Harlem Globetrotters legend Meadowlark Lemon, 83, dies

Lemon was a slick ballhandler and a virtuoso passer, and he specialized in the long-distance hook, a trick shot he made with remarkable regularity.

He died Sunday in Scottsdale, Arizona, the team said. But as the NBA grew in popularity and skill level, the Globetrotters shifted more towards an entertainment venture instead of a legitimate basketball power. “He was an incredible entertainer and brought happiness and lifelong memories to millions around the world”.

“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.

When Lemon joined the team, the Globetrotters were still better known then the New Knicks and the Boston Celtics and played in front of bigger crowds.

After leaving the world of basketball, Lemon became a minister and family man, spreading good cheer to the people he loved the most.

His official bio says that he eventually “traveled more than 5 million miles and played in more than 16,000 lifetime career basketball games”, and attributes his longevity to clean living: he abstained from alcohol, drugs and cigarettes.

At the age of 11, he saw a newsreel of the Harlem Globetrotters and set his sights on joining the team.

Others pointed to the Trotters’ diplomatic and cultural impact overseas. He briefly played at Florida A&M University before joining the Globetrotters in 1954.

For years on those trips, Lemon was the ringmaster, having taken over the role from Reece “Goose” Tatum.

The team willingly went into war zones, behind the Iron Curtain, and, during the two dozen years that Lemon was active, they played in almost 100 countries, many of which were nations with which the United States had strained relations.

Details of his birth, hometown and given name are conflicting and multiple, but many believe he was born in Wilmington, N.C. on April 25, 1932. He led the Globetrotters to victories over George Mikan and the National Basketball Association champion Minneapolis Lakers in 1948 and ’49, which helped pave the way to integrating the league. He received the highest honor the game could bestow in 2003, when he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. “When they got to the basketball court, they seemed to make that ball talk”, he said.

“I thought it was just going to be a simple little sports book, but I quickly found there was a much deeper story”, Green said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, referring to the racial aspect of the team’s history.