[Big Six]

December 4, 1896
Canal Dover, Ohio

Dan Mueller stamped his feet on the sidewalk, removing as much snow from his boots as he could before he entered the general store. Once inside the door, he saw several men he knew gathered in front of the iron stove in the middle of the room, reading a newspaper.

"Dan, look at this," said Jacob App. He held the newspaper out, pointing to a small headline tucked into a corner of the front page.

"Buckeye Base Ball League To Begin In April '97," Dan read aloud. "I'll be darned."

"Buckeye League? I suppose that means all the teams will be in Ohio," concluded Lafe Keefer.

"I suppose you'll tell us next that the Union won the war," teased App as the other men laughed. They were used to Lafe's less-than-astute observations by now; they'd been hearing them for years.

Dan grinned. "Yep. Twelve teams from across the state. Canton's going to have a team."

"I wonder how fast a league it will be?" asked Joshua Spesinger. He was twenty-four, wiry and strong, a whip-armed third baseman for the Canal Dover town team.

"I'm thinking it will be pretty tough to get a spot on one of these teams," said Jacob. "The players are going to be paid. They'll be professionals."

"Look here." Dan pointed his finger at a line farther down the page. "It says that there will be a league of town teams that will feed into the Buckeye League.

"We're getting a team right here in Canal Dover!"

The minds of the eight men around the stove were suddenly filled with base ball dreams.

Could I possibly be good enough to play ball for a wage?

Might I be able to get off the farm for good, if I want?

Will men from all around the state be playing for Canal Dover, or will the local fellows get most of the spots?

Suddenly the winter didn't seem quite so long, cold, and dismal.