Meadowlark Lemon - wikipedia Meadowlark Lemon Meadowlark Lemon Lemon in 1988 Meadow Lemon III ( 1932 - 04 - 25 ) April 25, 1932 Wilmington, North Carolina December 27, 2015 ( 2015 - 12 - 27 ) ( aged 83 ) Scottsdale, Arizona Occupation Basketball player, actor, minister Known for The Harlem Globetrotters Spouse ( s ) Cynthia Lemon ( m. 1994 -- 2015 ) Children 10 Meadow Lemon III ( April 25, 1932 -- December 27, 2015 ) known professionally as Meadowlark Lemon, was an American basketball player, actor, and Christian minister ( ordained in 1986 ). From 1994, he served Meadowlark Lemon Ministries in Scottsdale, Arizona. For 22 years, he was known as the `` Clown Prince '' of the touring Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. He played in more than 16,000 games for the Globetrotters and was a 2003 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. When basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain was asked his opinion on the best player of all time, he responded, `` For me it would be Meadowlark Lemon. '' Fellow Wilmington great Michael Jordan called Lemon a `` true national treasure '' and a personal inspiration in Jordan 's youth. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Basketball 2.2 Television appearances 2.3 Other work 3 Personal life 4 Death 5 References 6 External links Early life Lemon was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, and attended Williston Industrial School, graduating in 1952. He then matriculated into Florida A&M University, but was soon drafted into the United States Army, serving for two years stationed in Austria and West Germany. Career Lemon meeting Betty Ford during a 1974 visit to the White House Basketball Lemon made his first basketball hoop out of an onion sack and coat hanger, using an empty Carnation milk can to sink his first 2 - point hoop. Lemon first applied to the Globetrotters in 1954 at age 22, finally being chosen to play in 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, the highest honor given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame outside induction. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. Television appearances In the 1970s, an animated version of Lemon, voiced by Scatman Crothers, starred with various other Globetrotters in the Hanna - Barbera animated cartoon series Harlem Globetrotters, as well as its spinoff, The Super Globetrotters. The animated Globetrotters also made three appearances in The New Scooby - Doo Movies. Lemon appeared alongside Fred `` Curly '' Neal, Marques Haynes and his other fellow Globetrotters in a live - action Saturday - morning television show, The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine, in 1974 -- 1975, which also featured Rodney Allen Rippy and Avery Schreiber. In 1978, Lemon appeared in a memorable Burger King commercial by making a tower of burgers until he found a double - beef pickles and onions with no - cheese burger. In 1983, Lemon appeared on an episode of Alice entitled Tommy Fouls Out In 1983, Lemon appeared in a Charmin toilet paper commercial alongside Mr. Whipple ( actor Dick Wilson ). In 2009, on FOX 's TV show The Cleveland Show, the name of Meadowlark Lemon was used for a dog 's name for the character of Rallo Tubbs. The dog died in the first season. Other work In 1979, Lemon starred in the educational geography film Meadowlark Lemon Presents the World. Also in 1979, he joined the cast of the short - lived television sitcom Hello, Larry in season two, to help boost the show 's ratings ; in the same year, he played Rev. Grady Jackson in the movie The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. It was several years before he actually became an ordained minister himself. In 1982, Lemon was featured in the Grammy - nominated video Fun & Games, an interactive educational video produced by Optical Programming Associates and Scholastic Productions, on the then - emerging LaserDisc format. Personal life Lemon had 10 children : Richard, George, Beverly, Donna, Robin, Jonathan, Jamison, Angela, Crystal, and Caleb. A born - again Christian, Lemon became an ordained minister in 1986 and received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Vision International University in Ramona, California, in 1988. He was also featured as a gospel singer within several Gaither Homecoming videos. In his last years, he took up residence in Scottsdale, Arizona, where his Meadowlark Lemon Ministries, Inc. is located. Death Lemon died in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 27, 2015, at the age of 83. No cause of death was given. References ^ Jump up to : `` Meadowlark Lemon Biography. '' www.meadowlarklemon.org. Retrieved May 8, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Meadowlark Lemon : The Clown Prince Of Basketball ( 1932 - 2015 ). '' www.meadowlarklemon.org. Retrieved May 8, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Miller, Randy. `` Meadowlark Lemon, late Harlem Globetrotters legend, was Michael Jordan of his day. '' NJ.com, December 28, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Meadowlark Lemon Ministries. '' www.meadowlarklemon.org. Retrieved May 8, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Meadowlark Lemon, `` Clown Prince '' of Harlem Globetrotters, dead at 83 ``. CBS News. December 28, 2015. Jump up ^ Associated Press. `` Wilt spoke of regrets, women and Meadowlark. '' ESPN.com, October 13, 1999. Retrieved May 8, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Henry Louis Gates, ed. ( 2008 ), `` Lemon, Meadowlark '', African American National Biography, Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, pp. 214 -- 215, ISBN 9780195160192 Jump up ^ John Grasso ( 2010 ), Historical Dictionary of Basketball, Scarecrow Press, p. 200, ISBN 9780810875067 Jump up ^ David K. Wiggins ( 2015 ), African Americans in Sports, Routledge, pp. 203 -- 25, ISBN 9781317477440 Jump up ^ `` Harlem Globetrotters star Meadowlark Lemon dies at 83 ''. December 28, 2015 -- via FoxNews.com. Jump up ^ `` Basketball Hall of Fame on the Passing of Meadowlark Lemon, Class of 2003 '' ( Press release ). Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. December 28, 2015. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Hall of Famers : Meadowlark Lemon ''. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 31, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2015. Jump up ^ `` The John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award ''. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 20, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2015. Outside of Enshrinement, the John Bunn Award is the most prestigious award presented by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Jump up ^ `` Hall of Famers Index ''. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 28, 2015. See the `` Category '' column on the left of the page. Jump up ^ Harlem Globe Trotters - S1 Ep1 - The Great Geese Goof Up. March 2, 2014 -- via YouTube. Jump up ^ YouTube. Jump up ^ Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine ( Opening & Closing ). May 3, 2007 -- via YouTube. Jump up ^ Meadowlark Lemon Burger King Commercial. September 14, 2013 -- via YouTube. ^ Jump up to : AP ( December 28, 2015 ). `` Former Harlem Globetrotters star Meadowlark Lemon dies at 83 ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 28, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Thanks, Grammy ! ''. Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Fun & Games ( 1981 ) ''. LaserDisc Database. Retrieved December 28, 2015. Jump up ^ Thank You, Jesus ( Live ). November 1, 2012 -- via YouTube. Jump up ^ Weber, Bruce ( December 28, 2015 ), `` Meadowlark Lemon, Harlem Globetrotter Who Played Basketball and Pranks With Virtuosity, Dies at 83 '', The New York Times External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meadowlark Lemon. Official website Meadowlark Lemon on IMDb Profile at Harlem Globetrotters official website The First National Kidisc on YouTube hide Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2003 Players Dino Meneghin Robert Parish James Worthy Coach Leon Barmore Contributors Chick Hearn Meadowlark Lemon Earl Lloyd hide Members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Players Guards R. Allen Archibald Beckman Belov Bing Blazejowski Borgmann Brennan Cervi Cheeks Clayton Cooper - Dyke Cousy Dampier Davies Drexler Dumars Edwards Frazier Friedman Galis Gervin Goodrich Greer Guerin Hanson Haynes Holman Hyatt Isaacs Iverson Jeannette D. Johnson E. Johnson K. Jones S. Jones Jordan Kidd Lieberman Maravich Marcari Marčiulionis Martin McDermott McGrady D. McGuire Meyers R. Miller Monroe C. Murphy Nash Page Payton Petrović Phillip Posey Richmond Robertson Rodgers Roosma J. Russell Schommer Scott Sedran Sharman K. Smith Staley Steinmetz Stockton Swoopes Thomas Thompson Vandivier Wanzer West J. White Wilkens Woodard Wooden Forwards Arizin Barkley Barry Baylor Bird Bradley R. Brown Cunningham Curry Dalipagić Dantley DeBusschere Dehnert Endacott English Erving Foster Fulks Gale Gates Gola Hagan Havlicek Hawkins Hayes Haywood Heinsohn Hill Howell G. Johnson King Lucas Luisetti K. Malone McClain B. McCracken J. McCracken McGinnis McHale Mikkelsen C. Miller Mullin Pettit Pippen Pollard Radja Ramsey Rodman Schayes E. Schmidt O. Schmidt Stokes C. Thompson T. Thompson Twyman Walker Washington N. White Wilkes Wilkins Worthy Yardley Centers Abdul - Jabbar Barlow Beaty Bellamy Chamberlain Ćosić Cowens Crawford Daniels DeBernardi Donovan Ewing Gallatin Gilmore Gruenig Harris - Stewart Houbregs Issel W. Johnson Johnston M. Krause Kurland Lanier Leslie Lovellette Lapchick Macauley M. Malone McAdoo Meneghin Mikan Mourning S. Murphy Mutombo Olajuwon O'Neal Parish Pereira Reed Risen Robinson B. Russell Sabonis Sampson Semjonova Thurmond Unseld Wachter Walton Yao Coaches Alexeeva P. Allen Anderson Auerbach Auriemma Barmore Barry Blood Boeheim L. Brown Calhoun Calipari Cann Carlson Carnesecca Carnevale Carril Case Chancellor Chaney Conradt Crum Daly Dean Díaz - Miguel Diddle Drake Driesell Ferrándiz Gaines Gamba Gardner Gaze Gill Gomelsky Gunter Hannum Harshman Haskins Hatchell Heinsohn Hickey Hobson Holzman Hughes Hurley Iba Izzo P. Jackson Julian Keaney Keogan Knight Krzyzewski Kundla Lambert Leonard Lewis Litwack Loeffler Lonborg Magee McCutchan McGraw A. McGuire F. McGuire McLendon Meanwell Meyer Miller Moore Nelson Nikolić Novosel Olson Pitino Ramsay Richardson Riley Rubini Rupp Rush Sachs Self Sharman Shelton Sloan D. Smith Stringer Summitt Tarkanian Taylor Teague J. Thompson VanDerveer Wade Watts Wilkens G. Williams R. Williams Wooden Woolpert Wootten Yow Contributors Abbott Barksdale Bee Biasone H. Brown W. Brown Bunn Buss Clifton Colangelo Cooper Davidson Douglas Duer Embry Fagan Fisher Fleisher Gavitt Gottlieb Granik Gulick Harrison Hearn Henderson Hepp Hickox Hinkle Irish M. Jackson Jernstedt Jones Kennedy Knight J. Krause Lemon Liston Lloyd McLendon Lobo Mokray Morgan Morgenweck Naismith Newell Newton J. O'Brien L. O'Brien Olsen Podoloff Porter Raveling Reid Reinsdorf Ripley Sanders Saperstein Schabinger St. John Stagg Stanković Steitz Stern Taylor Thorn Tower Trester Vitale Wells Welts Wilke Winter Zollner Referees Bavetta Enright Garretson Hepbron Hoyt Kennedy Leith Mihalik Nichols Nucatola Quigley Rudolph Shirley Strom Tobey Walsh Teams 1960 United States Olympic Team 1992 United States Olympic Team All - American Red Heads Buffalo Germans The First Team Harlem Globetrotters Immaculata College New York Renaissance Original Celtics Texas Western BNF : cb14268744s ( data ) ISNI : 0000 0000 2949 3196 LCCN : n86065629 MusicBrainz : 3673092d - 64f5 - 452d - 8b78 - 1e0b3f2bddb2 SNAC : w6hd9vt4 VIAF : 61759186 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Meadowlark_Lemon&oldid=843544525 '' Categories : 1932 births 2015 deaths African - American basketball players African - American Christian clergy American Christian clergy Basketball players from North Carolina Florida A&M University alumni Harlem Globetrotters players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Wilmington, North Carolina United States Army soldiers Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from November 2016 Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español فارسی Français Italiano Русский Simple English 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 29 May 2018, at 20 : 48 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did meadowlark lemon play for the globetrotters
Answer: 1955