About This Stamp
This year, the U.S. Postal Service® celebrates the life of basketball superstar Wilt Chamberlain (1936–1999). On the court, he was a force of nature. The 7-foot-1-inch center dominated the NBA for more than a decade, setting a plethora of individual records. As a pro, he led his teams to two NBA championships, and in 1962 he scored an NBA record 100 points in a single game.
These two Forever® stamps showcase artwork by Kadir Nelson, who created two portraits of Chamberlain. One is based on a photograph of Chamberlain in a Philadelphia Warriors uniform, the other based on an image of Chamberlain in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. The word “Wilt” is featured in the top right or left corner of each stamp, along with the “Forever” denomination and “USA” in the bottom right or left corner of each stamp.
“Wilt Chamberlain (1936–1999)” appears on the left side of the sheet. Photographer Ken Regan's image of a leaping Chamberlain in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform is featured on the right side of the sheet. The flip side of the sheet features biographical information about Chamberlain.
The Wilt Chamberlain stamps are being issued in sheets of 18 self-adhesive Forever® stamps. These Forever stamps® will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce rate. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps.
The National Basketball Association ("NBA") name and logo and the names and logos of NBA.com and the NBA teams are the property of NBA Properties, Inc. and the member teams of the NBA.
Art Director
Antonio Alcalá
Antonio Alcalá served on the Postmaster General’s Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 2010 until 2011, when he left to become an art director for the U.S. Postal Service's stamp development program.
He is founder and co-owner of Studio A, a design practice working with museums and arts institutions. His clients include: the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Phillips Collection, and Smithsonian Institution. He also lectures at colleges including the Corcoran College of Art + Design, SVA, Pratt, and MICA.
In 2008, his work and contributions to the field of graphic design were recognized with his selection as an AIGA Fellow. He has judged international competitions for the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, AIGA, and Graphis. Alcalá also serves on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Poster House Museum’s advisory councils. His designs are represented in the AIGA Design Archives, the National Postal Museum, and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design.
Alcalá graduated from Yale University with a BA in history and from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in graphic design. He lives with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia.
Stamp Artist
Kadir Nelson
Kadir Nelson, an award-winning American artist and author, has been drawing since the age of three. His paintings can be found in galleries, museums, and private collections worldwide, and in the permanent collections of notable institutions, among them the United States House of Representatives, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Nelson has also written and illustrated more than 30 acclaimed children’s books: We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball (2009); and Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans (2011). He recently created 30 original paintings for Blue Sky White Stars, a picture book celebrating the American flag and its history, as well as original artwork for the upcoming picture book, The Undefeated (2019) written by Kwame Alexander.
An honors graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, Nelson began his career as the lead conceptual artist for the Steven Spielberg film Amistad. He was tapped by Sony to create the album cover artwork for the Michael Jackson posthumously released album, “Michael.” His artwork regularly appears on covers of The New Yorker magazine. Other clients have included Sports Illustrated, the Coca-Cola Company, The New York Times, and Major League Baseball.
Honored by the Society of Illustrators with the Hamilton King Award and multiple gold medals, Nelson has also won the Robert F. Sibert Medal as well as two Caldecott Honors, numerous Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator awards, the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book awards, and NAACP Image Awards.
His latest design for the U.S. Postal Service is the 2019 Marvin Gaye stamp. Previous stamp designs honored Richard Wright and Anna Julia Cooper (2009); Negro Leagues Baseball (2010); Major League Baseball All-Stars (2012); Althea Gibson (2013); and Ralph Ellison and Wilt Chamberlain (2014).