The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 team in the Negro American League

Negro American League

The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues which were created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and continued to exist until 1960...

.

Founding

They began operation in Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

 in , and operated between Cincinnati and Indianapolis

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 in 1944 and 1945 before officially moving in . The team won the league championship in .

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

Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...

, including Joe "Prince" Henry

Joe Henry (baseball)

"Prince" Joe Henry was an American baseball player. He played for several Negro League teams in the 1950s.-Biography:...

. After the decline of the Negro Leagues, the team continued operations on barnstorming tours into the 1960s.

After many years of operation as a barnstorming team, the Clowns finally disbanded around 1988.

Significant players

The Clowns' best known player was Hank Aaron, who played for them in before being sold for $10,000 to the Boston Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

 organization.

The Clowns fielded such stars as Buster Haywood, DeWitt "Woody" Smallwood, showman "Goose" Tatum, and future Major Leaguers John Wyatt (Kansas City Athletics

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

), Paul Casanova

Paul Casanova

Paulino Ortiz Casanova is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1965 to 1974 for the Washington Senators and Atlanta Braves.-Minor league career:...

 (Washington Senators

Texas Rangers (baseball)

The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

), and Choo-Choo Coleman

Choo-Choo Coleman

Clarence "Choo-Choo" Coleman was a Major League Baseball player who played catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets.-Career:...

 (New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

).

Women players

The Clowns were the first professional baseball team to hire a female player. Toni Stone

Toni Stone

Toni Stone , also known by her married name Marcenia Lyle Alberga, was the first of three women to play Negro league baseball....

 played 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

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 1930. J.L. Wilkinson was the first Caucasian owner at the time...

. They hired two women replacements: Mamie “Peanut” Johnson

Mamie Johnson

Mamie “Peanut” Johnson was one of three women, and the first female pitcher, to play in the Negro Leagues. She was born in Ridgeway, South Carolina in 1935...

, pitcher, and Connie Morgan

Connie Morgan

Constance "Connie" Enola Morgan was the third woman to play professional baseball in the Negro league.Morgan replaced second-base player and the first woman in the league Toni Stone in the Indianapolis Clowns in 1954. Morgan played with the team for two years...

, second base. Women also served as umpires for the team.

External links

• Clowns of Baseball, essay of the Clowns

Book by: Bill Heward about the Clowns:

• Some are called Clowns: A season with the last of the great barnstorming baseball teams, ISBN 0-690-00469-9.