Ontario Teams in the New York-Penn League: The PONY Rode Again

The PONY League, rated as entry level Class D, operated until 1956. Hamilton, Ontario, was the constant “O,” operating each year, excluding the war years of 1943-45. Hamilton was a farm team for the St. Louis Cardinals. London, Ontario, also had a franchise from 1940-41 operating as a farm team for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Hamilton won the PONY League pennant in 1955, but success on the field was no guarantee of future success. In an interview with August Busch, owner of the St. Louis Cardinals, the reporter noted that the Cardinals had 19 farm clubs in 1955. When asked about plans for the farm system in 1956, Busch responded:

Hamilton began the 1956 season in early May as an independent club, the Red Wings. However, bad weather hurt league finances as 25 of the first 40 scheduled games were postponed. On May 16th, both the Hamilton Red Wings and the Bradford Yankees franchises folded.3

The PONY League was restructured as the NYPL in 1957 with 8 franchises. From 1957-1985, the number of franchises in the league varied between 6 and 12. Ontario-based franchises returned to the NYPL between 1986 and 1999, however the PONY acronym was not revived during this era.

ST. CATHARINES BLUE JAYS 1986-95/ST. CATHARINES STOMPERS 1996-99

In the fall of 1985, the Toronto Blue Jays purchased the NYPL franchise in Niagara Falls, New York, a White Sox affiliate, with a planned relocation to St. Catharines, Ontario.4

St. Catharines, approximately 122 km (76 miles) driving distance from Toronto, had an existing stadium that could be upgraded to NYPL standards. This appeared to be a suitable location for a Blue Jays entry level franchise, now known as Class A.5

The St. Catharines Blue Jays (also referred to as the “Baby Jays”) had a winning record for their inaugural 1986 season, going 48-28 and winning the NYPL championship. The roster included pitcher Pat Hentgen, a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He went on to have a 14-year major career, 10 of which with Toronto, compiling a lifetime record of 131-112 and a 4.32 ERA. His inaugural season with St. Catharines was 0-4 with a 4.50 ERA.

The team was supported at the box office as total attendance (42,125) was 4th in the league.6 In comparison, the 1985 team in Niagara Falls had been 9th, drawing 31,149.

The Baby Jays compiled a winning record of 41-36 in 1987, then experienced five consecutive sub .500 seasons. The losing records in 1989 and 1990 were incurred despite the presence of two future long-term major league players.

Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer Carlos Delgado had a 17-year career in the major leagues, including 12 seasons with Toronto. Primarily a first baseman, he compiled lifetime statistics of .280/.383/.546. In 1989, his first year in the minor leagues as a 17-year-old, he hit .180/.345/.236 in 31 games. In 1990 he hit .281/.382/.417 in 67 games

Jeff Kent, a newly-elected member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, played shortstop and third base for the 1989 St. Catharines team, hitting .224/.318/.429 in 73 games. Kent went on to have a 17-year major league career, compiling lifetime statistics of .290/.356/.500. Kent had a brief stint with Toronto, 65 games in his rookie year of 1992 before being traded to the New York Mets on August 27, 1992, for pitcher David Cone. Cone started 7 games for Toronto during their stretch drive for a pennant and started 4 postseason games when Toronto won its first World Series.

The next three seasons saw fluctuating success for the franchise (1993 49-29; 1994 35-39; 1995 38-37). Attendance was a challenge for the franchise, despite the parent club winning back-to-back World Series in 1992 and 1993. Attendance had fallen from a peak of 48,012 in 1987 (fifth in the league) to lower quartile league attendance in the following seasons.7

Prior to the 1996 season, the franchise was sold by the parent Toronto club to local businesspeople and investors for $1 million. The name was changed to Stompers as a reference to St. Catharines’ location within the Ontario wine belt.8

The team had modest success with records of 44-32 (losing the league finals); 35-40; 38-38 and 34-42 for the seasons 1996 to 1999 inclusive. However, attendance remained a challenge (ninth, eighth, 11th, 13th) and the local owners were not making money. The franchise was sold for a profit to a group that moved the franchise to Queens, New York, but remained a farm team of the Toronto Blue Jays.9

Attendance did not improve significantly after leaving St. Catharines. The team remained 13th in league attendance while playing one season in Queens before moving to Auburn, New York, where they were consistently 11th in the league for the first five subsequent seasons.10

HAMILTON RED BIRDS 1988-92

The St. Louis Cardinals had a privately-owned NYPL farm team operating in Erie, Pennsylvania, since 1981. The team drew well in Erie, leading the NYPL in attendance in 1981 (76,063).11 From 1982 to 1986 the franchise ranked between second and fifth in the league each season before the club moved to Hamilton in 1988, due to a change in ownership, though Erie remained in the league through 1993.12

Hamilton drew 60,360 the first season (second in the league) and was either second or third the following four seasons. In 1992, the club posted the best record in the farm system (56-20) but lost a one-game first-round playoff that ended their season.13 However, the franchise had been sold to new non-local ownership in early 1991.14 Despite the consistent attendance and success on the field, on September 22, 1992, ownership advised city officials the franchise was moving to Glens Falls, New York, for the 1993 season.15 In 1993, the franchise played one season in Glens Falls, while a new ballpark was built in Sussex, New Jersey, that was ready for the 1994 season.16

It is interesting to note the attendance growth the franchise experienced as the team led the league in attendance in Glens Falls for 1993 (78,645) before moving to Sussex New Jersey and leading the league in attendance (156,447).17

The Redbirds had a several players that performed in the major leagues. The most notable being outfielder Brian Jordan (15 seasons, .282/.333/.455) and pitcher Mark Clark (10 seasons, 74-71 4.61).

WELLAND PIRATES 1989-94

The Pittsburgh Pirates had operated a NYPL farm team in Watertown, New York, since 1983. During this era, the NYPL was a 12-team circuit, playing a 74-game regular season. Watertown had strong attendance in their inaugural season, but support dwindled and the team drew a total of 19,649 for the 1988 season.18 At the end of the 1988 season the league approved the transfer of the franchise to Welland, Ontario.19

Welland helped attract the franchise by agreeing to build a stadium that was not ready on opening day. Early season games were played at a local diamond in Burgar Park. The last game played at Burgar Park was July 13, 1989, before the team moved to their new $3.4 million complex.20

Despite the stadium investment, the Pirates struggled to draw fans as the team never had a winning season. Attendance ranged between a high of 41,217 in their inaugural season to a low of 34,734 in their final season.21 Further, the franchise did not have local ownership or ownership with significant ties to the NYPL. The owners were Eric Margenau, a sports psychologist in partnership with Jay Acton of United Sports Ventures. Margenau owned approximately 20 different minor league baseball, hockey, and arena football franchises between the 1980s and 2000s.22 The Pirates moved to a new $8.7 million ballpark in Erie, Pennsylvania, for the 1995 season.23 Attendance was 181,815 for the first season.24

The 1989 Pirates had a few notable players and/or occurrences. Tim Wakefield pitched in 18 games, including one start, compiling a record of 1-1 with a 3.40 ERA. Wakefield went on to have a 19-year major league career as a pitcher going 200-180 with a 4.41 ERA.

Ray Doss was in his fourth and final season as a minor league prospect, compiling a lifetime record of 11-12 with a 3.63 ERA. He struck out 140, while walking 110 in 176 innings. However, he had an outstanding game when he no-hit Batavia on August 28, winning 1-0 and striking out 7.25

Former major league player U L Washington spent his one and only managerial season in Welland. He appeared to have difficulty dealing with umpires. After his 7th ejection in his first 41 games, NYPL President Leo A. Pickney advised Washington that his next ejection would lead to a suspension.26

CONCLUSION

The original PONY League (1939-56) had a long-term franchise in Hamilton, each season excluding the war years of 1943-45. The St. Louis Cardinals owned the franchise. Pittsburgh also owned the London Pirates, which operated in London, Ontario, for two seasons (1940-41). The demise of the Hamilton franchise, related to losing the St. Louis Cardinal affiliation, led to the rebranding of the PONY League as the New York Pennsylvania League.

In 1986, a Class A team owned by the Toronto Blue Jays was placed in St. Catharines, Ontario. This appears to have provided a geographic incentive for the placement of two other NYPL franchises in Ontario as all three cities are less than 64 km (40 miles) from each other. It is also interesting to note the Hamilton and Welland franchises were affiliates of the Cardinals and Pirates, respectively. However, all three franchises became independently owned. When financial expectations of their respective owners were not met, the three Ontario teams relocated south of the border. As a result, the PONY moniker was not revived.

ALLEN TAIT is a long-time member of SABR and is Chapter Leader for Hanlan’s Point (Toronto-Southwestern Ontario) and the Membership Chair on the Official Scoring Committee. Allen, a retired fraud investigator residing in Grimsby, Ontario, now applies his investigative skills to baseball research. He has contributed to three SABR published books; wrote the Toronto Blue Jays Ownership History for the SABR BioProject; contributed to several SABR research committee newsletters as well as an article in the Journal of Canadian Baseball.

 

Notes

1. Benjamin Hill, “Did You Know? New York-Penn League edition: Unique facts about the Class A Short Season circuit’s 14 teams,” MiLB.com, July 14, 2020, https://www.milb.com/news/unique-facts-about-the-14-teams-of-the-new-york-penn-league. Last accessed January 13, 2026.

2. Carl T. Felker, “Busch Would: ‘Do It Again’ in Buying Cardinals,” The Sporting News, October 12, 1955: 2.

3. “Jean and Carol Jean Drop Pony Franchise at Hamilton,” The Sporting News, May 23, 1956: 37.

4. Garth Woolsey, “A.L. East” The Sporting News, November 18, 1985, 48.

5. Mike Hamilton, “Promise of New Stadium Enticed Jays to Locate Its Farm Team Here,” The Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario), June 28, 1986.

6. 1986 Minor League Attendance, The Baseball Cube, https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/minor_attendance/1986/, last accessed July 6, 2026.

7. Diana Macalinga, “How the St. Catharines, Ont., Blue Jays Were ‘Start of a Dream’ for Carlos Delgado and other MLB stars,” CBC, October 24, 2025. https://www.cbc.ca/news/Canada/Hamilton/st-catharines-blue-jays-9.6947558. Last accessed January 18, 2026.

8. Bill Potreecz, “The Stompers are Out at Home,” The Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario), June 2, 1999. A1.

9. Garth Woolsey, “A.L. East,” The Sporting News, November 18, 1985, 48.

10. Macalinga.

11. Potreecz.

12. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/minor_summary/2000-NYPL. Last accessed February 19, 2026.

13. Brian Walton, “Cardinals in the New York-Penn League-1981 to Present,” Cardinal Nation, February 21, 2009. https://www.cardinalnation.com/cards-in-the-ny-penn-league-1981-to-present. Last accessed January 25, 2026.

14. Larry Moko, “The Redbirds Come Home to Roost,” Hamilton Spectator, June 14, 1988.

15. Brian Walton, “Cardinals in the New York-Penn League-1981 to Present,” Cardinal Nation, February 21, 2009. https://www.cardinalnation.com/cards-in-the-ny-penn-league-1981-to-present. Last accessed January 25, 2026.

16. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/minor_summary/1993-nypl/. Last accessed February 24, 2026.

17. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/stats-mlb/1983-10428/. Last accessed February 3, 2026.

18. Mike Hamilton, “Promise of New Stadium.”

19. Larry Moko, “Redbirds Leave Town Blame City for Impasse on Stadium” The Spectator, September 23, 1992.

20. Brian Walton, “Cardinals in the New York-Penn League.”

21. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/minor_summary/1993-nypl/. Last accessed February 24, 2026.

22. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/stats-mlb/1983-10428/. Last accessed February 3, 2026.

23. Stan Isle, “Expansion on Hold,” The Sporting News, September 26, 1988. 15.

24. “Around the Minors,” The Sporting News, July 31, 1989. 37.

25. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/minor_summary/1989-nypl/. Last accessed February 3, 2026.

26. https://funwhileitlasted.net/2014/07/15/1983-1988-watertown-pirates/. Last accessed February 3, 2026.