The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
team in the
Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. They began play as the independent Ethiopian Clowns, joined the
Negro American League as the Cincinnati Clowns and, after a couple of years, relocated to Indianapolis.
Hank Aaron was a Clown for a short period, and the Clowns were also one of the first professional baseball teams to hire a female player.
History
Founding
Before becoming the Ethiopian Clowns, there is evidence indicating that the team was formed in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
, in 1935 or 1936 by Hunter Campbell and bootlegger Johnny Pierce, and was known as the Miami Giants, and, by 1941, as the Miami Ethiopian Clown. The team became an independent
barnstorming club, shortening its name to the Ethiopian Clowns.
Syd Pollock was instrumental in promoting and popularizing the Clowns and developed them into a nationally-known combination of show business and baseball that earned them the designation as the
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name '' Harlem'' because of ...
of baseball.
In 1943, the team was relocated to
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...
, where they became the Cincinnati Clowns. That same year they joined the
Negro American League, beginning a 12-year membership in the circuit before withdrawing following the 1954 season. The team operated between Cincinnati and
Indianapolis in 1944 and 1945 before officially moving to Indianapolis in 1946, playing as the Indianapolis Clowns for the rest of their existence.
The team won the league championship in 1950.
Barnstorming
While still fielding a legitimate team, the Clowns also toured with several members known for comic acts — sort of a baseball version of the
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name '' Harlem'' because of ...
, including
Joe "Prince" Henry. As the Negro leagues declined in the late 1940s after the integration of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
, the Clowns continued operations on
barnstorming
Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...
tours into the 1960s. The team relocated from Indianapolis to
Offermann Stadium in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
, in 1951, while retaining the Indianapolis Clowns name. The Clowns left Buffalo after the 1955 season.
By 1966 the Indianapolis Clowns were the last Negro league team still playing. The Clowns continued to play exhibition games into the 1980s, but as a humorous sideshow rather than a competitive sport. After many years of operation as a barnstorming team, the Clowns finally disbanded in 1989.
Hank Aaron and other notable Clowns
By 1952, Syd Pollock signed
Hank Aaron to his first professional contract, at $200 a month. Aaron played about three months as the Clowns' shortstop and cleanup hitter before being acquired by the
Boston Braves organization for $10,000.
The Clowns fielded such stars as
Buster Haywood, Hubert "Big Daddy" Wooten, DeWitt "Woody" Smallwood, showman
"Goose" Tatum
Reece "Goose" Tatum (May 31, 1921 – January 18, 1967) was an American Negro league baseball and basketball player. In 1942, he was signed to the Harlem Globetrotters and had an 11-year career with the team. He later formed his own team known ...
and
Harlem Globetrotter star, and future Major Leaguers
John Wyatt (
Kansas City Athletics),
Paul Casanova (
Washington Senators),
Hal King (
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...
), and
Choo-Choo Coleman (
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...
).
Female players
The Clowns were the first professional baseball team to hire a female player to a long-term contract that was not voided soon after. In an effort to replace Hank Aaron, who had left the team the previous year, the Clowns hired
Toni Stone to play second base with the team in 1953, in which she batted .243. The following year the Clowns sold her contract to the
Kansas City Monarchs
The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1 ...
. They hired two women replacements: Pitcher
Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, who would go on to record a record of 33-8 while batting between .262 to .284
on the team, and second baseman
Connie Morgan. Women also served as umpires for the team; notably, former Chicago model, Nancy Miller, was the first female umpire in pro ball.
Cinematic legacy
The 1976 movie ''
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings'', starring
James Earl Jones,
Billy Dee Williams, and
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...
, is loosely based on the barnstorming of the Indianapolis Clowns.
References
Sources
* ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues'' – James A. Riley. Publisher: Chelsea House, 1996. Format: Paperback, 124pp. Language: English.
Further reading
*Heward, Bill. ''Some are called Clowns: A season with the last of the great barnstorming baseball teams'', .
*Pollack, Alan J. (Author), James A Riley (Editor), "Barnstorming to Heaven: Syd Pollock and His Great Black Teams", .
External links
The Indianapolis Clowns: Clowns of Baseball*
ttp://www.coe.ksu.edu/nlbemuseum/history/players/pollock.html Negro Leagues Baseball Museum – Syd Pollock Biography
{{Authority control
Negro league baseball teams
Clowns
Defunct baseball teams in Indiana
Baseball teams established in 1935
Sports clubs disestablished in 1989
Clowns
Defunct baseball teams in Florida
1930s establishments in Florida
African-American history of Indianapolis
Baseball teams disestablished in 1989
Baseball in Cincinnati
Sports in Buffalo, New York