Meadowlark Lemon
Encyclopedia
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player, actor, and minister. For 22 years, Lemon was known as the "Clown Prince" of the touring Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
basketball team. He played in more than 16,000 games for the Globetrotters and is a 2003 inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, and attended Florida A&M University
Florida A&M University
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, commonly known as Florida A&M or FAMU, is a historically black university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, the state capital, and is one of eleven member institutions of the State University System of Florida...
.
Career
Lemon first applied to the Globetrotters in 1954 at age 22, finally being chosen to play the following year (1955). In 1980, he left to form one of his 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 "Meadowlark Lemon's Harlem All Stars" team. Despite being with his own touring team, Lemon returned to the Globetrotters, playing 50 games with them in 1994.In 2000, Lemon received the John Bunn Award
John Bunn Award
The John Bunn Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to an individual who has contributed significantly to the sport of basketball...
, the highest honor given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame outside of induction. He was inducted into the hall three years later.
On May 18, 2009, it was announced that Lemon had become the new partial owner of the Smoky Mountain Jam of the American Basketball Association.
Personal life
Lemon has 10 children: Richard, George, Beverly, Donna, Robin, Jonathan (a.k.a. Meadowlark, Jr.), Jamison, Angela, Crystal and Caleb. George is currently an assistant football coach at Lewis & Clark CollegeLewis & Clark College
Lewis & Clark College is a private institution of higher learning located in Portland, Oregon. Made up of an undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, a School of Law, and a Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Lewis & Clark is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges with athletic...
in Portland, Oregon. Lemon is married to Dr. Cynthia Lemon, a practitioner of naturopathy.
A born-again Christian, Lemon became an ordained minister in 1986 and received a Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
degree from Vision International University
Vision International University
Vision International University is an unaccredited institution in Ramona, California offering academic degree programs designed to prepare men and women for professional service in Christian ministry...
in Ramona
Ramona, California
Ramona is a census-designated place in San Diego County, California. The population was 20,292 at the 2010 census.The term Ramona also refers to an unincorporated community that includes both the Ramona CDP and the adjacent CDP of San Diego Country Estates CDP...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in 1988. He resides in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
, where his Meadowlark Lemon Ministries, Inc. and Meadowlark Lemon's Harlem All Stars maintain an office.
Trivia
Meadowlark starred in the 1979 Educational geography film Meadowlark Lemon Presents the World.In Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5 was an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1993 from members of two previous groups, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee by rappers Charles Stewart , Dante Givens , Courtenay Henderson , Marc Stuart , and disc jockeys Mark Potsic and Lucas Macfadden...
's 1998 self titled debut album, the 5th track 'Concrete Schoolyard' features a reference by Chali 2na
Chali 2na
Charles Stewart , better known as Chali 2na is an American rapper and hip hop artist, formerly associated with the groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli.-Early life:...
, rapping "Forever Winning I'm in it Like Medowlark Lemon".
In the 2003 film I Spy
I Spy (film)
I Spy is a 2002 American spy comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson. The film was based on the television series of the same name, that aired in the 1960s which starred Robert Culp and Bill Cosby.- Plot :...
, the characters played by Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
and Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
reference Lemon and other Globetrotters as a metaphor as to which of them would be the leader of their mission and which would take a sidekick role.
In the season one The Boondocks
The Boondocks
The Boondocks was a daily syndicated comic strip written and originally drawn by Aaron McGruder that ran from 1996 to 2006. Created by McGruder in 1996 for The Diamondback, the student newspaper at the University of Maryland, College Park, the strip moved from the college pages and was printed in...
episode "The Itis", the character of Granddad mistakenly thinks Meadowlark Memorial Park is named for Meadowlark Lemon.
In a season six episode of How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, James (played by Wayne Brady
Wayne Brady
Wayne Alphonso Brady is an actor, singer, comedian and television personality, known for his work as a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and as the host of the daytime talk show The Wayne Brady Show...
) claims his mother once told him that Meadowlark Lemon was his biological father—though she also mentioned several other celebrities over the years.
In the season one The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
episode "Da Doggone Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance", Cleveland runs over the family dog, named Meadowlark Lemon.
In The Adventures of Pete and Pete episode "On Golden Pete", the Wrigley family mentions being famous "like Meadowlark Lemon" numerous times.