John H. Merida (May 1879 – May 13, 1911), nicknamed "Snowball", was an American Negro league catcher and second baseman between 1907 and 1911. A native of Spiceland, Indiana, Merida suited up for the Spiceland Academy (a local high school) until 1903. He was the only African American on the team during his tenure. He played semiprofessionally around

East Central Indiana East Central Indiana is a region in Indiana east of Indianapolis, Indiana, and borders the Ohio state line. The Indiana Gas Boom, which took place during the 1890s, changed much of the area from small agricultural communities to larger cities wi ...

through 1906 (even catching former major leaguer

Jot Goar Joshua Mercer Goar (January 31, 1870 – April 4, 1947), was an American professional baseball player who was a pitcher in the National League in 1896 and 1898. Listed at and , he threw and batted right-handed. Biography Goar pitched in four m ...

on multiple occasions). A lone exception during this time was a stint Merida spent playing for Black baseball legend Bud Fowler's Cincinnati Black Tourists in 1905. He made his Negro leagues debut in 1907 with the Indianapolis ABCs. He played three seasons with the ABCs. He was named captain and on-field manager for the ABCs during their 1908 season. After a stint with the

Minneapolis Keystones The Minneapolis Keystones was a small club of black baseball players formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, running from approximately 1908 to 1911. While the Negro National League was not formed until 1920, the Keystones did have many top notch playe ...

in 1910, Merida finished his career in 1911 with the

Kansas City Royal Giants The Kansas City Royal Giants were a professional Negro leagues baseball team, based in Kansas City, Missouri. From 1910 to 1912, the Kansas City Royal Giants played as a member of the Western Independent Clubs, along with their local rival, the K ...

. Merida died of spinal meningitis in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

in 1911 at age 32.

References

External links

an
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1879 births 1911 deaths Indianapolis ABCs players Minneapolis Keystones players 20th-century African-American sportspeople Kansas City Royal Giants players {{negro-league-baseball-bio-stub