PONY Baseball and Softball

PONY Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, Pennsylvania. Started in 1951, PONY organizes youth baseball and softball leagues and tournaments, as over 500,000 players annually play PONY in over 4,000 leagues throughout the United States and over 40 countries world-wide. Membership is open to children from age 4 to 23 and the leagues are organized in two-year age brackets with "an-under" programs.

Inception of the league

PONY Baseball and Softball began with organization of the Pony League in Washington, Pennsylvania in the summer of 1951. This was a transition league for 13 year-old and 14 year-old players designed to take graduates of Little League Baseball from that diamond to the regulation-sized diamond. Growth of Pony League, primarily by word of mouth, was rapid, and by the end of the second season, 1952, the original six teams in Washington were joined by 505 others in 106 leagues around the country. A national tournament was conducted, and the first Pony League World Series was held that year. San Antonio, Texas defeated Brockton, Massachusetts 2–1 in the Championship Game.

Lew Hays, among the founders of the Pony League, was named Commissioner of the new league when it was incorporated for national organization in early 1953, and Hays held that post until 1964 when he was named President.

In 1953, John Laslo, long time Mayor of Martins Ferry, Ohio, visited with Hays and discussed organization of a league similar to Pony League for 15 year-old and 16 year-old players. The purpose was to permit players in this age bracket to compete with players of like experience in their first years on the regulation diamond.

Laslo guided the development of Colt League, and in late 1959, Pony League and Colt League were merged into a single organization.

Growth of the league

Bronco League, for 11 year-old and 12 year-old players, was organized in 1961 to permit players of this age to play the complete game of baseball. With Colt League using the regulation diamond with 90 foot base paths, Pony League uses a diamond with 80 base paths as a transition between the regulation diamond and the 70 foot diamond used in Bronco League.

In 1970 the Mustang League was developed in Fort Worth, Texas using a diamond with 60 foot base paths, to provide an organizational structure for leagues for beginning players, 9 and 10 year-olds. For communities using players of 7 and 8 years of age, rules and emblems were developed for Pinto League, a very elementary form of baseball.

Thorobred League was organized in the Tampa, Florida area and became a part of the PONY Baseball family in 1973 to provide playing opportunity for those players from 17 through 20 years of age who have not entered professional play and who retain a desire to participate in a community baseball program.

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