In Memoriam : Meadowlark Lemon, Harlem Globetrotter, dies at 83

Famed Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon has passed away. He was 83.

Meadowlark Lemon

Meadowlark Lemon, a skilled athlete and basketball court jester who delighted audiences around the world as a globetrotter passed away Sunday in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Globetrotters said in a statement.

Lemon was the undisputed master of the long-range hook shot, rubber-band ball and other crowd-pleasing tricks during the years he wore the Globetrotters’ star-spangled red, white and blue uniform.

The team’s website said he played in 7,500 consecutive games — the equivalent of more than 92 NBA seasons — in some 100 countries before audiences that included everyone from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev to three popes.

He was born Meadow Lemon III in Wilmington, North Carolina, and was unfamiliar with not just the Globetrotters but the game of basketball until he saw a newsreel about the team at a movie theater at the age of 11.

Meadowlark Lemon entranced by the sight of black men taking such a joyous approach to a game during a time of segregation.

Source : NBC

Photo : US Navy