I saw this article about Curly Neal passing away in the NY Times and had a real moment of sadness. Curly Neal brought so much joy into this world - and inspired a few generations of basketball players to do things that no one would ever have thought possible!
I remember seeing him perform his antics in Appalachian State University's Varsity Gymnasium in Boone, NC sometime in the late 1970s. As I recall, the gym (capacity ~7,000) was very full, or at least nearly as full as it was for the App State (then still know regionally as ASU) men's basketball games.
This was during the tenure of Bobby Cremins as basketball coach and the connections he had to New York City - and the basketball talent there - was palpable for us. Bobby was a kid of Irish descent from the Bronx who knew the places to recruit high schoolers who were eager to get an education and play ball (even for a small university in NC) on an athletic scholarship. The things that Bobby accomplished at App State were amazing.
But these were the Harlem Globetrotters! The WORLD'S BEST players right in our own small town!
Everyone knew about Meadowlark Lemon and his extraordinary presence and influence. In fact, I remember Meadowlark the best because he was the one making everyone laugh, doing gags with the refs and players on the opposing team, tossing out buckets of confetti, or feathers, or water! onto the crowd. He had the place in his hand.
How strange and fun and exciting it was for a kid who was growing up in a small mountain town with a scarcity of African-Americans.
The tricks and antics that Curly performed dazzled, amazed and made us all think he could do things that no one else could! And he was probably among the very few who could at that time.
