Hilldale Club

The Hilldale Athletic Club (also known as Hilldale Daisies, Darby Daisies) was a Negro League baseball team based in Darby, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia. Founded in 1910, the Hilldale Club was built up by owner Ed Bolden into one of the major powerhouses of African American baseball. In 1923, Hilldale won the first pennant of the Eastern Colored League; the club repeated in 1924, dropping the first Negro League World Series to the Kansas City Monarchs, five games to four (with one tie). The following season saw the Hilldales win their third straight ECL pennant, then obtain revenge against the Monarchs, winning the World Series five games to one.

Frustrated by the league's lack of organization, Bolden pulled his club out of 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 subsequently was forced out, and Hilldale corporation member Lloyd Thompson assumed control of the club in 1930. After a single season, the team was purchased by John Drew.

During the 1932 season, Drew disbanded the club because of the Depression's impact on attendance. Among the many great players to grace Hilldale's roster were Louis Santop, Biz Mackey, Judy Johnson, Chaney White, Jesse "Nip" Winters, Jud Wilson, Oscar Charleston, and Phil Cockrell.

Although various nicknames were applied to the club (Daisies, "Clan Darbie"), it was most commonly known simply as Hilldale or the Hilldales.

References

*"The Negro Leagues Book" edited by Dick Clark & Larry Lester {1994} Publisher: The Society for American Baseball Research (Cleveland OH) ISBN 0-910137-55-2
*"The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues" by James A. Riley {1994} Publisher: Carroll & Graf (New York NY) ISBN 0-7867-0959-6
*"Fair Dealing and Clean Playing: The Hilldale Club and the Development of Black Professional Baseball, 1910-1932" by Neil Lanctot {1994} Publisher: McFarland & Company (Jefferson NC) ISBN 0-89950-988-6