Meadowlark Lemon, who has died aged 83, was billed as the Clown Prince of Basketball, but deserved to be called its king. During the almost 25 years that he was the undisputed star of the Harlem Globetrotters, the most successful barnstorming sports outfit in history, they reached the zenith of their worldwide popularity.
The Globetrotters lived up to their name; for decades the world learned basketball from their antics. Crowds in more than 100 countries saw Lemon at the centre of the team’s “Magic Circle”, performing tricks with the basketball to the whistled strains of their signature tune, Sweet Georgia Brown. He embarrassed referees, tormented opponents, showered fans with a bucket of confetti masquerading as water, and sunk half-court baskets with his old-fashioned hook shot. Each stunt was completed with a cackling, trash-talking strut, as if he were entertaining himself as much as the fans.
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