2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the league that’s helped put Washington County, Pennsylvania on an international map, and those behind the league’s continued growth are celebrating big this year.
On this week’s episode of the WashCo Insider, I talked with Nate Voytek of PONY Baseball and Softball about what 75 years of PONY League means and the upcoming Printscape PONY League World Series happening August 7-12 in Washington Park. To watch the full episode, click here.
In the summer of 1951, baseball history was made in the heart of Washington, Pa. A new league was formed as a transition league for 13-and-14-year-old players who had graduated Little League field sizes and were ready to move on to regulation size diamonds. Originally given the name “Protect Our Neighborhood Youth” by children at the local Washington YMCA, the league’s name was later changed to “Protect Our Nation’s Youth” to better represent the PONY Baseball & Softball League we know today.
The league was incredibly popular right off the bat – so much so that by the second season in 1952, the original six Washington-based teams were joined by 505 others in 106 leagues around the country. The league held its very first national tournament that year, and thus the PONY League World Series was born at Historic Lew Hays PONY Field (named after one of the founders of the league) in Washington Park, where it’s been held every year since.
Before we got into the World Series, Voytek and I talked a little about both his personal history with the league and the magnitude of the baseball heritage PONY has created for generations of families over the course of 75 years.
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PONY League’s growth has hit new levels over the years. More than 40 countries around the world host PONY programs of their own that provide opportunities for kids to learn and participate in baseball and softball throughout their whole childhood, with age divisions ranging from 3 years old all the way up to 16 years old.
In the Pony age range, though, it all comes to a head once a year when the best 13-and-14-year-old players from around the world converge on the field where it all began to battle it out for the world championship title during the World Series.
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While qualifying teams for this year’s World Series have yet to be determined as of this week, know there’s a 10-team bracket made up of 6 domestic teams and 4 international ones. Washington County gets an automatic entry as the host team, while the rest must advance through their respective zones.
