PONY Baseball and Softball

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This article is about the youth baseball and softball organization. For the professional baseball league founded in 1939 in Pennsylvania, Ontario, and New York, see New York–Penn League.
PONY Baseball and Softball
Pony League logo.png
SportBaseball and softball
Founded1951
PresidentAbraham Key[1]
CountriesUnited States, Mexico, Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific
Most recent
champion(s)		Taipei City, Chinese Taipei
(2019)
Most titlesCalifornia Long Beach, CA (4)
Taiwan Taipei, Taiwan (4)
TV partner(s)MLB.com
Sponsor(s)Dick's Sporting Goods
Official websitehttp://www.pony.org

PONY Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, Pennsylvania. Started in 1951,[2] 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. The televised Pony League World Series held annually in August at Washington's Lew Hays Pony Field attracts teenage teams from around the world.[3] Membership is open to children and young adults from age 4 to 23 and the leagues are organized in two-year age brackets with "and-under" programs.[2] Hundreds of PONY players have gone on to Major League Baseball careers, including Hall of Fame inductees Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr.[4]

Origin of name[]

Children at the Washington, Pennsylvania, YMCA named the organization PONY, which stood for "Protect Our Neighborhood Youth." This later became "Protect Our Nation's Youth."[2]

Levels of play[]

A 14-year-old Pony League pitcher

Distances shown are for baseball with players pitching; distances for other offerings (such as baseball with machine pitching, fast pitch softball, and slow pitch softball) may vary.

League Ages Distances Ref.
Bases Pitching
Shetland  6 and under 50 feet (15.24 m) 38 feet (11.58 m) [5]
Pinto  8 and under 60 feet (18.29 m) 40 feet (12.19 m) [6]
Mustang 10 and under 46 feet (14.02 m) [7]
Bronco 12 and under 70 feet (21.34 m) 50 feet (15.24 m) [8]
Pony 14 and under 80 feet (24.38 m) 54 feet (16.46 m) [9]
Colt 16 and under 90 feet (27.43 m) 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) [10]
Palomino 18 and under [11]
Thorobred 23 and under [12]

Pony League World Series champions[]

The Pony League World Series is the flagship tournament of PONY Baseball and Softball. After the creation of the organization in 1951, there were already 505 teams across 106 leagues the following year. This prompted PONY to create the Pony League World Series in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The finals did not have a set location and took place in various states, including California, Nebraska, Texas, Illinois, Iowa, and Washington. In 1981, World Series Tournaments, Incorporated (WSTI) was put in charge of running the tournament and fixed the location to Washington County, Pennsylvania.

The first international team to appear in 1968, when both Venezuela and British Columbia, Canada, made appearances. The first non-Americas team to appear was Japan in 1986. The tournament is now sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods and the games are streamed on MLB.com,[13] the official site of Major League Baseball. The recent finals can also be found on YouTube.[14]

The format of the tournament has differed; for most years it has been double-elimination, while at least the first tournament (1952) was single-elimination, and the finals were a best of three at least twice during the 1970s.

Pony League World Series logo
Year Winner Score Runner–Up Ref.
1952 Texas San Antonio, Texas 2–1 Massachusetts Brockton, Massachusetts [15]
1953 West Virginia Fairmont, West Virginia 7–6 South Carolina North Charleston, South Carolina [16]
1954 Pennsylvania Monongahela, Pennsylvania 8–2 Illinois Chicago, Illinois [17]
1955 Pennsylvania Washington, Pennsylvania 4–0 Ohio Youngstown, Ohio [18]
1956 Illinois Joliet, Illinois 9–1 Michigan Hamtramck, Michigan [19]
1957 Texas Lufkin, Texas 5–2 Illinois Maywood, Illinois [20]
1958 Florida Miami, Florida 3–2 Michigan Hamtramck, Michigan [21]
1959 California Long Beach, California 8–0 Pennsylvania Greene County, Pennsylvania [22]
1960 Illinois Oak Park - River Forest, Illinois 5–4 California West Covina, California
1961 Michigan Hamtramck, Michigan 2–1 Texas San Antonio, Texas
1962 Texas Houston, Texas 4–1 North Carolina Greensboro, North Carolina
1963 Indiana Evansville, Indiana 3–1 California Canoga Park, California
1964 California Campbell-Moreland, California 8–2 Alabama Gadsden, Alabama
1965 California Long Beach, California 8–0 Illinois Joliet, Illinois
1966 North Carolina Greensboro, North Carolina 6–0 Alabama Gadsden, Alabama
1967 California Chula Vista, California 2–0 Oklahoma Tulsa, Oklahoma
1968 North Carolina Greensboro, North Carolina 4–1 California Covina, California
1969 Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii 8–5 California Arcadia, California
1970 California Buena Park, California 1–0 South Carolina Cayce/West Columbia/Lexington, South Carolina
1971 California Orange, California 6–5 Colorado Denver, Colorado [23]
1972 Mexico Monterrey, Mexico 2–0, 2–3, 3–1 Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii [24][25][26]
1973 California Santa Clara, California 4–3 Texas Fort Worth, Texas [27]
1974 California West Covina, California 11–2 North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina [28]
1975 California Covina, California 7–3, 4–3 Illinois Wilmette, Illinois [29][30]
1976 Florida Tampa, Florida 14–0 Pennsylvania Monongahela, Pennsylvania
1977 Massachusetts New Bedford, Massachusetts 5–4 Florida Lake Worth, Florida
1978 California Campbell-Moreland, California 2–0 Illinois Joliet, Illinois
1979 California Campbell-Moreland, California 10–3 Texas Houston, Texas
1980 Hawaii Maui, Hawaii 3–2 North Carolina Greensboro, North Carolina
1981 California West Covina, California 16–10 Florida Miami, Florida [31]
1982 California West Covina, California 5–4 Pennsylvania Washington, Pennsylvania
1983 California Santa Susana, California 8–4 Texas Houston, Texas
1984 Puerto Rico Caguas, Puerto Rico 3–0 Florida Miami, Florida
1985 Georgia (U.S. state) Marietta, Georgia 7–0 Pennsylvania Washington, Pennsylvania
1986 California Valencia, Santa Clarita, California 3–2 Japan Edogawa, Japan
1987 Puerto Rico Caguas, Puerto Rico 9–4 Texas Houston, Texas
1988 South Korea Seoul, South Korea 15–0 California La Mesa, California
1989 South Korea Seoul, South Korea 10–0 California Encino, California
1990 South Korea Seoul, South Korea 4–2 California Lakewood, California
1991 Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico 8–2 California Fountain Valley, California
1992 Illinois Bourbonnais, Illinois 4–3 Texas Pasadena, Texas
1993 Illinois Joliet, Illinois 4–2 Puerto Rico Bayamon, Puerto Rico
1994 Taiwan Taitung, Taiwan 6–1 Pennsylvania Chambersburg, Pennsylvania [32]
1995 Puerto Rico Bayamon, Puerto Rico 11–2 Maryland Hagerstown, Maryland
1996 Taiwan Tainan, Taiwan 4–0 Indiana Evansville, Indiana
1997 California Danville, California 7–0 Ohio Hamilton, Ohio
1998 Taiwan Taitung, Taiwan 4–0 Pennsylvania Washington, Pennsylvania
1999 California Covina, California 9–1 Taiwan Taitung, Taiwan
2000 Taiwan Taipei, Taiwan 8–3 California West Covina, California
2001 Puerto Rico Ponce, Puerto Rico 10–4 Virginia Richmond, Virginia
2002 California Norwalk, California 10–0 Puerto Rico Levittown, Puerto Rico
2003 California Lakewood, California 4–3 Puerto Rico Humacao, Puerto Rico
2004 Georgia (U.S. state) Marietta, Georgia 3–1 Hawaii Mililani, Hawaii
2005 Taiwan Taichung, Taiwan 2–1 California San Diego, California
2006 Puerto Rico Caguas, Puerto Rico 4–2 California Simi Valley, California
2007 Puerto Rico Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico 8–3 California Long Beach, California
2008 California Long Beach, California 3–2 Taiwan Taichung, Taiwan
2009 Taiwan Taitung, Taiwan 12–1 California Riverside/Victoria, California
2010 Virginia Midlothian, Virginia 3–1 Japan West Tokyo, Japan
2011 Texas Laredo, Texas 10–9 Taiwan Taipei County, Chinese Taipei
2012 California Long Beach, California 9–7 Taiwan Taoyuan County, Chinese Taipei
2013 Japan Okinawa, Japan 5–4 Mexico Los Mochis, Mexico
2014 Hawaii Hilo, Hawaii 5–3 Taiwan Taoyuan County, Chinese Taipei [33]
2015 Taiwan Taoyuan County, Chinese Taipei 12–1 California San Bernardino, California [34]
2016 Taiwan Taipei County, Chinese Taipei 12–2 Hawaii Maui, Hawaii [35]
2017 California Covina, California 3–1 South Korea Seoul, South Korea [36]
2018 Taiwan Taipei County, Chinese Taipei 3–1 California Long Beach, California [37]
2019 Taiwan Taipei City, Chinese Taipei 9–1 Michigan Bay County, Michigan
Year Winner Score Runner–Up Ref.

Source: [38][39] (in cases of conflicting records, contemporary news reports have been given priority)

Championship totals[]

The 2016 championship team from Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)

By US state or non-US country. Updated through the 2019 championship.

State / Country Wins Losses Appearances Most recent championship
California California 22 15 37 2017
Taiwan Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) 10 5 15 2019
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico 7 3 10 2007
Texas Texas 4 6 10 2011
Illinois Illinois 4 5 9 1993
Hawaii Hawaii 3 3 6 2014
South Korea South Korea 3 1 4 1990
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2 6 8 1955
Florida Florida 2 3 5 1976
North Carolina North Carolina 2 3 5 1968
Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia 2 0 2 2004
Michigan Michigan 1 3 4 1961
Japan Japan 1 2 3 2013
Indiana Indiana 1 1 2 1963
Massachusetts Massachusetts 1 1 2 1977
Mexico Mexico 1 1 2 1972
Virginia Virginia 1 1 2 2010
West Virginia West Virginia 1 0 1 1953
Alabama Alabama 0 2 2 —
Ohio Ohio 0 2 2 —
South Carolina South Carolina 0 2 2 —
Colorado Colorado 0 1 1 —
Maryland Maryland 0 1 1 —
Oklahoma Oklahoma 0 1 1 —

Gallery[]

  • PONY Headquarters with Flag Plaza in view in foreground

  • PONY Headquarters dedication plaque, located on building entrance

  • PONY Headquarters Main Hall / Museum

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Abraham Key". pony.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "About PONY". pony.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Crawley, Dave. "Teens Flock To Play Ball In Pony League World Series (August 5, 2016)". KDKA-TV. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  4. ^ "History Of Pony Baseball". ovpb.net. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  5. ^ "SHETLAND 6U™ LEAGUE". pony.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  6. ^ "PINTO 8U™ LEAGUE". pony.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  7. ^ "MUSTANG 10U™ INFORMATION". pony.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "BRONCO 12U™ INFORMATION". pony.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  9. ^ "PONY 14U™ LEAGUE". pony.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  10. ^ "COLT 16U™ LEAGUE". pony.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  11. ^ "PALOMINO 18U™ LEAGUE". pony.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  12. ^ "THOROBRED 23U™ LEAGUE". pony.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  13. ^ "PONY World Series | 08/14/2018". MLB.com. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  14. ^ "PONY Baseball and Softball". YouTube. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  15. ^ "San Antonio Nips Brockton 2-1 for Pony League Title". The Boston Globe. AP. August 17, 1952. p. 47. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Pony League Title Won By Fairmont". The Morning Herald. Hagerstown, Maryland. AP. August 22, 1953. p. 12. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Monongahela Wins PONY Title, 8-2". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 21, 1954. p. 9. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Washington Wins Pony League Title". The News-Herald. Franklin, Pennsylvania. UP. August 26, 1955. p. 8. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "PONY Title Goes to Joliet". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 29, 1956. p. 20. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Texans Capture Pony Loop World Series". The Muncie Evening Press. Muncie, Indiana. AP. August 31, 1957. p. 8. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Miami Wins Pony Crown". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, Florida. AP. August 28, 1958. p. 19. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Pony Loop Title For Long Beach". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. AP. August 28, 1959. p. 20. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Orange Tips Denver 6-5 For Crown". Jacksonville Journal-Courier. Jacksonville, Illinois. August 29, 1971. p. 23. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Monterrey Hurler Cools Honolulu Bats". Tyrone Daily Herald. Tyrone, Pennsylvania. UPI. August 29, 1972. p. 5. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Honolulu Evens Pony Series With 3-2 Win". Tyrone Daily Herald. Tyrone, Pennsylvania. UPI. August 30, 1972. p. 7. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Monterrey Wins Pony World Series On 11th-Inning HR". Tyrone Daily Herald. Tyrone, Pennsylvania. UPI. August 31, 1972. p. 5. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Santa Clara Takes Pony League Series". Indiana Gazette. Indiana, Pennsylvania. AP. August 27, 1973. p. 16. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Ward, Mike (August 29, 1974). "W. Covina Wins the Big One for Baseball Crown". Los Angeles Times. p. VII-1. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Covina Grabs Pony League Series Lead". The Decatur Daily Review. Decatur, Illinois. AP. August 27, 1975. p. 15. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Covina Wins Pony League Baseball Title". The Decatur Daily Review. Decatur, Illinois. AP. August 28, 1975. p. 14. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "West Covina Wins Pony Series". Santa Cruz Sentinel. August 30, 1981. p. 57. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "Chinese Taipei takes Pony League title". News Record. North Hills, Pennsylvania. August 21, 1994. p. 18. Retrieved August 17, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  33. ^ Pacheco, Josh (August 14, 2014). "Hilo 13-14 PONY All-Stars Win World Series". bigislandnow.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  34. ^ "San Bernardino falls to Chinese Taipei in Pony League World Series final". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Rancho Cucamonga, California. August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  35. ^ Osher, Wendy (August 10, 2016). "Maui Finishes Runner-Up in Pony League World Series". mauinow.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  36. ^ "Covina rallies for Pony League title". Observer–Reporter. Washington, Pennsylvania. August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  37. ^ Campbell, Luke (August 15, 2018). "Chinese Taipei, Tien shut down Long Beach to win 9th PLWS title". Observer–Reporter. Washington, Pennsylvania. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  38. ^ Series, Pony World. "PLWS Records". www.plws.org. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  39. ^ Series, Pony World. "All-Time Scores". www.plws.org. Retrieved 2018-08-14.

External links[]

Coordinates: 40°9′19.28″N 80°16′58.90″W / 40.1553556°N 80.2830278°W / 40.1553556; -80.2830278

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