Globetrotters legend Meadowlark Lemon, 83, dies
George “Meadowlark” Lemon, the “Clown Prince of Basketball” who entertained fans as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters for 24 years, died Sunday in Scottsdale, Arizona, the team announced. He was 83.
No cause of death has been given.
Lemon, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003, joined the Globetrotters in 1954 at age 22 and stayed with the traveling show until 1978, appearing in more than 7,500 consecutive games in more than 100 countries.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved Meadowlark Lemon. He was 83. #RIPMeadowlark pic.twitter.com/tCRWkZUD3h
Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) December 28, 2015
He is one of only five Globetrotters to have their numbers retired since the team was founded in Chicago in the 1920s.
“For a generation of fans, the name Meadowlark Lemon was synonymous with the Harlem Globetrotters,” said Globetrotters CEO Kurt Schneider. “He was an incredible entertainer and brought happiness and lifelong memories to millions around the world. We have lost a great ambassador of the game.”
Lemon also received the John W. Bunn Award in 2003 for his outstanding lifetime contributions to basketball.
The Globetrotters said on Twitter that they’d dedicate the team’s 90th anniversary tour to Lemon and former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Marques Haynes, who died in May.
During his time with the team, Lemon appeared on several television shows and specials, including “ABC’s Wide World of Sports,” “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine”; an animated version of Lemon also appeared on “The Harlem Globetrotters” cartoon series and on episodes of “Scooby Doo.”
Lemon thrilled audiences with his long hook shots, ballhandling skills and ability to make fans laugh with the Globetrotters’ bag of tricks — including throwing buckets of confetti on unsuspecting fans as Lemon chased the referee with what was thought to be water.
Shaquille O’Neal was among those reacting to the news of Lemon’s death on Twitter.
The Great Meadowlark Lemon of the legendary Harlem Globetrotters dies at 83. Rest In Basketball Heaven Sir! pic.twitter.com/X8BXKLxiV9
SHAQ (@SHAQ) December 28, 2015
Got to meet the great Meadowlark Lemon at a number of Hall of Fame functions. What a gentle man. Can’t wait for God to see that hook shot.
Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) December 28, 2015
Lemon left the Globetrotters in 1978 over a contract dispute and thereafter formed his own traveling teams — the Meadowlark Lemon’s Bucketeers, the Shooting Stars and Meadowlark Lemon’s Harlem All-Stars — as he continued to play well into his 70s.
Aside from Lemon’s No. 36, other Globetrotters to have their numbers retired are Wilt Chamberlain (13), Fred “Curly” Neal (22), Haynes (20) and Reece “Goose” Tatum (50). Washington Generals founder Red Klotz also had his number retired.
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