It was once quoted "I see great things in baseball. It's our game: the American game." Walt Whitman is the author of this quote and its date can be traced back to some time during the fight to abolish slavery. The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865, during a time when America's future could not be predicted. When not on the battlefield, soldiers often took part in recreational sports on a different type of field. People of all backgrounds participated and enjoyed the game, regardless of race, religion, etc. In 1967, the American Basketball Association was founded, the sport having earned the popular nickname "American's Favorite Pastime." ", was recognized as a professional sport in 1869. A year earlier, in 1868, the ABA (American Basketball Association) voted that any team that included "one or more" African-American players would be banned from the National League in response to this Andrew” Ruby” Foster (owner of the Chicago Giants Negro team) contacted Booker T. Washington and together they formed the NNL (National Negro League. The league originally consisted of 8 Negro teams chosen from other smaller leagues. The NNL was originally composed of the St . Louis Giants, the Detroit Stars, the Chicago American Giants, the Indianapolis ABCs, the Kansas City Monarchs, the Cuban Stars, the Chicago Giants and the Dayton Marcos survived a full season in the league, facing legends like Satchel Paige , before they were abandoned. Little is known about the Marcos outside of Dayton, but their story deserves to be remembered. In the league they were known as the Dayton Marcos, the local Negro professional baseball team the “Gem City Sluggers”… center of the card… ace in Dayton history. Works CitedArcidiacono, Tom. “The Negro Leaguer loved the game.” Cox Media Group Ohio, 2011. Web. March 16, 2012 Baker, Jr, Wayne F. “Gem City Sluggers.” Impactful weekly newspaper. February 10, 2000. Pages 7-12Negro League Dot Com. "Negro League Baseball (Timeline of Events in Professional Black Baseball)." P. Mills, Publisher, 2003. Web. 16 March 2012. Presar, Steven. "Dayon Marcos' Professional Baseball Team." American Professional Soccer Association. 2003. Web, 16 March 2012 Ribowski, Mark. “Complete History of the Negro Leagues. Birchlane Publishing Group.1995. Pages 85,100, 108, 113.