Wilton Norman Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a family of nine children; he was the son of domestic worker and homemaker Olivia Ruth Johnson and William Chamberlain, a welder, custodian, and handyman. He was a frail child, nearly dying of pneumonia in his early years and missing a whole year of school as a result. Chamberlain was always very tall, measuring at age 10. In his early childhood, Chamberlain was not interested in basketball, which he thought of as "a game for sissies". According to Chamberlain, however, "basketball was king in Philadelphia" so he eventually turned to the sport in seventh grade, while attending Shoemaker Junior High School.
