Amid massive expectations, Darryl Dawkins arrived in Philadelphia via Orlando at the age of 18. He was a giant man and a gentleman with a mind so creative that he was able to invent a fictional planet and write poetry that described the otherworldly strength he used to shatter two fiberglass backboards in a little less than a month..
"Darryl Dawkins is the father of power dunking," Shaquille O'Neal once said about the man who was known as "Chocolate Thunder," "Double D," and other image-evoking nicknames. "I'm just one of his sons."
Dawkins died Thursday at the age of 58, leaving us with one less unforgettable character from the world of sports.