Harlem Globetrotter Favorite Meadowlark Lemon Dies In Scottsdale At 83

He would grow to become one of the greatest Globetrotters to ever play and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 as a contributor to the game.

The basketball great was known for his impressive half-court hook shots, tricky behind-the-back passes and for dousing referee’s in cold buckets of water.

He created his own version of the ‘Trotters with Meadowlark Lemon’s Bucketeers, the Shooting Stars and Meadowlark Lemon’s Harlem All-Stars.

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.

Harlem Globetrotters legend George “Meadowlark” Lemon died Sunday in Scottsale, Ariz., at age 83. The team played several games in Moscow during the Cold War and met with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Former Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon demonstrates his shot during a basketball camp held at White Plains United Methodist Church in Cary, NC in 1999.

“I was indebted to him”, said Mitchell, 76, president of the Florida A&M National Alumni Association.

Lemon revealed he first saw the Globetrotters play on a cinema newsreel when he was an 11-year-old schoolboy.

“We are now dedicating our current 90th anniversary tour to Meadowlark Lemon, along with Marques Haynes, who we lost in May”, the Globetrotters announced via Twitter Monday morning.

His given name was Meadow Lemon, but he changed it to Meadowlark in the 1950s, later saying: “The birds named meadowlark are known for their sweet and happy songs”. If you paid close enough attention, the Globetrotters, especially Lemon, brought a flair to basketball that has been emulated at the highest level of the game, the NBA.

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”.

Lemon spent the last years of his life trying to spread a message of faith through basketball.

Medowlark Lemon legendary Harlem Globetrotter on the court.

Lemon is survived by his wife and 10 children.