What is pony league baseball

For communities with players of 7 and 8 years of age, rules and emblems were developed for Pinto League, a very elementary form of baseball. Thoroughbred League was organized in the Tampa, FL area and became a part of PONY Baseball in 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.

In , Thoroughbred League age limits were expanded to include 21 year-old players, and Palomino League was organized for players 17 and The Thoroughbred League was discontinued as a Pony program in Shetland League, an instructional program for 5 and 6 year-olds, was formally adopted by Pony for the season with rules based on the experiences of a number of league organizations that had conducted play in this age group for several years.

PONY Baseball is the fastest growing youth baseball organization in the world today, and remains the largest youth baseball program in the Los Altos-Mountain View area. The first season ended with a match game between the season's first and second half champions. The Orioles were the first half champions and the Redwings were the second half champs. In the best of 3 series, the Orioles came out on top winning Pony Baseball's first championship.

The growth of Pony Baseball, primarily by word of mouth, was rapid. By the end of the second season, , the original six teams in Washington were joined by others in leagues across the country. A national tournament was conducted, and the first Pony League World Series was held that year.

It was an 8 game event over a 4 day period. North Charleston, South Carolina won the first game, defeating a team from Hagerstown, Maryland; 3 to 1. San Antonio, Texas became the first official Pony Baseball World Series winner by defeating Brockton, Massachusetts in the final game by a score of 2 to 1. 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 and held that post until when he became president of PONY Baseball.

In , John Laslo, long time mayor of Martin's Ferry, Ohio, visited with Hays and discussed organization of a league similar to Pony League for 15 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 , Pony League and Colt League were merged into a single organization. How can we help you today? Enter your search term here Login or Signup to submit a new ticket. Check ticket status. Sorry we couldn't be helpful. Help us improve this article with your feedback.