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33-690: Established as a boys team in 1910, the Hilldales were developed by their early manager, then owner Ed Bolden to be one of the powerhouse Negro league baseball teams. They won the first three Eastern Colored League pennants beginning in 1923 and in 1925 won the second Colored World Series . Hall of Fame player Judy Johnson was a Hilldale regular for most its professional era with 12 seasons in 15 years (1918–1932). Pitcher Phil Cockrell played for Hilldale throughout those years. Oscar Charleston , Biz Mackey , Louis Santop , Chaney White , and Jesse "Nip" Winters were also important Hilldale players in

66-747: A Walk of Fame alongside the site of the Historical Marker. The Walk of Fame honors former-Hilldale owners Bolden and Drew, as well as team batboy and contemporary area-resident Ed Bacon. The African American Museum in Philadelphia maintains the "William Cash/Lloyd Thompson Collection" of Philadelphia Stars and Hilldale scorebooks, photographs, and correspondence. Ed Bolden Edward Bolden (January 17, 1881 in Concordville, Pennsylvania – September 27, 1950 in Darby, Pennsylvania )

99-527: A man who allegedly hit over 80 home runs in one season. At first base is another Baseball Hall of Famer , Buck Leonard , a teammate of Gibson's with the Homestead Grays . At second base is John Henry Lloyd , Judy Johnson monitors shortstop, while Ray Dandridge holds down third base. In the outfield are Cool Papa Bell , Oscar Charleston , and Leon Day . On the mound is perhaps the most famous Negro leaguer of all time, Satchel Paige , who became

132-775: A profit of $ 300,000, its most successful year since 2007. In June 2019, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was awarded the Gold American Award for Nonprofit Organization of the Year from the American Business Awards. The museum chronologically charts the progress of the Negro leagues with informative placards and interactive exhibits. Its walls are lined with pictures of players, owners, and officials of Negro league baseball from

165-666: A role in the Major Leagues. However, he died before being able to do so. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum ( NLBM ) is a privately funded museum dedicated to preserving the history of Negro league baseball in America. It was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri , in the historic 18th & Vine District , the hub of African-American cultural activity in Kansas City during

198-543: A rookie in the major leagues at age 42 in 1948. At the plate is Martín Dihigo , the only man to be inducted into the Halls of Fame in three countries: Mexico , Cuba , and the United States. Other statues commemorate Rube Foster , the founder of the first Negro National League, and Buck O'Neil , a former Kansas City Monarch and a member of the board of the museum until his October 6, 2006, death. On November 13, 2012,

231-405: A strict owner and manager, as he demanded a certain set of rules for not only his players but also the fans of the ball club. He promoted what became known as "clean ball," simply advocating courteous behavior. Bolden always had the fans in mind and constantly prided himself in constructing new marketing techniques to promote his team. Darby Field (Hilldale Park) was conveniently located in terms of

264-461: A week, pre-game workouts, and a ban on alcohol. Changes not only affected players, but a new grandstand was added to the stadium, new uniforms were ordered, and a general admission fee of twenty cents was implemented. Bolden had earned somewhat of a negative reputation between NNL managers, as he often signed players from other teams. One of those owners was Rube Foster , and a feud between him and Bolden began in 1920. Foster began to support teams in

297-428: Is identified with Hilldale. (Hilldale was the club name, Darby the locale.) While various nicknames were informally applied to the club, including "Darby Daisies" and "Clan Darbie", the team was most commonly known simply as Hilldale or the Hilldales. Hilldale did not have an official team logo as professional and collegiate teams have today. It was not common practice for teams to have such standardized team symbols in

330-756: The Atlantic City Bacharach Giants played as eastern "Associates" of the western Negro National League in 1920 and 1921. In the latter season they held a four game series in September with the winner to face the NNL champion Chicago American Giants . After both teams won two games, the American Giants traveled east to play one series each. Chicago defeated the Bacharach Giants 2-1-1 but Hilldale beat Chicago 3-2-1. Hilldale

363-547: The Negro National League of 1920 through the Negro American League which lasted until 1962. As visitors progress through the exhibit, they move forward in time through the history of Black baseball. In one area of the museum, there are lockers set up for some of the legends of the Negro leagues. One can see game-worn uniforms, cleats, gloves, and other artifacts from stars such as Josh Gibson ,

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396-771: The Philadelphia area. Meanwhile, Bolden continued to hold jobs as a domestic servant and later as a clerk at the Philadelphia post office. After Thompson established the Hilldale Club , Bolden took over as owner and head of the team. Bolden transformed the team's status from amateur to professional. This aided the team in taking off financially, as the team attracted high levels of talent and scheduled games against skilled opponents. When it came to recruiting players, he would either go out and look for specific types or levels of talent, or place advertisements in local newspapers regarding open tryouts. Thompson became known as

429-451: The "Black Babe Ruth ." An impressive aspect of the museum is the Field of Legends. Separated from the visitor at the entrance by chicken wire, it is accessible only at the end of the tour. One can walk onto a field adorned by nearly life-sized bronze statues of twelve figures from Negro league history. Crouching behind the plate is Gibson, one of the most prolific hitters in baseball history,

462-522: The 1910s and 1920s. They wore red and white. Their jerseys in the 1920s had "Hilldale" across the front in the style shown above as the "team logo". The club wore a red cap with a white plain-block capital H as seen above. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) created a series of team logos in the 1990s for the well-known Negro league teams so that the NLBM could license such logos and collect royalties for their use on merchandise. Such revenue helps sustain

495-423: The 1920s. Ed Bolden founded the team in 1910 as an amateur athletic club for local young men. Devere Thompson was the first manager but Bolden took over as manager himself before the end of the first season. The club incorporated November 1916, as Hilldale Baseball and Exhibition Company, and began to hire some established players. Spot Poles and Bill Pettus led the 1917 team to a 23-15-1 record. Hilldale and

528-544: The 1925 Negro League World Series. Darby fielded Negro League teams from 1910 to 1932. Notable players included baseball hall of fame members Pop Lloyd, Judy Johnson, Martin Dihigo, Joe Williams, Oscar Charleston, Ben Taylor, Biz Mackey, and Louis Santop. Owner Ed Bolden helped form the Eastern Colored League. The year 2010 marked the centenary of the club's founding. The Darby Historical Commission constructed

561-477: The 1930s. Drew disbanded the ballclub in July 1932 after the combined attendance of two subsequent Saturday afternoon games at Hilldale Park totaled 295. The Negro National League was formed in 1920. An official League business-card from that year lists the club as one of two "Associated Members" and identifies the club as "Hilldale, Darby, Pa." Unlike other teams listed with both location and team-name, no nickname

594-600: The Lincoln Building at historic 18th & Vine Streets in Kansas City to a 2,000-square-foot (190 m ) space in 1994. Three years later, in 1997, the museum relocated again, to a 10,000-square-foot (930 m ), purpose-built structure five times the previous size. An advance screening of the movie 42 , a biographical film about the life of Jackie Robinson , who played for the Kansas City Monarchs prior to breaking baseball's color barrier,

627-470: The NLBM dedicated to O'Neil. On June 5, 2008, Geddy Lee (of the Canadian band Rush ), himself an avid baseball fan, donated nearly 200 autographed baseballs to the NLBM. The signatures on these baseballs include names such as Hank Aaron , Cool Papa Bell, and Lionel Hampton. At the time, Geddy Lee's gift was one of the largest single donations the NLBM had ever received. Each year, the museum presents

660-539: The Series earned the national recognition of both leagues and focused national attention on black professional baseball. In 1930 Bolden received the threat of a possible demotion from his position at the post office, and was forced to leave baseball. Bolden returned to professional baseball in 1932 with the Philadelphia Stars , after being gone from the game for two years. At first he didn't want to commit

693-589: The Stars to any league. Bolden preferred to make most of the team's money through playing exhibition games against white teams, because they ended up losing money when they committed to league games. African American baseball thrived during World War II during the early 1940s. Crowds grew, salaries rose, commissions increased, and teams were actually able to use major-league parks. However, at the war's end, integrated baseball began to thrive uncontrollably. Bolden greatly supported integrated baseball and hoped to one day play

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726-471: The club in 1930. He had been the a 14-year-old infielder on the original boys team twenty years earlier, when his older brother had been the manager. After a single season, the team was purchased by John Drew , who ran the club until its final collapse in 1932. During the Great Depression , Black urban unemployment hit as high as 50%. This negatively impacted attendance in the Negro leagues in

759-675: The east such as the Bacharach Giants , and when this club joined the league they raided the Hilldale roster. In 1922 Hilldale resigned from the NLL and joined the ECL. Yet again Hilldale brought many NLL players with them through the course of the transition. The team won three league titles in their first three years in the ECL, also playing in the first two Colored World Series in 1924 and 1925, winning in 1925. Bolden and Foster were pleased that

792-532: The family of Buck O'Neil donated two items to the museum in honor of what would have been his 101st birthday. O'Neil's Presidential Medal of Freedom —awarded posthumously by President George W. Bush —was donated. Also given to the museum was a miniature replica of the Buck O' Neil statue which is displayed at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum . The items are showcased in a special area of

825-470: The first half of the 20th century. The NLBM shares its building with the American Jazz Museum . The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 by a group of former Negro league baseball players, including Kansas City Monarchs outfielder Alfred Surratt , Buck O'Neil , Larry Lester , Phil S. Dixon and Horace Peterson. It moved from its original small, single-room office inside

858-429: The four living members of the Negro league Philadelphia Stars , Bill Cash, Mahlon Duckett, Stanley Glenn, and Harold Gould, along with Ray Mackey, great grandnephew of former Hilldale and Stars player Biz Mackey . The marker is titled, "The Hilldale Athletic Club (The Darby Daisies)" and the text reads, This baseball team, whose home was here at Hilldale Park, won the Eastern Colored League championship three times and

891-421: The museum. Hilldale was one such team for which a contemporary logo was created. It is seen on NLBM-licensed Hilldale Giants merchandise and while it supports the educational efforts of the museum, it is not a historical logo. Eastern Colored League Pennants Colored World Series Championships These Hall of Fame players were Hilldale team members during the listed seasons. Santop also played post-season with

924-476: The team in 1917 and 1919, as Charleston did in 1926. No-hitters On October 14, 2006, a Pennsylvania Historical marker was dedicated at the site of Hilldale's ballpark at McDade Boulevard and Cedar Streets in Yeadon . The ceremony was attended by Philadelphia Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson , former Phillies player Garry Maddox , and Gene Dias, Phillies director of community relations. Also attending were

957-483: The team's fan base, but to even further more promote the team's success; Bolden organized a deal with a local streetcar company, requesting a line directly to the park on game days. He also rented out the ball park and sold advertising that scattered throughout the confines of the stadium. 1916 proved to be a standout year for the Hilldale Club. Some of the changes that Bolden put into effect were practices twice

990-613: Was a charter member of the Eastern Colored League in 1923 and won the first-place pennants in 1923, 1924, and 1925. They lost the inaugural, 1924 Colored World Series to the Kansas City Monarchs five games to four (with one tie). Next season they won a rematch with the Monarchs five games to one. The 1925 club featured star catcher and cleanup hitter Biz Mackey , third baseman Judy Johnson , and outfielder Clint Thomas . Player-manager Frank Warfield 's pitching staff

1023-544: Was an American baseball executive and owner in the Negro leagues . Bolden's first occupation in baseball was as a volunteer scorekeeper for a team out of Darby, Pennsylvania , under 19 year-old manager, Austin Thompson. Bolden was 28. Thompson went on to organize the Hilldale Club out of Darby in the spring of 1910. At the time, Darby was a major African American hub of nearly 6,300. The team played other amateur clubs in

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1056-419: Was held in Kansas City on April 11, 2013, a day before its nationwide release, as a benefit for the NLBM. Actor Harrison Ford , one of the stars of the film, participated in the fundraiser. The museum was on the verge of financial collapse in 2008 before rebounding with stronger leadership and greater engagement with the community. Bob Kendrick took over as President in 2011. By 2012, the museum experienced

1089-545: Was led by left-handed ace Nip Winters and spitballer Phil Cockrell . Hilldale dropped to third in 1926 and fifth in 1927. Frustrated by the league's lack of organization, Bolden withdrew his club from the ECL prior to the 1928 season. When the American Negro League was organized in 1929, Hilldale joined, but the league lasted only one season. Bolden was subsequently forced out of club management, and Hilldale corporation member Lloyd Thompson assumed control of

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