PONY League La Feria All Stars Win Big

In the summer of 1951, PONY Baseball began with the organization of the Pony League in Washington, PA. On June 8th, 6 managers participated in the first player “auction.” More than 130 boys were purchased at that auction.

On June 18th the first regular season Pony Baseball game was played between the Redwings and the Chiefs with the Redwings winning in 7 innings. The game was played at Wash High field, with an estimated 800 people in attendance.

The original teams were named: the Bisons, the Chiefs, the Colonels, the Orioles, the Redwings and the Royals.

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, 1952, the original six teams in Washington were joined by 505 others in 106 leagues across the country. A national tournament was conducted, and the first Pony League World Series was held that year.

In 1952 the first Pony World Series was played sharing headlines with the Korean War. 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 to1.

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 held that post until 1964 when he became president of PONY Baseball.

In 1953, 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 1959, Pony League and Colt League were merged into a single organization.

Now nearly 30,000 teams, over 450,000 players, and 4,000 leagues make up Pony Baseball in almost 30 different countries.