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DEPARTMENTS
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Meadowlark Lemon Playing on a Different Court
by Mardeio Cannon
Special to the NNPA from the Sacramento Observer
It is not often that one gets to sit down and have a conversation with a “living legend.” I had that privilege recently when I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to the unforgettable basketball great, Meadowlark Lemon.
Lemon is the most well-known name associated with the traveling basketball entertainers, the Harlem Globetrotters.
A great showman and crowd-pleaser during his heyday, Lemon was in town recently as the special guest speaker for the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, at their Annual Scholarship Brunch.
One of the most enduring memories of my life was more than 40 years ago, when I had the privilege of seeing Lemon perform with the Globetrotters. The game was in Richmond, Va.
I will never forget that performance. It still brings fond memories to my heart.
Lemon’s gift of comedic timing and basketball skills were what set him apart from others in the sport of basketball.
That’s why he was called the “Clown Prince of Basketball.” Lemon has been enshrined in basketball’s Hall of Fame. He has performed with the Globetrotters and with his own basketball entertaining group, the Meadowlark Lemon All-Stars.
Altogether Lemon has performed in more than 17,000 games and in over 70 countries around the world. He has also had command performances before two popes.
Lemon now travels all across the country as an evangelist, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even though he was on a whirlwind schedule, he consented to a short interview.
OBSERVER: Describe life in the South, Wilmington, North Carolina when you graduated from High School in 1957.
Medowlark Lemon: It wasn’t segregated at all. That came later with the sit-in movement that started in Greensboro, North Carolina and spread to Wilmington. Then when I left Wilmington, the civil rights movement started in earnest.
OBSERVER: You were all state in basketball for three years during your high school years. Did you ever win the State Championships?
ML: No we didn’t. Our main player got sick and we couldn’t get it done in the State Championship Finals.
OBSERVER: After your successful high school career, was the NBA an option for you at that time?
ML: No there was no option. When I did get involved with the Globetrotters back then, there were only a few Blacks in the NBA at that time in the early 60s. Bill Russell came into the NBA and was a success and Wilt Chamberlain came soon after that, then Blacks were more readily accepted in the NBA.
OBSERVER: Did you ever play with Wilt Chamberlain?
ML: Yes, I played with the “Dipper” for 13 years.
OBSERVER: What are some of your memories of Wilt Chamberlain?
ML: He was a giant, both on and off the court. When Wilt passed away a few years ago, we were all in disbelief, because he was bigger than life and we thought that he would never die. He did everything big.
OBSERVER: Why did you leave the Globetrotters and start your own traveling basketball team, the Meadowlark Lemon All-Stars?
ML: Actually, I had a team called the Bucketeers first. This was a team that I played on and started with Wilt Chamberlain and Andy Johnson. I started the Meadowlark Lemon All-Stars later. I started the team because I became a man. I was not the same young boy out of Wilmington, North Carolina.
OBSERVER: You were famous for your half-court “Hook Shot.” How and why did you develop the shot?
ML: I had to do something, because I stopped growing and everyone else kept growing. I could make the shot from the corner as well as I could from half-court.
OBSERVER: Did you have the same success with the Meadowlark Lemon All-Stars as you did with the Globetrotters?
ML: We had some success; however, after a couple of years, I disbanded the team to do other things, such as acting in movies and moved back to North Carolina to concentrate on evangelistic ministry. I have been involved with my ministry now for over 20 years, traveling all over the country. I really enjoy my role and work in ministry.
OBSERVER: You have traveled all over the world, in over 70 countries. Name your Top three.
ML: Number one is Austria, and I love Germany and France. All of those countries are good today and once you get past all of the other stuff, people are people. I would rather be here in the USA.
OBSERVER: I know you are a fan of the NBA. Name your all-time former NBA players and your favorite current NBA player?
ML: Oh gosh, there are too many of them! You have the “Big Dipper” (Wilt), you have Bill Russell, you got to put Michael Jordan in there, he is from my home town, you have Dr. J (Julius Erving) and the Big “O,” Oscar Robertson. You got Kevin Johnson from right here in Sacramento. Today, if I were going to start a team, my choice would be Tim Duncan.
OBSERVER: What advice would you give to the youth of today?
ML: Seek you first the Kingdom of God.
OBSERVER: As you go through life, what do you want people to have as the enduring memory of Meadowlark Lemon?
ML: I just want people to know that I’m a Man of God.
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