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The job requirements for being a Harlem Globetrotter go beyond the silly slickness and parlor-trick moves. There’s also the matter of showcasing charisma, a difficult thing to hone on the practice court. “Skill is one thing, but to have it, like what Meadowlark Lemon had, what Curly Neal had? That’s not taught,” said Harold “Lefty” Williams, a former Globetrotter. “That’s God-given. The Creator gives you that. Very few people have it.” Does Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors have it? “Absolutely, without a doubt,” Williams said. “He would be a 2025 Curly Neal,” added Charles “Choo” Smith, another former Globetrotter. “He’s probably one of the top players I would consider as far as potential to be a Globetrotter,” said Herbert “Flight Time” Lang, a third former Globetrotter.
Years later, Chamberlain decided to play with longtime friend Meadowlark Lemon of Harlem Globetrotters fame. Chamberlain played with the Globetrotters in 1958 and 1959, and in 1980, he teamed with Lemon’s new exhibition squad — the Bucketeers. “He wasn’t really through with basketball, because he went back to what he loved,” Hill said of Chamberlain. “He played with (the Bucketeers) for a number of games. I think what happened was in his mind, that was something that was much more relaxing and something he enjoyed.
To be clear, no one thinks Michael Jordan shouldn't be in the hall, which formed in 2005. Its 60 inductees include NFL stars (quarterbacks Gabriel and Jurgensen, tight end Alge Crumpler), Major League Baseball players (Trot Nixon, Sam Bowens, Willie Stargell), professional tennis players (Althea Gibson, Lenny Simpson) and basketball greats (Meadowlark Lemon). "We really want Michael Jordan to be in," McColl said. "He should be in." He's been invited multiple times through the years, McColl said, but the nonprofit's bylaws dictate that living inductees must attend the induction ceremony in person. So far, Jordan hasn't committed to attending an in-person induction ceremony. "I just think that he's so busy with basketball and his businesses," McColl said. "For whatever reason, he's just not ready yet."
You played your rookie year alongside Meadowlark Lemon. What are your fondest memories of him as a teammate? Lou Dunbar: It was great playing with someone that you had idolized on television. He definitely revolutionized our showmanship and was just all around a great guy. I remember when he would do his hook shot and make the crowd go crazy. He was definitely the star.
Harlem Globetrotters: WATCH: Thanks for the memories, Meadowlark. https://t.co/V38ZIWgtRQ
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Eddie Johnson: My Heart hurts today, Meadowlark was a true friend and never hesitated to support any cause i had or give me a... ow.ly/Wooxg
Mark Berman: Clyde Drexler on Meadowlark Lemon: "Just an incredible human being. I can't say enough about him. We all loved him." https://t.co/U6FbV9u73C
Quincy Pondexter: R.I.P to the legend Meadowlark Lemon. #basketballroyalty #doyourresearchkids twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/…
Meadowlark Lemon, whose halfcourt hook shots, no-look behind-the-back passes and vivid clowning were marquee features of the feel-good traveling basketball show known as the Harlem Globetrotters for nearly a quarter-century, died on Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he lived. He was 83. The death was confirmed by his wife, Cynthia Lemon.
A gifted athlete with an entertainer’s hunger for the spotlight, Lemon, who dreamed of playing for the Globetrotters as a boy in North Carolina, joined the team in 1954, not long after leaving the Army. Within a few years, he had assumed the central role of showman, taking over from Reece Tatum, whom everyone called Goose, the Trotters’ long-reigning clown prince. Tatum was a superb ballplayer whose on-court gags — or reams, as the players called them — had established the team’s reputation for laugh-inducing wizardry at a championship level. This was a time, however, when the Trotters were known not merely for their comedy routines and basketball legerdemain; they were also a formidable competitive team. Their victory over the Minneapolis Lakers in 1948 was instrumental in integrating the National Basketball Association, and a decade later their owner, Abe Saperstein, signed a 7-footer out of the University of Kansas to a one-year contract before he was eligible for the N.B.A.: Wilt Chamberlain.
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Asked about never having played in the N.B.A., Lemon told Sports Illustrated in 2010, “I don’t worry that I never played against some of those guys.” “I’ll put it this way,” he added. “When you go to the Ice Capades, you see all these beautiful skaters, and then you see the clown come out on the ice, stumbling and pretending like he can hardly stay up on his skates, just to make you laugh. A lot of times that clown is the best skater of the bunch.”
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