Young 1987 Sir Charles Barkley

[Abraham Lincoln]

http://www.people.com/people/archive...096148,00.html

By Alan Richman

April 27, 1987

Hours before Michael Jordan's arrival at the Spectrum, Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers is taking his girlfriend to lunch. They have barely spoken in five days, and he is careful not to annoy her again?no minor effort for a man who flirts constantly, dresses in raggedy jeans and loves to spend entire afternoons on the couch watching soap operas. A few days earlier, his former Auburn University roommate, Mark Cahill, came to visit, and the two men stayed out until 4 a.m., while she waited up. Naturally, they lied, explaining that Cahill's plane was late. Naturally, she found out.

Now they have reconciled, after a fashion, but she is not altogether in a forgiving mood. She is complaining that he brushes his teeth too much, which is a bit picky, although it is likely that he is one of the few professional basketball players to brush before games. He learned many valuable lessons from his mother and grandmother, who raised him meticulously, but they may have overdone oral hygiene.

Barkley's girlfriend has asked that her name not be printed, because he's black and she isn't. Her family, she says, wouldn't like her "dating a black 76er with so much money he can have any woman he wants." Glaring at him, she adds, "That even sounds bad to me."

Inasmuch as the theme of the luncheon is Barkley's many failings, she wants to know why he can't stop this Michael Jordan from scoring. Jordan is averaging 36.9 points per game, the best in the National Basketball Association since Wilt Chamberlain 23 years ago.

"Are you going to out-score him tonight?" she demands. "Aw, now honey," he says, "he takes more shots in a half than I take in a whole game."

"Why can't anybody guard him?"

"Honey, our whole team tries."

"Is he that good?"

"He had 63 against the Celtics."

"If you know before the game he'll score so much, why don't you do something about it?"

"Honey, it doesn't work that way. He's a great player who takes a lot of shots. That's a lethal combination."

"I still don't know why he scores so much."

Among basketball players, Barkley does not have a reputation for patience, but he admits he is "a different person off the court than on." Although he is just 24, completing his third year in the NBA, his strength and his fierceness are legendary. Standing only 6'4

[Abraham Lincoln]

He speaks hardly at all of his father, Frank Barkley, who left Leeds when Charles was a baby. He tries to appear indifferent, but finally he admits, "I hurt to the extent that I wish he had been there and hurt that he wasn't. I was very angry and very resentful all my life, until the last couple of years." He saw his father occasionally while growing up and now sees him whenever the 76ers are in Los Angeles. Charles's mother, Charcey Glenn, 45, and his grandmother, Johnnie Edwards, 60, raised the boy and looked after him. Before Barkley signed with Luchnick, the attorney had to visit Leeds and pass maternal inspection. As Luchnick recalls, "We all sat down at 6 o'clock to go over the contract. By 7:30, Charles was snoring on the couch. About 9:30, his mother went to bed. At 1:30 in the morning, his grandmother pushed her glasses up on her nose and said, 'All right, tell me again, what do you mean by full power of attorney.' "

Barkley dropped out of Auburn after his junior year to play pro basketball, but he plans to attend summer school to get a degree, probably in business management. "At least I'll know if my attorney is robbing me," he says, making certain his lawyer is listening. He really doesn't want a degree?"It's not like I'm going to be a brain surgeon"?but he expects he will be spending the next three summers in school, because his grandmother made him promise he would. "And she keeps riding me," he sighs. His grandmother also takes a profound interest in his basketball career and is able to follow it diligently ever since Barkley had a satellite dish installed in the backyard. "She can watch me play and tell me everything I'm doing wrong," says Barkley. He sighs again. "And she does all the time, unfortunately."

It is just after 6 p.m., 90 minutes before game time, 45 minutes before he is supposed to be dressed for Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Barkley is still on the couch. In a league where stardom is asserted by arriving as late as possible for home games, or by hiding behind potted palms in hotel lobbies in order to be last on the team bus, Barkley is a cinch to make the All-Late Hall of Fame. He says he gets nervous sitting around locker rooms. At 6:22 p.m., he drives his Mercedes out of the apartment complex. At 6:36 p.m., having negotiated 11.3 miles of Center City rush hour traffic in 14 minutes, he arrives at the Spectrum.

By late in the fourth quarter, the 76ers are leading the Bulls by six, but Jordan is on his way to a 49-point game. Barkley is assigned to guard him. He picks up Jordan at mid-court and delivers a forearm that jolts him upright. The message is clear: while Michael Jordan might rule the air, Charles Barkley controls the turf. After the game, Jordan is sitting by his locker, shaking his head and trying to figure out what got into Barkley. Meanwhile, Barkley is sitting by his locker, shaking his head and trying to figure out how to explain 49 points to his girlfriend. "I told her before the game he always gets 30," he says hopefully. "Maybe I can tell her we held him to 19."

[Abraham Lincoln]

A true side of the real Charles Barkley.

[CB4GOATPF]

[QUOTE=Abraham Lincoln]http://www.people.com/people/archive...096148,00.html

By Alan Richman

April 27, 1987

Hours before Michael Jordan's arrival at the Spectrum, Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers is taking his girlfriend to lunch. They have barely spoken in five days, and he is careful not to annoy her again?no minor effort for a man who flirts constantly, dresses in raggedy jeans and loves to spend entire afternoons on the couch watching soap operas. A few days earlier, his former Auburn University roommate, Mark Cahill, came to visit, and the two men stayed out until 4 a.m., while she waited up. Naturally, they lied, explaining that Cahill's plane was late. Naturally, she found out.

Now they have reconciled, after a fashion, but she is not altogether in a forgiving mood. She is complaining that he brushes his teeth too much, which is a bit picky, although it is likely that he is one of the few professional basketball players to brush before games. He learned many valuable lessons from his mother and grandmother, who raised him meticulously, but they may have overdone oral hygiene.

Barkley's girlfriend has asked that her name not be printed, because he's black and she isn't. Her family, she says, wouldn't like her "dating a black 76er with so much money he can have any woman he wants." Glaring at him, she adds, "That even sounds bad to me."

Inasmuch as the theme of the luncheon is Barkley's many failings, she wants to know why he can't stop this Michael Jordan from scoring. Jordan is averaging 36.9 points per game, the best in the National Basketball Association since Wilt Chamberlain 23 years ago.

"Are you going to out-score him tonight?" she demands. "Aw, now honey," he says, "he takes more shots in a half than I take in a whole game."

"Why can't anybody guard him?"

"Honey, our whole team tries."

"Is he that good?"

"He had 63 against the Celtics."

"If you know before the game he'll score so much, why don't you do something about it?"

"Honey, it doesn't work that way. He's a great player who takes a lot of shots. That's a lethal combination."
"I still don't know why he scores so much."

Among basketball players, Barkley does not have a reputation for patience, but he admits he is "a different person off the court than on." Although he is just 24, completing his third year in the NBA, his strength and his fierceness are legendary. Standing only 6'4

[Abraham Lincoln]

[magnax1]

Hes 6-6, not 6-4. I don't know why but it bugs me when people say players are shorter than they are.
Anyway, interesting article.

[G.O.A.T]

Hes 6-6, not 6-4.

Shoes

[magnax1]

Shoes

Yeah.... hes measured 6-7.5 in the photo, I don't know of any three inch shoes, or 2, or even many 1 inch shoes that most men would wear. So unless hes wearing cowboy boots hes 6-6 about.

[Lebron23]

Yeah.... hes measured 6-7.5 in the photo, I don't know of any three inch shoes, or 2, or even many 1 inch shoes that most men would wear. So unless hes wearing cowboy boots hes 6-6 about.

He said that he's 6'5".

[CB4GOATPF]

6`4 5/8...with shoes almost 6`6..around 6`5 3/4.

Check the Videos

*Kobe passing next to him on many parts of the game and so is Glen Rice (6`8?)
*How tall is Kobe in reality? Compare him to Chuck and see for yourselves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwzhSl43_rA

[Manute for Ever!]

6`4 5/8...with shoes almost 6`6..around 6`5 3/4.

Check the Videos

*Kobe passing next to him on many parts of the game and so is Glen Rice (6`8?)
*How tall is Kobe in reality? Compare him to Chuck and see for yourselves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwzhSl43_rA

THEY PLAY IN SHOES!!!

[CB4GOATPF]

THEY PLAY IN SHOES!!!

But then other PFs that are listed at 6`8. 6`9 and 6`10 should be listed atleast an inch taller but they aren`t

[Bigsmoke]

But then other PFs that are listed at 6`8. 6`9 and 6`10 should be listed atleast an inch taller but they aren`t

Barkley is only one inch shorter than Larry Johnson.....

[White Chocolate]

Barkley is only one inch shorter than Larry Johnson.....

LJ measured 6'5.5". Barkley also was no taller than 6'5" tops MJ.

[Lebron23]

This guy was just a freak of nature.

Thanks for the posting the article.