Meadowlark Lemon (1932 - 2015) RIP

One death that went more or less unreported over the Xmas/New Year period was that of former Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon.

For those of us who grew up during a particular era one of the highlights of a Bank Holiday Monday was the BBC's coverage of one of their exhibition games at the Wembley Arena where Lemon lived up to his reputation as "the clown prince of basketball".

Lemon was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, and attended Williston Industrial School, graduating in 1952. He then matriculated into Florida A&M University, but was soon drafted into the United States Army, serving for two years stationed in Austria and West Germany.

Lemon made his first basketball hoop out of an onion sack and coat hanger, using an empty Carnation milk can to sink his first 2-point hoop.

Lemon first applied to the Globetrotters in 1954 at age 22, finally being chosen to play in 1955. In 1980, he left to form one of his Globetrotters imitators, the Bucketeers. He played with that team until 1983, then moved on to play with the Shooting Stars from 1984 to 1987. In 1988, he moved on to "Meadowlark Lemon's Harlem All Stars" team. Despite being with his own touring team, Lemon returned to the Globetrotters, playing 50 games with them in 1994.

Lemon also voiced his own character in a cartoon spin-off series based on the team.

In 2000, Lemon received the John Bunn Award, the highest honor given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame outside of induction. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Lemon had 10 children: his first wife, Willye, pleaded guilty to simple assault after admitting to stabbing Lemon with a steak knife in 1978. After his first marriage ended in divorce, Lemon married Dr. Cynthia Lemon in 1994.

A born-again Christian, Lemon became an ordained minister in 1986 and received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Vision International University in Ramona, California, in 1988. He was also featured as a gospel singer within several Gaither Homecoming videos. In his last years, he took up residence in Scottsdale, Arizona, where his Meadowlark Lemon Ministries, Inc. is located.

He died of natural causes in Arizona on December 27th at the age of 83.

Remember seeing him on telly and marvelling at his skills. Although he was the clown of the Harlem Globetrotters team he still had great basketball skills. Also remember the cartoon but it didn't have the same appeal as the exhibition matches. RIP Meadowlark.