Meadowlark Lemon
Meadow Lemon III (April 25, 1932 – December 27, 2015), known professionally as Meadowlark Lemon, was an American basketball player, actor, and Christian minister. Ordained in 1986, in 1994 he started Meadowlark Lemon Ministries in Scottsdale, Arizona. For 22 years, he was known as the "Clown Prince" of the touring Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. He played in more than 16,000 games for the Globetrotters and was a 2003 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Meadowlark Lemon | |
|---|---|
Lemon in 1988 | |
| Born | Meadow Lemon III April 25, 1932 |
| Died | December 27, 2015 (aged 83) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball player, actor, minister |
| Known for | The Harlem Globetrotters |
| Spouse |
Cynthia Lemon (m. 1994–2015) |
| Children | 10 |
In his final interview, basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain described Lemon as "the most sensational, awesome, incredible basketball player I've ever seen". Fellow Wilmington great Michael Jordan called Lemon a "true national treasure" and a personal inspiration in Jordan's youth.