I think this will fill in some of the blanks.
Such neighborhood associations produced economic as well as social opportunities. Neighborhood sports teams publicly challenged others in the newspapers. The most successful, like the Roseland Eclipse baseball team, attracted the best players and constructed their own stadiums, thereby achieving semipro status. Like the commercialized model of the professional teams, the semipros enjoyed paying spectators and loyal fans. Such loyalty often promoted rivalries and gambling among neighborhood, ethnic, and religious factions.
http://www.oldroseland.com/roseland_...Basebal_2.html