For those of you old enough to remember the glory days of the Harlem Globetrotters, this image will bring a smile to your lips. It's a picture of the great George "Meadowlark" Lemon foiling yet another unsuspecting basketball player as he and the Globetrotters laugh their way to another winning game.
That being said, it is with great regret that The Black History Channel announces that our beloved Meadowlark Lemon--the "Clown Prince of Basketball" and king of the half-court hook shot and dazzling behind-the-back passes--died on Sunday, December 27, 2015.
According to ESPN.com, Meadowlark "joined the Globetrotters in 1954 at age 22 and stayed with the traveling show until 1978, appearing in more than 16,000 games in more than 100 countries." ESPN went on to say that Meadowlark and his fellow Globetrotters traveled "by car, bus, train or plane nearly every night [and] Lemon covered nearly 4 million miles to play in front of popes and presidents, kings and queens [averaging] 325 games per year during his prime.
Since there are so many news stories out there celebrating the life and legacy of Brother Meadowlark, we won't attempt to tell all about his life here. We will simply point you to a few of the many, many links out there that talk about the life of Meadowlark Lemon:
CNN.com - http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/28/entertainment/meadowlark-lemon-obit-globetrotters-feat/
ABC News - http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/globetrotters-star-meadowlark-lemon-dies-35973518
We also hope you enjoy this brief video called: A history of Meadowlark Lemon, The Harlem Globetrotters, and his Bucketeers.
We love you Meadowlark!
Rita Lorraine
