Who are the Indianapolis Clowns?
Banana Ball announced the return of the Indianapolis Clowns on October 9, 2025, the same day it unveiled the Loco Beach Coconuts, bringing the league to six teams. The name carries real history. The original Clowns launched in the 1930s, played in the Negro American League from 1943 to 1954, and barnstormed the country for more than five decades before folding in 1989 — Jesse Cole has called them the greatest barnstorming team of all time and has said their blend of baseball and showmanship is the direct ancestor of Banana Ball.
The original Clowns signed Hank Aaron to his first professional contract in 1952, featured Satchel Paige late in his career, and were among the first professional teams to field women: Toni Stone in 1953, followed by Mamie "Peanut" Johnson and Connie Morgan. Entertainers like Goose Tatum, the "Clown Prince of Baseball," and King Tut, famous for bat-juggling and pantomime routines, made them the Negro Leagues' answer to the Harlem Globetrotters.
The 2026 revival was built with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, which partnered with Banana Ball to preserve the Clowns' history and use the new team to teach fans about the Negro Leagues.
Indianapolis Clowns coaching and roster
Head coach Errick Fox, an assistant with the Savannah Bananas from 2018 to 2022, runs the team day to day. Ryan Howard — the Philadelphia Phillies' 2005 Rookie of the Year, 2006 NL MVP and 2008 World Series champion — holds the new "primetime coach" role, managing marquee games and serving as the face of the franchise.
The Clowns also brought the first full-time former major-leaguer into Banana Ball. Jackie Bradley Jr., the two-time World Series champion and former Red Sox All-Star outfielder, debuted with the Clowns on February 27, 2026. Mo'ne Davis, who became a national name as a Little League World Series pitcher in 2014, is also on the roster. The 32-player squad otherwise follows the Banana Ball template: former college and minor-league players from across the country alongside entertainers. The full roster with 2026 stats is in the table above and on the Indianapolis Clowns roster page.
Indianapolis Clowns style of play
The Clowns' routines lean on the original team's legacy — juggling, pantomime and crowd work are in the DNA — but the 2026 roster was assembled to compete. Through mid-August the Clowns sat sixth at 22-27, yet had the league's best record over their last ten games at 7-3 with a three-game winning streak, and Savannah Bananas On SI argued that writing them off as a last-place team "would be premature."
Indianapolis Clowns 2026 season
The Clowns' first season in the Banana Ball Championship League is a 50-game regular season from April through September, after an 11-game February preseason. Their Indianapolis homecoming is May 15–16, 2026, a two-game series against the Party Animals at Victory Field, the home of the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. The rest of the schedule runs through cities including Memphis, Round Rock, Charleston and Tulsa.
Four teams make the October playoffs: the Banana Ball Open champion (the Texas Tailgaters) plus the top finishers by winning percentage, with head-to-head record, trick plays and point differential as tiebreakers. The playoff bracket has not been announced; the Banana Bowl is October 10, 2026 at Nationals Park, streaming on Disney+. Track the Clowns' chances on the standings page.
Indianapolis Clowns games stream free on the Indianapolis Clowns YouTube channel. See where to watch the Indianapolis Clowns for game-by-game platforms, and learn more about the league in our BBCL guide.