*ASHLE*) LET'S TAKE A
TRIP BACK IN TIME. SEGREGATION
WAS LAW OF THE LAND, AND
INDIANA WAS NO STRANGER TO IT.
BUT A GROUP OF YOUNG AFRICA
AMERICANS STOOD STRONG AND
USED BASEBALL TO SEND MESSAGES
OF RESILANCE, HOPE AND EVEN
HUMOR. NEWS 8'S DAVID WILLIAMS
HAS MORE ON ONE OF
INDIANAPOLIS' OWN NEGRO LEAGUE
BASEBALL TEAMS....THE
INDIANAPOLIS CLOWNS.
*REPORTE*) ((NAT GERI
STRECKER/ BALL STATE
UNIVERSITY ENGLISH PROFESSOR
11:35:33 "YOU CAN TAKE IT OUT
OF HERE, TOO."/:)) THIS IS
JUST A LITTLE PIECE OF
history, Geri Strecker holds
DEAR. SHE'S A BALL STATE
UNIVERSITY ENGLISH PROFESSOR,
BUT SHE'S ALSO A HISTORIAN OF
INDIANA'S BLACK BASEBALL
LEGACY. ((GERI STRECKER/ BALL
STATE ENGLISH PROFESSOR @
11:30:54 "TO ME, BASEBALL IS
HISTORY. HISTORY IS A STORY OF
AMERICAN LIFE."/:)) THE PAGES
OF THAT STORY ARE ALL AROUND
HER. HER APARTMENT BUILDING
USED TO BE THE OLD BUSH
STADIUM. THE INDIANAPOLIS
CLOWNS PLAYED RIGHT HERE, JUST
STEPS FROM HER PATIO. ((SO
GERI STECKER @ 11:32:14 "I CAN
LOOK OUT MY WINDOW AND I KNOW
THE PLAYERS WERE OUT HERE
RUNNING THE BASES."/:)) THE
INDIANAPOLIS CLOWNS FIRST
FORMED IN THE 1930S, AS A
MINSTRAL SHOW. THAT'S WHERE
THE TEAM NAME CAME FROM.
((GERI 11:12:34 "IT WAS
INTERESTING QUALITY BASEBALL,
BUT JUST AS MUCH THE CLOWNING,
THE MINSTRALCY AND THE
ACT."/:)) THINGS GOT SERIOUS
IN THE '40S, WHEN THE TEAM
JOINED THE NEGRO AMERICAN
LEAGUE, AND EVENTUALLY CALLED
INDIANAPOLIS HOME. ((GERI/
11:13:04 "WHEN THEY DID THAT,
THEY DID IT WITH AVENGANCE,
AND DEDICATED SOME SERIOUS
MONEY TO IT. BETWEEN 1950 AND
1954, FIVE SEASONS, THEY WON
THE NEGRO AMERICAN LEAGUE
PENNANT FOUR TIMES.":)) IN THE
EARLY 50S, THE SAME YEAR THE
INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INTEGRATED, THE CLOWNS
SEARCHED FOR TOP TALENT AND
SIGNED A PROMISING 1
YEAOLD KID TO THE TEAM HIS
NAME? HANK AARON. ((GERI @/
11:15:57 "THE FACT THAT THAT
THEY SIGNED SOMEBODY AND WERE
ABLE TO MATURE HIM EVEN WITHIN
THAT THREE MONTHS TO THE POINT
THAT THE BRAVES PAID GOOD
MONEY TO TAKE HIM AWAY, THAT
SAYS ALOT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF
THE TEAM.")) THAT SAME DECADE,
THE TEAM MADE HISTORY AND
HIRED WOMEN TO TAKE THE FIELD,
WOMEN LIKE MAMIE "PEANUT"
JOHNSON, AND TONI STONE.
((GERI @ 11:23:54 "I'VE TALKED
TO A LOT OF SURVIVING NERGO
LEAGUE PLAYERS AND THEY ALL
HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR HER AS
A PLAYER. WAS SHE USED AS A
GATE DRAW? YES. BUT, SHE HELD
HER OWN IN THE FIELD AND AT
THE PLATE."/: )) ((DAVID
WILLIAMS/ @DWILLIAMSTV @: THE
CLOWNS DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A
STADIUM OF THEIR OWN, SO THEY
SPENT THE BETTER PART OF 30
YEARS TRAVELING THE COUNTRY,
IN THIS BUS, DOING WHAT'S
CALLED BARNSTORMING. THEY'D
PLAY EXIBITION GAMES.")) NEVER
FORGETTING THE REALITY OF
WHERE THEY'D PLAY. ((GERI @
11:25:52 "WHEN YOU'RE
BARNSTORMING THROUGH THE
MIDWEST IN THE 1940S, 50S, AND
60S. INDIANA, ILLINOIS, YOU'RE
FACING A LOT OF RACISM. A LOT
OF SU DOWTOWNS, WHERE YOU
WOULD BE WELCOME TO PLAY
BASEBALL IN THE AFTERNOON, BUT
WHEN THE SUN IS DOWN, YOUR BUS
BETTER BE OUT OF TOWN OR THERE
WOULD BE VIOLENCE."/:)) BY THE
1970S, PROFITS FROM
BARNSTORMING...T RAVELING THE
COUNTRY PLAYING BASEBALL TO
MAKE MONEY.... STARTED DRYING
UP. ((GERI @/11:21:01 "BY THE
70S IF YOU WERE ON THE CLOWNS'
[TEAM] YOU WERE EARNING YOUR
DINNER. YOU WEREN'T REALLY
MAKING MONEY. MAYBE $4 A DAY
FOR FOOD WHILE YOU WERE ON THE
ROAD.":)) THE GOOD PLAYERS
WERE PICKED UP BY THE MINOR
LEAGUES AND THE TEAM KEPT UP
UNTIL 1989. STRECKER SAYS
THERE WAS A REAL SENSE OF
CIT WIDE PRIDE IN THE
CLOWNS,IN DECADES PAST. TODAY,
IT'S UP TO US TO KEEP THEIR
LEGACY ALIVE. ((GERI @
11:28:47/ "I THINK THE MORE
THAT THE CONNECTIONS AND THE
HISTORY COMES OUT, THE MORE WE