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1960

Wilt Chamberlain sets the still standing NBA record with 55 rebounds in a single game during a Warriors loss to the Celtics.

1981

Former Boston College player Rick Kuhn is found guilty of conspiracy by a federal jury in regards to his involvement in a point shaving scandal during the ’78-’79 season. He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, which was later reduced to 28 months. The conviction was largely based on the testimony of co-conspirator Henry Hill, an infamous mafia associate turned states’ witness who was portrayed by Ray Liotta in the film Goodfellas.

2002

Broadcasting legend Chick Hearn is honored by the Lakers with a banner hung up in the rafters bearing his name and a microphone.

2015

Dikembe Mutombo has his jersey #55 retired by the Hawks. Acquired as a free agent in 1996, Mutombo spent four-and-a-half seasons with Atlanta, making four All-Star teams and winning two Defensive Player of the Year awards.