PONY Baseball and Softball

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherTemplate:Main otherScript error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". PONY Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, Pennsylvania. Started in 1951,[1] 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.[2] 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.[1] Hundreds of PONY players have gone on to Major League Baseball careers, including Hall of Fame inductees Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr.[3]

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."[1]

Levels of play

File:John Walls pitching opening day for the pony "West Covina Phantoms" in 2008 at age 14- 2013-12-23 02-06.jpg
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
Foal  4 and 3 Template:Convert Template:Convert [4]
Shetland  6 and under Template:Convert Template:Convert [5]
Pinto  8 and under Template:Convert Template:Convert [6]
Mustang 10 and under Template:Convert [7]
Bronco 12 and under Template:Convert Template:Convert [8]
Pony 14 and under Template:Convert Template:Convert [9]
Colt 16 and under Template:Convert Template:Convert [10]
Palomino 19 and under [11]
Thorobred 23 and under [12]

Pony League World Series

Template:Infobox sports league 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, which has hosted a majority of the tournaments since the inaugural edition in 1952.

From 1964 through 1983, the tournament did not have a set location and sometimes took place in other states: California (1964–1965, 1978), Iowa (1979–1980), Illinois (1967, 1974–1975), Nebraska (1966), Texas (1977), and Washington (1983).[13] In 1981, World Series Tournaments, Incorporated (WSTI) was put in charge of running the tournament, and every tournament since 1984 has been played in Washington County, although no team from Pennsylvania has won the tournament since 1955.

The first team from outside the United States to play in the tournament was Monterrey, Mexico, in 1959[13]—Monterrey had won the Little League World Series in 1957 and 1958. In 1968, international slots were added to the tournament, with teams from Canada and Venezuela participating.[14] The first participant from Puerto Rico was a team from Cataño in 1971.[13] The first non-US champion was a team from Monterrey in 1972. A team from Japan was the first non-Americas participant, in 1986. The first non-Americas champion was a team from Seoul, South Korea, in 1988.

The format of the tournament has differed; for most years it has been double-elimination, while at least the first tournament was single-elimination, and the finals were a best of three at least twice during the 1970s. Most editions of the tournament have been contested with a field of eight teams, but field size has been as small as four and as large as 10:[15]

Year(s) Teams
1952–1960 8
1961–1967 4
1968–1974 8
1975–1978 6
1979–1980 8
1981–1982 5
1983–2008 8
2009–2019 10
2020 —
2021 8
2022-2023 10

The tournament is currently sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods and the games are streamed on MLB.com,[16] the official site of Major League Baseball. The recent finals can also be found on YouTube.[17]

After the 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 edition was staged with only US-based teams (including a team from Puerto Rico).

Champions

Year Winner Score Runner–Up Ref.
1952 Template:Flagicon San Antonio, Texas 2–1 Template:Flagicon Brockton, Massachusetts [18]
1953 Template:Flagicon Fairmont, West Virginia 7–6 Template:Flagicon North Charleston, South Carolina [19]
1954 Template:Flagicon Monongahela, Pennsylvania 8–2 Template:Flagicon Chicago, Illinois [20]
1955 Template:Flagicon Washington, Pennsylvania 4–0 Template:Flagicon Youngstown, Ohio [21]
1956 Template:Flagicon Joliet, Illinois 9–1 Template:Flagicon Hamtramck, Michigan [22]
1957 Template:Flagicon Lufkin, Texas 5–2 Template:Flagicon Maywood, Illinois [23]
1958 Template:Flagicon Miami, Florida 3–2 Template:Flagicon Hamtramck, Michigan [24]
1959 Template:Flagicon Long Beach, California 8–0 Template:Flagicon Greene County, Pennsylvania [25]
1960 Template:Flagicon Oak Park - River Forest, Illinois 5–4 Template:Flagicon West Covina, California
1961 Template:Flagicon Hamtramck, Michigan 2–1 Template:Flagicon San Antonio, Texas
1962 Template:Flagicon Houston, Texas 4–1 Template:Flagicon Greensboro, North Carolina
1963 Template:Flagicon Evansville, Indiana 3–1 Template:Flagicon Canoga Park, California
1964 Template:Flagicon Campbell-Moreland, California 8–2 Template:Flagicon Gadsden, Alabama
1965 Template:Flagicon Long Beach, California 8–0 Template:Flagicon Joliet, Illinois
1966 Template:Flagicon Greensboro, North Carolina 6–0 Template:Flagicon Gadsden, Alabama
1967 Template:Flagicon Chula Vista, California 2–0 Template:Flagicon Tulsa, Oklahoma
1968 Template:Flagicon Greensboro, North Carolina 4–1 Template:Flagicon Covina, California
1969 Template:Flagicon Honolulu, Hawaii 8–5 Template:Flagicon Arcadia, California
1970 Template:Flagicon Buena Park, California 1–0 Template:Flagicon Cayce/West Columbia/Lexington, South Carolina
1971 Template:Flagicon Orange, California 6–5 Template:Flagicon Denver, Colorado [26]
1972 Template:Flagicon Monterrey, Mexico 2–0, 2–3, 3–1 Template:Flagicon Honolulu, Hawaii [27][28][29]
1973 Template:Flagicon Santa Clara, California 4–3 Template:Flagicon Fort Worth, Texas [30]
1974 Template:Flagicon West Covina, California 11–2 Template:Flagicon Charlotte, North Carolina [31]
1975 Template:Flagicon Covina, California 7–3, 4–3 Template:Flagicon Wilmette, Illinois [32][33]
1976 Template:Flagicon Tampa, Florida 14–0 Template:Flagicon Monongahela, Pennsylvania
1977 Template:Flagicon New Bedford, Massachusetts 5–4 Template:Flagicon Lake Worth, Florida
1978 Template:Flagicon Campbell-Moreland, California 2–0 Template:Flagicon Joliet, Illinois
1979 Template:Flagicon Campbell-Moreland, California 10–3 Template:Flagicon Houston, Texas
1980 Template:Flagicon Maui, Hawaii 3–2 Template:Flagicon Greensboro, North Carolina
1981 Template:Flagicon West Covina, California 16–10 Template:Flagicon Miami, Florida [34]
1982 Template:Flagicon West Covina, California 5–4 Template:Flagicon Washington, Pennsylvania
1983 Template:Flagicon Santa Susana, California 8–4 Template:Flagicon Houston, Texas
1984 Template:Flagicon Caguas, Puerto Rico 3–0 Template:Flagicon Miami, Florida
1985 Template:Flagicon Marietta, Georgia 7–0 Template:Flagicon Washington, Pennsylvania
1986 Template:Flagicon Valencia, Santa Clarita, California 3–2 Template:Flagicon Edogawa, Japan
1987 Template:Flagicon Caguas, Puerto Rico 9–4 Template:Flagicon Houston, Texas
1988 Template:Flagicon Seoul, South Korea 15–0 Template:Flagicon La Mesa, California
1989 Template:Flagicon Seoul, South Korea 10–0 Template:Flagicon Encino, California
1990 Template:Flagicon Seoul, South Korea 4–2 Template:Flagicon Lakewood, California
1991 Template:Flagicon San Juan, Puerto Rico 8–2 Template:Flagicon Fountain Valley, California
1992 Template:Flagicon Bourbonnais, Illinois 4–3 Template:Flagicon Pasadena, Texas
1993 Template:Flagicon Joliet, Illinois 4–2 Template:Flagicon Bayamon, Puerto Rico
1994 Template:Flagicon Taitung, Chinese Taipei 6–1 Template:Flagicon Chambersburg, Pennsylvania [35]
1995 Template:Flagicon Bayamon, Puerto Rico 11–2 Template:Flagicon Hagerstown, Maryland
1996 Template:Flagicon Tainan, Chinese Taipei 4–0 Template:Flagicon Evansville, Indiana
1997 Template:Flagicon Danville, California 7–0 Template:Flagicon Hamilton, Ohio
1998 Template:Flagicon Taitung, Chinese Taipei 4–0 Template:Flagicon Washington, Pennsylvania
1999 Template:Flagicon Covina, California 9–1 Template:Flagicon Taitung, Chinese Taipei
2000 Template:Flagicon Taipei, Chinese Taipei 8–3 Template:Flagicon West Covina, California
2001 Template:Flagicon Ponce, Puerto Rico 10–4 Template:Flagicon Richmond, Virginia [36]
2002 Template:Flagicon Norwalk, California 10–0 Template:Flagicon Levittown, Puerto Rico [37]
2003 Template:Flagicon Lakewood, California 4–3 Template:Flagicon Humacao, Puerto Rico [38]
2004 Template:Flagicon Marietta, Georgia 3–1 Template:Flagicon Mililani, Hawaii [39]
2005 Template:Flagicon Taichung, Chinese Taipei 2–1 Template:Flagicon San Diego, California [40]
2006 Template:Flagicon Caguas, Puerto Rico 4–2 Template:Flagicon Simi Valley, California [41]
2007 Template:Flagicon Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico 8–3 Template:Flagicon Long Beach, California [42]
2008 Template:Flagicon Long Beach, California 3–2 Template:Flagicon Taichung, Chinese Taipei [43]
2009 Template:Flagicon Taitung, Chinese Taipei 12–1 Template:Flagicon Riverside/Victoria, California [44]
2010 Template:Flagicon Midlothian, Virginia 3–1 Template:Flagicon West Tokyo, Japan [45]
2011 Template:Flagicon Laredo, Texas 10–9 Template:Flagicon Taipei County, Chinese Taipei [46]
2012 Template:Flagicon Long Beach, California 9–7 Template:Flagicon Taoyuan County, Chinese Taipei [47]
2013 Template:Flagicon Okinawa, Japan 5–4 Template:Flagicon Los Mochis, Mexico [48]
2014 Template:Flagicon Hilo, Hawaii 5–3 Template:Flagicon Taoyuan County, Chinese Taipei [49]
2015 Template:Flagicon Taoyuan County, Chinese Taipei 12–1 Template:Flagicon San Bernardino, California [50]
2016 Template:Flagicon Taipei County, Chinese Taipei 12–2 Template:Flagicon Maui, Hawaii [51]
2017 Template:Flagicon Covina, California 3–1 Template:Flagicon Seoul, South Korea [52]
2018 Template:Flagicon Taipei County, Chinese Taipei 3–1 Template:Flagicon Long Beach, California [53]
2019 Template:Flagicon Taipei City, Chinese Taipei 9–1 Template:Flagicon Bay County, Michigan [54]
2020 Not held [55]
2021 Template:Flagicon Brownsville, Texas 11–10 Template:Flagicon Youngstown, Ohio [56]
2022 Template:Flagicon New Taipei City, Chinese Taipei 4–1 Template:Flagicon Monterrey, Mexico [57]
2023 Template:Flagicon Edogawa, Japan 8–2 Template:Flagicon Washington, Pennsylvania [58]
Year Winner Score Runner–Up Ref.

Source:[13]
Note: In cases of conflicting records, contemporary news reports have been given priority.

Controversy

In the 2023 Pony Asia-Pacific Zone Championships held in Fukushima, Japan, a controversial decision was made, where the Japanese officials unilaterally revoked Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)'s Pony League World Series qualification after losing to Taiwan in the championship game. The reason for disqualification was the alleged use of unapproved bats by the Taiwanese team. However, the PONY league pre-approved the bats prior to each game with stickers. There have also never been complaints from other teams prior to the championship game. In the end, despite Taiwan gathering supports from the majority of the teams, including Hong Kong (1 team) and Mainland China (3 teams) who protested against the decision to disqualify Taiwan, the complaint was overruled by Japan, Philippines and Australia, where the two decision-making officials were from Japan and Philippines.[59]

The incident attracted widespread media attention in Taiwan due to the perceived lack of transparency and fairness. The Taoyuan City Government and Taiwan's Sports Administration immediately filed an official complaint to the PONY Baseball and Softball organization headquarters, and are waiting for a reply.[60][61]

Championship totals

File:08.24 總統接見「2016三級棒球冠軍隊」 (29117447311).jpg
The 2016 championship team from Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)

By U.S. state or non-U.S. country. Updated through the 2023 championship (71 playings, 142 total appearances).

State / Country Wins Losses Appearances Most recent championship
Template:Flagicon California 22 15 37 2017
Template:Flagicon Chinese TaipeiTemplate:Efn 11 5 16 2022
Template:Flagicon Texas 5 6 11 2021
Template:Flagicon Puerto Rico 7 3 10 2007
Template:Flagicon Illinois 4 5 9 1993
Template:Flagicon Hawaii 3 3 6 2014
Template:Flagicon South Korea 3 1 4 1990
Template:Flagicon Pennsylvania 2 7 9 1955
Template:Flagicon Florida 2 3 5 1976
Template:Flagicon North Carolina 2 3 5 1968
Template:Flagicon Georgia 2 0 2 2004
Template:Flagicon Michigan 1 3 4 1961
Template:Flagicon Japan 2 2 4 2023
Template:Flagicon Mexico 1 2 3 1972
Template:Flagicon Indiana 1 1 2 1963
Template:Flagicon Massachusetts 1 1 2 1977
Template:Flagicon Virginia 1 1 2 2010
Template:Flagicon West Virginia 1 0 1 1953
Template:Flagicon Ohio 0 3 3 —
Template:Flagicon Alabama 0 2 2 —
Template:Flagicon South Carolina 0 2 2 —
Template:Flagicon Colorado 0 1 1 —
Template:Flagicon Maryland 0 1 1 —
Template:Flagicon Oklahoma 0 1 1 —

Gallery

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Coord Template:Washington, Pennsylvania

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