Anyone who grew up in the 70s watching Saturday morning TV or the sports programming that followed will surely remember the iconic court jester George “Meadowlark” Lemon.
Advertisement
Cuba: Obama welcome to visit but not to meddle
US President Barack Obama himself called on Thursday for Congress to lift the embargo, calling it the “legacy of a failed policy”. USA regulations still prohibit travel to Cuba for tourism.
In the 1950s and 1960s they were a quality basketball team that chose to clown around. Wilt Chamberlain, considered one of the NBA’s greatest players, probably delivered the best compliment to Lemon’s skills when he named Lemon the greatest basketball player of all times.
Relatives of drowned Syrian boy welcomed to Canada
Tima said the rejection was to blame for Abdullah making the risky boat trip that killed his wife and two young sons. She travelled to Belgium, Germany and Turkey, helping give a voice to those displaced by the war in Syria.
After briefly attending FAMU and serving in the U.S. Army, Lemon joined the Globetrotters in 1954. From his no-look pass behind his back, to those rarely missed halfcourt hook shots and his signature bucket of confetti in the face of “unsuspecting” referees, Lemon became a beloved worldwide figure.
Clausen starts at QB for Ravens vs Seahawks
Russell Wilson joined that elite group after tossing five touchdowns, bringing his total to 16 touchdowns in the past four weeks. Wilson has thrown at least three passes and completed at least 70 percent of his passes in four consecutive games.
The Globetrotters have chose to dedicate their 90th anniversary tour, to Lemon and fellow Harlem Globetrotters legend and Hall of Famer Marques Haynes, who passed away in May. By his own estimation, he played in 16,000 games.
Crothers also voiced Lemon on the CBS animated series, The New Scooby-Doo Movies.
In 2010 Lemon – an ordained minister – published “Trust Your Next Shot: A Guide to a Life of Joy”, a memoir of his days with the Globetrotters and a guide to living a joy-filled life.
It is easy to say the Globetrotters are the greatest ambassadors of the game of basketball, and that Lemon “The Clown Prince of Basketball”, was its ultimate ambassador.
“I was indebted to him”, said Mitchell, 76, president of the Florida A&M National Alumni Association.
Mr. Lemon spent 24 years with the Globetrotters, touring with the team until he left in 1979 to start his own team. He never lost that connection to the fans. Lemon said he rose every day at 4 a.m. and, after prayers, headed for the gym to run sprints and practice shooting.
LEMON: I made my hoop out of a coat hanger and onion sack, and I nailed it up across the street on a tree.
Over the next two decades, Lemon missed just one game, which he said came in 1955 after he ate a bad bowl of goulash in Germany.
Advertisement
“I was one of the most fortunate athletes that ever lived”, he said. “So I chose to write a social history of America as seen through the eyes of these guys in baggy shorts”.
