William B. Chambers (December 13, 1930 – July 11, 2017) was an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

player and coach for the

William & Mary Tribe The William & Mary Tribe is a moniker for the College of William & Mary's athletic teams and the university's community more broadly. William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in wo ...

.HOF Inductees 1995: Bill Chambers
. Accessed March 19, 2008.

Playing career

High school

He attended

E. C. Glass High School E. C. Glass High School is a public school in Lynchburg, Virginia. It was founded in 1871 as Lynchburg High School and was named for long-time Superintendent of Public Schools in Lynchburg, Edward Christian Glass. Academics E. C. Glass offers ...

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

where he led his team to a state championship and an undefeated season (22–0) during his senior year.

William & Mary

Chambers then went on to play collegiately for the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...

from 1950 to 1953. He earned all-state, All-

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

and Helms All-American status while playing for the Tribe. On February 14 of his senior year, Chambers set an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

single game rebound record of 51 against the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. It is a record that still stands to this day. He was also selected as Virginia's Outstanding Collegiate Basketball Player that same year.William & Mary 2007–08 Media Guide – All-Time Stats & Players
. Accessed March 19, 2008. Chambers ended his William & Mary career with 1,456 points. He also set the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

schools' record for rebounds in a single season when he grabbed 509 in 1951–52.Virginia Basketball Records: Men's Division I Individual Records
Accessed March 19, 2008. His jersey number (#32) was retired and now hangs in the rafters of

Kaplan Arena Kaplan Arena is a building used for athletic events for the William & Mary Tribe sports teams at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The building contains an 8,600-seat arena, which can seat 11,300 with extra bleachers.

NBA

In the

1953 NBA Draft The 1953 NBA draft was the seventh annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24, 1953, before the 1953–54 season. In this draft, nine remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college bas ...

, Chambers was selected by the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

as their 11th pick. Despite the selection, he was cut by the Lakers during preseason.

Coaching career

In 1957, Chambers returned to his alma mater to coach his former team after several years of highly successful high school coaching. Over the course of the next nine seasons (six of which were winning years), he compiled at 113–110 career record, a win total not surpassed by any other W&M men's basketball coach until

Tony Shaver Tony Shaver (born January 28, 1954) is an American college basketball coach. From the 2003–04 through 2018–19 seasons, he was the head men's basketball coach at the College of William & Mary. He arrived at William & Mary after a 17-year tenur ...

passed the mark in February 2013. The most notable win during his tenure was on January 30, 1960, when his unranked Tribe defeated No. 4

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

94–86. The win broke the Mountaineers' 56-game Southern Conference winning streak. For his accomplishments, Chambers has been inducted into the William & Mary Hall of Fame. In 1995, Chambers was also inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

Head coaching record

Later years and death

After retiring from coaching in 1966, Chambers worked in sales and management for the Converse shoe company and later became a salesman of sporting goods in Florida. In 1990, he was appointed vice president of sales for

Russell Athletic Russell Athletic is an American clothing manufacturer based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Currently a subsidiary of global company Fruit of the Loom, Russell Athletic was the main brand of Russell Brands, LLC. until its acquisition in 2006.

. Chambers died on July 11, 2017, in

Alexander City, Alabama Alexander City, known to locals as "Alex City", is the largest city in Tallapoosa County, Alabama, United States, with a population of 14,843 as of the 2020 census. It has been the largest community in Tallapoosa County since 1910. It is know ...

, following a lengthy battle with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. He was 86.

References

External links

"No. 4 in The Untouchables: Bill Chambers’ 51 rebounds in a single game"
@ Rivals.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Bill 1930 births 2017 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Virginia Basketball players from Virginia Centers (basketball) Neurological disease deaths in Alabama Deaths from Parkinson's disease High school basketball coaches in Virginia Minneapolis Lakers draft picks Sportspeople from Lynchburg, Virginia William & Mary Tribe football coaches William & Mary Tribe men's basketball coaches William & Mary Tribe men's basketball players