The Sixers held a tribute night at Wednesday’s game to honor late team statistician Harvey Pollack.
The commemorative evening was held on the 54th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s record-setting 100-point game, after which Pollack wrote “100” on a piece of paper for Chamberlain to hold up in what is now an iconic photo.
There was a halfcourt ceremony during halftime and the players wore special warmup shirts. The team previously dedicated the scorer’s table to Pollack at this season’s home opener.
Brett Brown recalled all the times he would see Pollack at the Wells Fargo Center.
“I come down here on game days early and you would just bump into him and you were just sort of amazed at the passion and the history that he represents,” Brown said.
Pollack’s career began in 1946. He was the first to track statistical categories such as minutes played, offensive and defensive rebounds, steals, turnovers, blocks, dunks, field-goal distances and 48-minute stat projections.
The creation of the phrase “triple-double” also is credited to him. He and his staff compiled the annual Harvey Pollack NBA Statistical Yearbook, which included stats, trends and more.
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“As a kid, you would follow some of these things that he would create,” Brown said. “You'd wonder, who would even chart that? ... He represented a non-playing side of the history but something everybody in the league knows.”
The Sixers also are creating a “Super Stat” station inside the Wells Fargo Center, featuring a memory wall and T-shirt display. Pollack pursued a Guinness World Record from 2003 to 2015 by wearing a different T-shirt every day. Fans can donate T-shirts at the station to charities.