Fair Dealing and Clean Playing

The Hilldale Club of Darby, Pennsylvania, was the dominant team in black baseball during the 1920s. Their success came about largely through the efforts of Hilldale president and manager Edward Bolden. Bolden's professionalism and reputation for fair play were instrumental in his forming the Eastern Colored League (ECL) in 1922. The Hilldale Club and EC League flourished until 1927 when worsening economic conditions caused Bolden to lose control of his team. Traced here are the roots of the club, the development of black professional baseball, and the three-tiered relationship between the Negro leagues, white semiprofessional teams, and the major leagues. Book jacket.