Meadowlark Lemon
From Hoopedia
George "Meadowlark" Lemon (born April 25, 1932) is a famous basketball player originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. Lemon was known, for 22 years, as the "Clown Prince" of the touring Harlem Globetrotters basketball team.
Lemon attended Florida A&M University for two years, but his career was cut short when by service in the Army. While stationed in Germany he tried out for the Globetrotters, and he joined them when he was discharged. He was assigned to the Kansas City Stars, the Globerotters' developmental team. He played for them for one year before joining the Globetrotters in 1954.
Lemon played in 94 countries, before various diplomats, world leaders, royalty, celebrities, and the paying public in general. Over his career he played in more than 16,000 games for the Globetrotters.
In 1980, he left to form one of his multiple other 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 his Meadowlark Lemon's Harlem All-Stars team, for which he plays currently. Despite being with his own touring team, Lemon returned to the Globetrotters, playing 50 games with them in 1994. In 2004, he returned to his Meadowlark Lemon's Harlem All Stars team.
In 2003, Meadowlark Lemon was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor. Lemon was one of the most popular and best-known of the Globetrotters. In 2000, he received the John Bunn award, the highest honor given by the Basketball Hall of Fame outside of induction itself. In 2001 the Globetrotters honored Lemon with a “Legends” Ring and by retiring his jersey (#36).
Lemon is married to Dr. Cynthia Lemon, a Doctor of Naturopathy. A born-again Christian, he became an ordained minister in 1986 and received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Vision International University in Ramona, California, in 1988. He resides in his adopted hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona, where his Meadowlark Lemon Ministries maintains an office.
