Original Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon, affectionately known as the “Clown Prince of Basketball”, died on Sunday, December 27, his wife confirmed to the team.
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Lemon appeared on several popular television programs and specials, including ABC’s “Wide World of Sports,” “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine”.
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Famous for his long-distance hook shots, sublime passing and pranks that included dumping buckets of confetti on referees, Lemon became the Globetrotters’ biggest star.
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Lemon played in over 100 countries, in front of popes and presidents, kings and queens and headlined tours through the racially torn South in the 1950s until he left in 1979 to start his own team.
After leaving the Globetrotters, Lemon led his own traveling basketball group and performed into his 70s. Meadow Lemon III (commonly known by his stage name Meadowlark Lemon) played almost 16,000 games in almost 22 years.
As a sign of his crossover appeal, Mr. Lemon was inducted into both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the International Clown Hall of Fame.
“He was an incredible entertainer and brought happiness and lifelong memories to millions around the world, “said Globetrotters chief executive Kurt Schneider”.
“We are now dedicating our current 90th anniversary tour to Meadowlark Lemon, along with Marques Haynes, who we lost in May”, the team posted to its official twitter account Monday morning.
According to his biography, Lemon firmly believed “that God planted this dream in his heart and then gave him the relentless desire, determination, energy and the talent to pursue his dream”.
He was also an inspiration to millions of people after starting with the team in 1954 and playing during the end of Jim Crow and into the civil rights era. “I want you to always remember that life’s most meaningless statistic is the half time score and as far as I’m concerned it’s always half-time”, he once said on his website.
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Mitchell said he quickly became friends with Lemon, applauding his professionalism and dedication to the team. He told CBS Station WCBS that one secret to winning over people is to make them laugh; once two people have that connection, Lemon said, that’s the beginning of a team.
