Ed Bolden

Edward "Ed" Bolden (January 17, 1881 in Concordville, Pennsylvania – September 27, 1950 in Darby, Pennsylvania). Bolden was an American baseball executive and owner in the Negro Leagues.

Early career

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 in the spring of 1910, out of Darby. At the time, Darby was a major African American hub of nearly 6,300. The team played other amateur clubs in the Philadelphia area. Meanwhile, Bolden continued to hold jobs as a domestic servant and later as a clerk at the Philedelpia post office.

Hilldale Club

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.