Harvey "Stat Man" Pollack is as old as the NBA and that may be a record. But he's got another streak going. You'll never catch the Sixers' senior guy wearing the same T-shirt twice -- ever!
Nearly seven years ago Pollack started a monumental streak of wearing a new T-shirt every day. He laid down some ground rules of course -- he would make no judgment of the subject manner (as long as it wasn't pornographic), he would only wear shirts that were given to him and he would only wear a shirt once.
He has worn everything from local bar shirts (given to him by a group of nuns) to a shirt given to him by Wilt Chamberlain to about 175 shirts given to him by Sixers owner Ed Snider.
"I'm America's No. 1 Flasher," mused Pollack.
When he passes fans in the hallways of the Wachovia Center they ask him to lift up his sweater to show off his T-shirt. And, he always obliges.
Well for 2,186 consecutive days the Sixers Director of Statistical Information has kept the streak going and now it's time for his second round of charity shirt-giving. Before loading up Hip Hop's Sixers van with more than 1,100 shirts -- about three years of record-setting shirt wearing -- Pollack showed off the goods from Madonna to sport teams to dreidel shirts.
But Pollack is about more than just the free shirt on his back. He has a living history of the city's pro basketball players and plays.
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Pollack worked for the Philadelphia Warriors in the inaugural 1946-47 season of the NBA (then known as the BAA).
He kept stats during all the Warriors games in Philly -- in 1962 that put him in the middle one of the great moments in NBA history.
Pollack kept score during Chamberlain's 100-point game and he actually made the sign that Chamberlain held up in his famous post-game photo.
When the Warriors jumped ship, Pollack stayed put. He started working for the 76ers when the team formed in 1966 and has been on the payroll ever since.
Nicknamed "Super Stat," Pollack also coined the term "triple-double" and is responsible for the block and offensive rebound stats.
Pollack's work on the court earned him a spot in Basketball Hall of Fame as a recipient of the John Bunn Award, given annually for lifetime contributions to the game of basketball.
But does his T-shirt streak land him a spot in the "Guinness Book of World Records?" The Guinness people don't keep stats until a record is over, said "Super Stat." Since Pollack plans to keep his streak going for as long as people keep sending in shirts, his stat has yet to get recognized.
"Everyday I wake up I break my own record," said Pollack.
Pollack's zest for life is best summed up by one of the two shirts that he isn't giving away -- a Frank Sinatra shirt with a quote from Ol' Blue Eyes. "You gotta love livin' baby, cause dyin's a pain in the... well you get the point."
Well here's to Harvey - all the best for another seven years of T-Shirt glory.
And, if you want to help Harvey keep the streak alive you can send him t-shirts of your own (clean and unworn, please!). Just send them to:
Harvey Pollack
C/o Philadelphia 76ers
Wachovia Center
3601 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148
