SYV Pony Baseball: Our 40+ Year History

Santa Ynez PONY baseball was started in 1975 by five folks who held a dream to see youth baseball in our valley. Their passion was so selfless and visionary, as they did not even have baseball-aged children at the time. They strived to create this league for their own kids to enjoy one day. The very first board of directors included Duane Serristlev, Ken Verkler, David Jamieson, Dick Pauley and Frieda Sumpter. The first league had only two divisions, Mustang and Bronco.  Their goal was to build a comprehensive program to teach kids how to play “real” baseball, so that our Valley teams could be competitive with teams outside the area. In the subsequent years, folks like Bob Phillips and Frank Kelsey, among others, were instrumental in securing our location on Pine Street and constructing this complex our kids play on today. Funding to build this complex came primarily from Santa Ynez Valley Youth Recreations queen contests.