William Henry Merritt (born July 30, 1870 – November 17, 1937) was an American Major League Baseball player who played catcher from 1891-1899. He would play for the Boston Beaneaters, Chicago Colts, Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds. In 401 games over eight seasons, Merritt posted a .272 batting average (384-for-1414) with 182 runs, 8 home runs and 196 RBI. He finished his career with a .943 fielding percentage playing at least one game at every position except pitcher.