Within mere miles of Manhattan and hovering on the scenic overlook of the Great Falls, Hinchliffe's great location only added beauty to its magnetic pull in the 1930s for a huge population of working-class fans, hungry for sports. It became the perfect venue for baseball invitationals and barnstorming or "rouge" games, including the brilliantly romping, bearded zanies who dubbed themselves the House of David.
But racial segregation ("Jim Crow") in the majors had also created a "shadow" universe of baseball stardom and the need for alternative playing fields. Hinchliffe enjoyed a "tryout" with the New York Black Yankees in its first full season (1933), hosting the "Colored Championship of the Nation." It became their home base in 1934, and soon (1936) saw regular season league games of the New York Cubans, also of the Negro League.
Despite its short outfield (which must have sent many a hard-hit homer plowing into the Great Falls), Hinchliffe's relationship with the Black Yankees lasted a total of 12 seasons: from 1933-37 (when the team, seeking more New York visibility, moved briefly and unsatisfactorily to Triborough-now Icahn-Stadium on Randalls Island); then again from 1939-45. Until the end of Jim Crow baseball, Hinchliffe played continuous host to some of the most distinguished Hall-of-Famers in America, players like Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, and legendary great Leroy "Satchel" Paige.
Martin Dihigo, a star of the New York Cubans and a brilliant multi-talented player (pitcher, infielder, outfielder), played here in 1936 when the Cubans made Hinchliffe home in their second Negro League season. Dihigo was later inducted into no less than three Baseball Halls of Fame: Cuba, Mexico and the U.S.(1977). And almost needless to say, Paterson's own, the great Larry Doby, began his professional career here at Hinchliffe when, in 1942, he was picked to play for the Newark Eagles.