Meadow Lemon III (April 25, 1932 – December 27, 2015),"Meadowlark Lemon: The Clown Prince Of Basketball (1932-2015)."
''www.meadowlarklemon.org.'' Retrieved May 8, 2017. known professionally as Meadowlark Lemon, was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, actor, and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

minister (ordained in 1986). Beginning in 1994, he ran Meadowlark Lemon Ministries in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

.Miller, Randy
"Meadowlark Lemon, late Harlem Globetrotters legend, was Michael Jordan of his day."

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to a report in ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore r ...

, December 28, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2017."Meadowlark Lemon Ministries."
''www.meadowlarklemon.org.'' Retrieved May 8, 2017. 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 The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

. When basketball legend

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...

was asked his opinion on the best player of all time, he responded, "For me it would be Meadowlark Lemon."

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

"Wilt spoke of regrets, women and Meadowlark."

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

, October 13, 1999. Retrieved May 8, 2017. Fellow Wilmington great

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

called Lemon a "true national treasure" and a personal inspiration in Jordan's youth.

Early life

Lemon was born in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

and attended Williston Industrial School, graduating in 1952. He then matriculated at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

, but was soon drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and served for two years in Austria and West Germany.

Career

Basketball

Lemon made his first basketball hoop out of an onion sack and coat hanger, using an empty

Carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

milk can to sink his first 2-point hoop. Lemon first applied to the Globetrotters in 1954 at age 22, finally being chosen to play in 1955. In 1980, he left to form one of his Globetrotters imitators, the Bucketeers. He played with that team until 1983, then moved on to play with the Shooting Stars from 1984 to 1987. In 1988, he moved on to "Meadowlark Lemon's Harlem All Stars" team. Despite being with his own touring team, Lemon returned to the Globetrotters, playing 50 games with them in 1994. In 2000, Lemon received the

John Bunn Award The John Bunn Award—in full, the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award—is an annual basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete wit ...

, the highest honor given by the

outside induction. He was inducted into the

in 2003.

Television appearances

In the 1970s, an animated version of Lemon, voiced by

Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986), known professionally as Scatman Crothers, was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show ''Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hallo ...

, starred with various other Globetrotters in the

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

animated cartoon series '' Harlem Globetrotters'', as well as its spinoff, ''

The Super Globetrotters ''The Super Globetrotters'' is a 30-minute Saturday-morning cartoon, Saturday morning animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions. It premiered on NBC on September 22, 1979 and ran for 13 episodes. It was a Spin-off (media) ...

.'' The animated Globetrotters also made three appearances in ''

The New Scooby-Doo Movies ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' is an American animated mystery comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. It is the second animated television series in the studio's ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise, and follows the first incarnation, ''Sc ...

.'' Lemon appeared alongside Fred "Curly" Neal,

Marques Haynes Marques Haynes (March 10, 1926 – May 22, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and member of the Harlem Globetrotters, notable for his ability to dribble the ball and keep it away from defenders. According to the 1988 film ''Harl ...

and his other fellow Globetrotters in a live-action Saturday-morning television show, ''

The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine ''The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine'' was a Saturday morning variety show featuring players from the basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters singing, dancing, and performing comedy sketches. Broadcast from 1974 to 1975, it was produced by F ...

,'' in 1974–1975, which also featured

Rodney Allen Rippy Rodney Allen Rippy (born July 29, 1968) is a former American child actor, television personality, marketing director, producer, and politician. He appeared in TV commercials for the fast-food chain Jack in the Box in the early 1970s, as well as ...

and

Avery Schreiber Avery Lawrence Schreiber (April 9, 1935 – January 7, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. He was a veteran of stage, television, and movies who came to prominence in the 1960s in a comedy duo with Jack Burns. He acted in an array of roles ...

. In 1978, Lemon appeared in a memorable

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

commercial by making a tower of burgers until he found a double-beef pickles and onions with no-cheese burger. in 1979, Lemon guest-starred in an episode of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

'' $weepstake$''. In 1980, Lemon appeared as the coach of the basketball team from '' The White Shadow'' in a series of guest skits for Order/Disorder week on ''

3-2-1 Contact ''3-2-1 Contact'' is an American science educational television show produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988 and later ran on Noggin (a joint venture between the CTW ...

''. In 1983, Lemon appeared on an episode of '' Alice'' entitled "Tommy Fouls Out", and in a Charmin toilet paper commercial alongside

Mr. Whipple Mr. George Whipple (also known as George the Grocer) is a fictional supermarket manager featured in television commercials, radio, and print advertisements that ran in the United States and Canada from 1964 to 1985 for Charmin toilet paper. Typica ...

(actor Dick Wilson). In 1996 season 2 episode 5 of ''

Pinky and the Brain ''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated television series that was created by Tom Ruegger that premiered on Kids' WB on September 9, 1995. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and the fourth col ...

'' titled "Brain's Song" Meadowlark Lemon was Brain's best friend in the parody of ''

Brian's Song ''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo (James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro in 1965, told through his friendship with teammate Gale Sayer ...

''. In 2006, on episode of adult swim's ''

The Boondocks Boondocks are remote, usually brushy areas. Boondocks may also refer to: * The Boondocks (band), an Estonian rock band * ''The Boondocks'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Aaron McGruder ** ''The Boondocks'' (2005 TV series), the television ser ...

'' entitled "The Itis", the name of Meadowlark was used as the name of the park that Ed Wuncler I mentions an interest in purchasing from the state. In 2009, on FOX's TV show ''

The Cleveland Show ''The Cleveland Show'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company. A spin-off of ''Family Guy'', the series centers on Cleveland Brown, his new wife Donna Tubbs, a ...

'', the name of Meadowlark Lemon was used for a dog's name, a pet for the character of Rallo Tubbs. The dog died in the second episode.

Other work

In 1979, Lemon starred in the educational geography film ''Meadowlark Lemon Presents the World.'' Also in 1979, he joined the cast of the short-lived television sitcom ''

Hello, Larry ''Hello, Larry'' is an American sitcom television series created by Dick Bensfield and Perry Grant, starring McLean Stevenson. It aired on NBC from January 26, 1979, to April 30, 1980. Its broadcast run consisted of 38 episodes over two season ...

'' in season two, to help boost the show's ratings. In the same year, he played Rev. Grady Jackson in the movie ''

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh ''The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh'' is a 1979 American sports/fantasy comedy film directed by Gilbert Moses and coproduced by David Dashev and Gary Stromberg. It was produced by Lorimar and distributed by United Artists. The film was shot on loc ...

.'' It was several years before he actually became an ordained minister himself. He recorded a song, "My Kids" which was written by

Dalton & Dubarri Dalton & Dubarri was an American rock band active in the 1970s, led by Gary Dalton and Kent Dubarri. They mainly played as support acts for artists such as The Beach Boys, Elvin Bishop, The Doobie Brothers, Loggins and Messina, Dave Mason, Boz S ...

. The song was produced by Dubarri, and released on

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

NB 969 in March, 1979. In The ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Singles to Watch section, it was called Top 40 material by the reviewer. In 1982, Lemon was featured in the Grammy-nominated video ''Fun & Games'', an interactive educational video produced by Optical Programming Associates and Scholastic Productions, on the then-emerging

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

format. In 1994, Lemon was referenced in an episode of the Nickelodeon show “The Adventures of Pete & Pete”. One of the characters claimed that “...you know, in a matter of moments, we’re all gonna be famous like Meadowlark Lemon.”

Personal life

Lemon had 10 children: Richard, George, Beverly, Donna, Robin, Jonathan, Jamison, Angela, Crystal, and Caleb. A

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

, Lemon became an ordained minister in 1986 and received a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree from

Vision International University Vision International University is an American interdenominational Christian Seminary based in Ramona, California. The university offers distance education and online academic degree programs designed to prepare people for professional ministry. ...

Ramona, California Ramona is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 20,292 at the 2010 census. The name ''Ramona'' also refers to an unincorporated community (with some plans to incorporate) that includes both the ...

, in 1988. He was also featured as a gospel singer in several

Gaither Homecoming ''Gaither Homecoming'' is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither. To date, the ''Gaither Homecoming'' t ...

videos. In his last years, he took up residence in Scottsdale, where his Meadowlark Lemon Ministries, Inc. is located.

Death

Lemon died in Scottsdale, on December 27, 2015, at the age of 83. No cause of death was given.

References

External links

* *
Profile at Harlem Globetrotters official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemon, Meadowlark 1932 births 2015 deaths African-American basketball players African-American Christian clergy American Christian clergy Basketball players from North Carolina Florida A&M University alumni Harlem Globetrotters players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Wilmington, North Carolina United States Army soldiers American men's basketball players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people