When I was growing up in the fifties in East Dallas, we used the term "hood" to refer to adolescent boys that were on the edge, i.e., engaged in various juvenile delinquent activities such as Elvis hairdoes, drinking, smoking, having sex, riding motorcycles, carrying firearms, drag-racing, using marijuana, or vandalism/gangfights/crime.
The origin of this term distinguishes it from the later slang term associated with "neighborhood."
Check these links:
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010327
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=hoodlum
http://www.answers.com/topic/hoodlum
http://www.answers.com/hood
