George “Meadowlark” Lemon, the “Clown Prince of Basketball” who entertained fans as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters for 24 years, died Sunday in Scottsdale, Arizona, the team announced. He was 83.
No cause of death has been given.
Lemon, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003, joined the Globetrotters in 1954 at age 22 and stayed with the traveling show until 1978, appearing in more than 16,000 games in 97 countries.
He is one of only five Globetrotters to have their numbers retired since the team was founded in Chicago in the 1920s.
Lemon also received the John W. Bunn Award in 2003 for his outstanding lifetime contributions to basketball.
– ESPN
