Obituary. I’m not sure which forum this belongs in. He played sports, but was more of an entertainer. I saw him when I was a kid and the team came to Anchorage. I had no idea that Wilt Chamberlain played for them also.
That is sad. He was a hell of an entertainer.
The Globetrotters came to town once a year, usually right on or near my dad’s birthday. My mom would always buy tickets for dad and I to go. It was our yearly father-daughter ‘date’. Although all the 'trotters were excellent, it was clearly Lemon who was the star. His skills were truly amazing but his ability to entertain was even better. Thank you for years of wonderful memories, Mr. Lemon. Rest in peace.
Saw them in the Superdome in the mid-Eighties, long after he had separated from the team but his influence could still be seen. The bucket of confetti routine was one of his standards, if not outright created by him.
It’s interesting that because of the skill of those players (and the fact that they beat the pants off almost any comers), the NBA took notice and began integrating their all-white teams.
- whistles “Sweet Georgia Brown” in his memory.
R.I.P., Meadowlark. You were indeed a great entertainer and ambassador for the game of basketball.
Great athlete and entertainer. He was the face of the US version of the Globetrotters, sort of the top banana for the team. He also toured with the Harlem Bucketeers, one of my elementary school teachers got to be one of the schmucks on the opposing team against them for a charity event. If you hear a laugh from the sky tonight it’s St. Peter getting doused with a bucketful of confetti.
Damn.
Another piece of my childhood is gone forever.
RIP, Meadowlark Lemon. You had the greatest hook shot I ever saw.
They got this wrong. The refs got the water and the audience got the confetti.
I never saw the Globetrotters in person but as a kid, I always kept an eye out for them when they were featured on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
I remember one game during which Meadowlark went for his trademark hook shot from half court. He shot it and just missed as the ball caught the rim. He asked for the ball again, took a second shot and Swish! Right in.
I remember thinking why doesn’t he play in the NBA? How do you defend that shot?
Darn.
It is like the sports version of Santa Clause died. You knew it wasn’t exactly real but you still believed anyway.
He was a good person who had a good run. Guess when push comes to shove that is about the best you can hope for.
Dang, now I have something in my eye.
Never heard of the guy, but that was an awesome name he had. RIP.
Same here. RIP, Meadowlark.
I haven’t found any references to Meadowlark playing high school or even college basketball. Wikipedia just says he applied for a job with the Globetrotters after he left the army.
He was quite a entertainer and great shooter.
emphasis mine
???
The wiki link says
RIP Meadowlark. I too remember him on ABC Wide World of Sports
He attended college. No mention is made of him playing basketball.
Usually a college player would have stats listed, who coached them and the teams rankings.