It wasn’t a typical phone call during which a former player learns he has been inducted into a hall of fame.
When Basketball Hall of Fame President John Doleva dialed up Chet Walker on Thursday morning at his Los Angeles-area home, Walker’s response basically was, “What took you so long?”
“I was happy, but I was not overwhelmed because I think I should have been in a long time ago, to be honest," Walker said Friday in a telephone interview shortly after the Hall announced five inductees for 2012 during All-Star Weekend in Orlando.
The forward retired in 1975 after a 13-year NBA career with Syracuse, Philadelphia and Chicago in which he averaged 18.2 points, was named to seven All-Star Games and won a title with the 76ers in 1967. After a five-year waiting period, Walker had been eligible for the Hall for more than 30 years.
“When you sit around for 25 years and you watch people go in with far less credentials than you have, then you have to say to yourself, ‘Something must be wrong,' " Walker said about the voting process. “Who knows (why Walker didn’t get in before)? Each year, I’d hear I’d been eliminated by a couple of votes."
The Hall has been secretive about its voting process, not choosing to give the names of those on committees. Walker was a selection from the Veterans Committee.
Four other direct inductees were named Friday. They are center Mel Daniels from the American Basketball Association Committee, late player Don Barksdale from the Early African-American Pioneers Committee, longtime Soviet Union women’s coach Lidia Alexeeva from the International Committee and Nike founder Phil Knight from the Contributor Direct Election Committee.
Walker, 72, said he heard last year he might be named to the Hall. But the Veterans Committee instead chose Tom Sanders, a Boston forward who averaged 9.6 points as a defensive specialist from 1960-73.
“I was supposed to be in there last year but, for some reason, they took my name off and replaced it with Satch Sanders," Walker said. “My credentials were so much better (than those of Sanders). I just felt slighted."
Walker said he went so far as to tell Doleva he didn’t want to be considered anymore for the Hall.
“I told him, 'Just take my name off the table. I don’t want to deal with it anymore,' " Walker said. “That was the final act (Sanders going in ahead of Walker)."
Walker, though, said Doleva stressed he continue to be patient.
“He told me, ‘Look, you’re still in contention. Just give us another year,' " Walker said.
A year passed, and Walker finally got the call. He said it was “nice" to get the news but reiterated he wasn’t overwhelmed with emotion.
Walker does plan to attend the Final Four in New Orleans, where additional 2012 enshrinees will be announced April 2. And he will be at the induction ceremonies Sept. 7 at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
The Hall also announced Friday the 12 finalists from the North American and Women’s committees, who will learn in April about enshrinement. They are former NBA stars Reggie Miller, Maurice Cheeks, Bernard King, Ralph Sampson and Jamaal Wilkes, coaches Rick Pitino, Don Nelson, Dick Motta and Bill Fitch, college official Hank Nichols, women’s player Katrina McLain and the All American Red Heads, a team once known as the women's equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Walker becomes the fourth player off the 1966-67 76ers, who went a then-record 68-13 during the regular season, to be inducted into the Hall. He joins Wilt Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham and Hall Greer.
Walker figures it’s about time.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter@christomasson
