Former Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon Passes Away at 83

Meadowlark Lemon, one of the legends in Harlem Globetrotter lore, passed away this weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Lemon traveled with the Globetrotters beginning in 1955, then took a hiatus from the team of performers from 1978-1994. In 1994, he rejoined the Globetrotters for 50 games.

Over his career as an entertainer, he played in more than 16,000 games for the Globetrotters, and in 2003, Lemon was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

When Lemon joined the Globetrotters in 1955, he took the place of legendary central showman Reece Tatum, who was known far and wide as "Goose." Like Goose, Lemon was a smooth ball-handler, and had an uncanny ability to sink half-court hook shots almost at will.

He was loud and boisterous with his on-the-court antics, and implemented some gags that Goose made famous and that we now associate with the Harlem Globetrotters, such as chasing down officials with a bucket of confetti and spying on the opposing team's huddle during timeouts.

Lemon passed away on Sunday December 27, 2015 at the age of 83.