What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

RIP Meadowlark Lemon (1 Viewer)

He did more for race relations in this country than 99% of the folks who have claimed to have done so. He brought simple joy to many, not in a large way, but in a small, consistent way. I don't know if he ever suffered scandal or controversy, but if he did I do not want to know about it. I want to remember him positively, always. R.I.P.

 
BowieMercs said:
RIP Meadowlark
Click to expand...
:goodposting:

Lemon was Wilmington, NC's biggest homegrown basketball star until ... well, I'll let Meadowlark tell it. From an August 2014 article at HoopHype.com:

As a Globetrotter, you've been able to bring joy, comedy and pure basketball talent all around the world for decades. You even played with Wilt Chamberlain, right?



ML: Wilt and I were very, very good friends. He was one of the best if not the best player of all time. We worked together for 14 years as Harlem Globetrotters and then he played for me on my teams called the “Bucketeers” and “Shooting Stars”. If [Wilt]'s not the best, he's very close. I would choose my other homeboy, Michael Jordan. He grew up on one side of town and I grew up on the other side. We went to the same Boys Club and we were both influenced greatly by the director there that we called “Poppa-Jack”. When Michael was a kid, he said he wanted to be like me. That’s before kids later started saying, “I wanna be like Michael…”. I’m always honored when NBA players and a lot of the players that have gone into the Basketball Hall Of Fame tell me that they wanted to be like me when they were growing up. Others would mention other names, players that have been great contributors to the game of basketball. Even though I didn’t play basketball with most of them, they know the history of the game and thank me and the Harlem Globetrotters for what we did to bring basketball to life in America and around the World.
Click to expand...
In 2013, Lemon underwent successful heart surgery to fend off a blood clot. Here's what he did for the doctors that worked on him:

Last year, you were rushed to the Scottsdale Hospital with severe pain in your left side, which turned out to be caused by a life-threatening blood clot. Then cardiologist Dr. Ramy Doss and heart surgeon Dr. Robert D. Riley performed a minimal-invasive-mitral-heart-valve-replacement surgery, which saved your life. Please share with us your feelings and thoughts throughout all this life-threatening experience.

Meadowlark Lemon: Yes, that is correct. Doctor Doss was just 15 years old when he first saw me play in his hometown of Cairo, Egypt, with the Globetrotters. When he came to America he became a cardiologist and we met again here in Scottsdale. Doctor Riley saw me play in Philadelphia and is now one of the few doctors in the world who performs this type of minimal-invasive-heart-surgery, so I feel very grateful and lucky. I took Dr. Doss and Dr. Riley to the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement weekend where they received a standing ovation when introduced as the doctors who saved my life. They fixed me up and I've been playing basketball again! I've traveled this year to Austria and Germany to visit the troops and do a Camp Meadowlark Basketball Camp for their teenage kids stationed there with them. I’m doing speaking events and playing basketball again with my team, Meadowlark Lemon’s Harlem All Stars!
Click to expand...
 
The Scooby Doo cartoons is where I first discovered the Globetrotters as a child and then started finding them on ABC WWS. He did a lot for a lot of people, will be missed.

 
Bump because this thread definitely deserves a more prominent place on the front page than my poll. The power of laughter is underrated, I think. What he brought to the table was something greater than interesting basketball and snappy comedic patter. That he had a good heart always shined through for me. I believe it did for others and that he changed folks, some subtly, some, perhaps, even profoundly. He did so by example and gentle persuasion, not by attacks and berating. I genuinely respect what the man accomplished.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
One of my all-time favorites. What a showman. I loved watching the Globetrotters when I was a kid, and it was because of Meadowlark, Curly Neal, etc. Looks like he led a great, purpose-filled life. RIP Meadowlark.

 
RIP.

Needless to say, Heaven's basketball team just got a lot funnier.

I wouldn't put him up there with Jonas Salk, but echo the sentiment that probably very few people brought more joy into the lives of countless others.

Master of the long hook shot, misdirection and the hidden basketball ruse.

History of Meadowlark and the Globetrotters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlCPOCtshhE

Basketball Hall Of Fame enshrinement speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNXdkmeKPL4

Harlem Globetrotters - The Team That Changed The World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJiF1Ghi3UI

Season One of the animated series

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnVkCj3l-5Q&list=PLULHdqLrlB0BZH8e9wOzZ3JYsbZbiv-tp

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back in the day of ABC's Wide World of Sports, it was always a special day when the Globetrotters were on.

Meadowlark set the bar very high. RIP.

 
:(

Wow... such great memories from my childhood... my dad took me to see the Globetrotters play 2 or 3 different times.

I'll never forget watching Meadowlark hit not 1, not 2, but 3 straight hook shots from half court along the sideline.

I'm sure he helped instill a lot of my love of playing basketball.

RIP Meadowlark... you were a hell of a basketball player.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
Whole house repiping. Worth it? Cost? Tips/suggestions?
Replies
38
Views
2K
BassNBrew
BassNBrew
Senor Schmutzig
What kind of lawyer do I need?
Replies
15
Views
573
fatness
fatness
ghostguy123
Crazy what ifs (sports)
Replies
41
Views
934
wlwiles
wlwiles

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top