I miss my friend Meadowlark Lemon. Enjoy his Basketball HOF speech on his birthday. Meadowlark played in more than 16,000 games – 7,500 consecutively as a Globetrotter🏀 Can’t wait for all your wishes we discussed to come to fruition! Thx for all the memories! hoophall.com/hall-of-famers…

Meadowlark Lemon, known as the "Clown Prince of Basketball," was born in Wilmington on this date in 1932.

After graduating from Williston High School in 1952, Lemon tried out for the Globetrotters while they were playing in Raleigh and the rest is history.

He would go on to travel the world with the Harlem Globetrotters, using his unique form of showmanship and slapstick comedy to become one of the most popular athletes in the world. The North Third Street bridge in downtown Wilmington was dedicated in his honor in 2019.

Our NC Sports Hall of Fame features over 360 Tar Heel sports heroes! Highlights include: - Meadowlark Lemon’s Harlem Globetrotters basketball uniform🏀 - Champion driver Richard Petty’s stock car🏎️ - NC State University coach Kay Yow’s Olympic team basketball🏀 - Jim Beatty’s running shoes (1/2)👟

Fortunate to have been friends with Meadowlark Lemon 🍋 the greatest #HarlemGlobetrotter to ever lace them up. So wished we could have finished what we started all those years ago. Take a look back at how amazing # 36 was.🏀 meadowlarkllf.org

Remembering Meadowlark, Happy Birthday❤️ Harlem Globetrotters Basketball HOF City of Wilmington, NC

When he was 11 years old, Lemon's life changed forever when he saw a newsreel at the Ritz Theatre about the Harlem Globetrotters. He was mesmerized by their magical dribbling, passing, and dancing: "I knew I wanted to be on that team." 🧵/2

After graduating from Williston High School in 1952, Lemon tried out for the Globetrotters while they were playing in Raleigh, but he didn't officially join the team until 1954 after serving two years in the Army. 🧵/3

He would go on to travel the world with the Harlem Globetrotters, using his unique form of showmanship and slapstick comedy to become one of the most popular athletes in the world. 🧵/4

Lemon was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. The North Third Street bridge in downtown Wilmington was dedicated in his honor in 2019. 🧵/5

Happy Heavenly Birthday Meadowlark 🥰

Lovingly remembered, greatly missed 🥰

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