As the new league continued to take shape the organizers where pleased to see that some of the top talent in baseball where starting to sign to with the various clubs. While this league would by no means have all the top players in baseball, it would have its share.

That was one of the things that brought Brian McCann to Rockford. He had seen other top players sign with the league and the recruitment by Rockford's owner and their manager, Hatrack Hines, had been intense. As Brian stepped out of the cab in front of the ballpark that early December day, he was not overly impressed. The park was old, very old. It had not hosted a ballclub for quite some time. He was encouraged when he saw some of the crews who were hard at work on the stadium restoring it to its former glory.

Shortly after entering the team offices, Hatrack appeared and offered a handshake and a welcome. He escorted Brian to a conference room were he was to sign his contract with the club. Hatrack told him he was glad to have him and as long as he had anything to say about it, Brian would be a Clipper. What neither Hines or McCann knew was that Brian was the owner's favorite player. He was an owner second and a fan first, although make no mistake, it was his intention to make a buck or two. It was also his intention to keep McCann in Rockport for as long as he could. He hoped he could keep him for the remainder of his career. Although he did get sentimental and maybe that clouded his judgment about players from time to time, he was not about to let them know that. It might cause them to get greedy when it came time to renew a contract. But those were worries for another day. Today was a day to celebrate and for optimism as they all looked toward the future. The contract was signed, handshakes and smiles all around. The club was starting to take shape and Hatrack thought they had a chance.