The legendary Harlem Globetrotters player known as the “Clown Prince of Basketball,” who played more than 16,000 career games (7,5000 of which were consecutive) over his 25-year career with the team, has died. Meadowlark Lemon passed away Sunday (Dec. 27) in Arizona, his wife, Cynthia Lemon, confirmed to the New York Times.
A revered athlete, motivational speaker, comedian and author, the North Carolina native is known for his half-court hook shot and infamous confetti-in-the-water-bucket routine.
Outdating the National Basketball Association by two decades, the world-renowned Harlem Globetrotters were born in the 1920s, as a solution for Black men who wanted to play professional basketball amid segregation. The team was founded in Chicago when a group of students from Wendell Philips High School, became the Savoy Big Five. Money discrepancies, would find Tommy Bookins and other members leaving to start the Globetrotters.
Lemon, who legally changed his name to Meadowlark in the late 1950s, was born Meadow Lemon III and would go on to entertain audiences in over 100 countries around the world, including kings, queens and presidents. He began working with the Globetrotters in 1954 through 1979, returning to play a 50-game “comeback” season in the early 1990s. Lemon was inducted into the NBA Basketball Hall of Fame Class in 2003, and earned an NBA Lifetime Achievement Awards.
In honor of Lemon, take a look back at his Basketball Hall of Fame speech below.
May he rest peacefully.
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Photo: wenn
