[Eckstein 4 Prez]

In the years following the end of the Civil War, America - especially those parts that did not need to be rebuilt after the war - was booming. People were moving west toward the ever-expanding frontier, and businessmen such as Alex Marks, a Wisconsin-born tycoon who plied his trade in postwar St. Louis, were ready to make money in the new American expansion. Marks was in the new field of sporting goods, and nothing excited him more than the new popularity of base ball, which had grown out of the northeast and spread to every corner of America. With the war having mixed Americans together more than ever before, thousands of boys learned the came in war camps and then took it home to their towns and villages, and boys in those towns and villages wanted equipment. Marks was making money as never before, and he saw a new opportunity. He had been the chief benefactor of the St. Louis Blue Sox or Blue Stockings, one of the Gateway City's top amateur clubs. But after seeing the popularity of the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Brooklyn Atlantics in 1869 and 1870, Marks decided it was time for an openly professional league that played for a title every year. He realized that if he could put together a series between the best club in the west and the best in the east every year, it would be something that would attract untold attention to base ball.

The first thing Marks did was to sound out other owners of top clubs his Blue Sox played against, such as their St. Louis rivals the Westerns, and the Chicago Whales. Those clubs loved the idea. Convincing eastern clubs was a bit more difficult - the Boston Red Stockings and the Washington Olympics, both teams to which the remnants of the Cincinnati club had gone, turned him down flat, as did the Brooklyn Atlantics. However, the most prominent club in Baltimore was interested, and another club in Washington hoping to grow in popularity showed some interest.

In the end, though, Marks knew that for his league to succeed he would need representatives from the nation's largest cities. It took him some time, but he was able to line up owners in New York, Brooklyn and Philadelphia, all of whom were willing to start up new clubs and pay some of the most famous players to join them. That gave Marks a total of eight, but of course only three were western clubs and two of those were from St. Louis. This was far from ideal. Realizing that the New York-Brooklyn and Baltimore-Washington geographical rivalries might help generate interest in those clubs, he managed to convince (read: pay off) the owner of the new Philadelphia Quakers to join the "Western Conference" of the new league for 1871. Things weren't perfect, but Marks had his league: the Chicago Whales, Philadelphia Quakers, St. Louis Westerns and his beloved Blue Sox in the West, and the Brooklyn Grooms, New York Gothams, Baltimore Canaries and Washington Federals in the East.

Marks was also pleased that some of the most talented players in the nation were willing to spread among the eight clubs. Chicago had talented veterans Al Reach and Dave Birdsall. Steve King and the venerable Harry Wright would play for Philadelphia. Pitcher George Zettlein and the young, talented Levi Meyerle would suit up for the Westerns, and the Blue Sox would be led by the speedy Lip Pike.

In the east, Baltimore had a promising young pitcher named Al Spalding and a slick fielder named Bob Ferguson. The Grooms were relying mostly on young players but would be led by Harry Wright's supremely talented younger brother George. The Gothams had a superior infield, with veteran Jimmy Wood and a young phenom named Ross Barnes, and finally the Washington Federals would be led by Joe Start and Deacon White.

The stage was set. Marks set up a 60-game schedule that would run from May until September, and the first professional base ball season was ready to begin.