Henry Merchant  Indianapolis Clowns (c. 1940’s)

Henry Lewis “Speed” Merchant was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1918. Growing up he played sandlot ball in the Birmingham area and was a four-sport letterman at the Henderson Institute before signing to play professional baseball. After high school, Merchant played in the Birmingham Industrial League, where he caught the eye of Negro League scouts.

Henry "Speed" Merchant - Indianapolis Clowns 

Merchant signed his first contract to play for the Chicago American Giants of the Negro American League in 1940. His career in the Negro Leagues would last fifteen years. During his playing career, Merchant played with the following teams:

1940-1942   Chicago American Giants            Negro American League

1943           Cincinnati Clowns                      Negro American League

1944-1945   Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns    Negro American League         

1945            Chicago Brown Bombers             United States League

1946-1954   Indianapolis Clowns                   Negro American League



During his career, Merchant was considered one of the fastest men in the Negro Leagues. In 1950 while playing for the Indianapolis Clowns, Merchant led the Negro American League in stolen bases with 45 steals in 80 games. It was in 1950 that Merchant also had his best year at the plate, hitting .306 for the season. He was rewarded for his season efforts by being selected to play in the East-West All-Star game. Merchant led off and played left field for the entire game for the East squad. Merchant was only an average hitter but his natural speed and quickness kept him in professional Negro League baseball for fifteen years. During his career he played the outfield, first base and even pitched.

Most of his career was spent in the Clowns organization. Merchant played for Syd Pollock’s Clowns for 12 seasons in the Negro American League. This was a very unusual feat because most players switched teams on a very frequent basis. When Syd Pollock chose his All Time Indianapolis Clown team in 1959, he chose Henry “Speed” Merchant as his left fielder.