PONY Baseball and Softball
A one-time player in the Washington, Pennsylvania Pony and Colt Leagues, Abraham Key assumed the Presidency of PONY Baseball and Softball in January, 1995. He joined the staff on a full-time basis after graduating from West Virginia University's School of Journalism and School of Business in 1981. He had worked five years as a part-time employee while in high school and college. Key is married to Susan Mondik Key, a partner in the Washington law firm of Peacock, Keller. They have a daughter Casey, who graduated from John Carroll University, and a son Lincoln, who graduated from Colorado University - Boulder.
As president, Key is responsible for the daily operation of PONY Baseball and Softball, including, but not limited to, managing the staff and the new international headquarters facility, development and management of agreements with manufacturers and sponsors, directed services to leagues and the Field Director organization and the development of international membership. Key was elected to the PONY Baseball and Softball Wall of Fame in November 1986.
In addition to his responsibilities at PONY, Key has served on the USA Baseball Board of Directors since 1995 and was a member of the Executive Committee as Vice President - Treasurer (2000-2008). He served as the United States delegate for USA Baseball at the 2013 International Baseball Federation (IBAF) Congress in Tokyo, Japan, 2017 World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) Congress in Botswana, Africa and 2019 WBSC Congress in Sakai, Japan.
Key has been active in the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB), Confederation of Pan American Baseball (COPABE) and International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) in recent years. Key received a Meritorious Service Medal from President Riccardo Fraccari, Italy, in 2013 for his service to international youth baseball and softball. Key received the 2019 Xavier Mateu Award from WBSC-Europe.
He is also a 34-year member of the American Baseball Coaches Association and has served on their Executive Committee (1999-2004) and the Board of Directors (2002-2004). He was awarded the ABCA Meritorious Service Award in 2006 for his contributions to amateur baseball. He has served on the USA Softball National Council since 2002.
He was a board member and the treasurer of the National Council of Youth Sports (1992-2002), an organization of full-time professional staff workers in amateur, non-profit organizations concerned with development, enhancement and support of youth sports activities. He served on the Board of Directors for the Major Youth Baseball Alliance (2008-2012).
Locally, Key served on the Washington County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors (1999-2005), and was Secretary (2001-2005).
He is a Chapter Advisor for the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity at Washington and Jefferson College. He served on the House Corporation for Phi Kappa Psi at West Virginia University. He was honored with an outstanding Alumni Award in 2002 at the 150th Grand Arch Council in Pittsburgh. He received the 2015 Washington and Jefferson College Alumni of the Year Award.
Key is an advisory Board member of the Washington Greene County Sports Hall of Fame and received the Youth Service Award in 2014. Key received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Washington County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 2013. Key has served as President of the Brownson House Alumni Association, which supports a youth sports service organization in Washington.
Key is a member of the Church of the Covenant Presbyterian Church and has served as a Deacon and an Elder. He also serves as a member of their Mission Committee.
Key has been a member of the Washington Lions Club for more than 25 years and is the recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellow Award for dedicated humanitarian services.
Key has coached baseball in Washington Youth Baseball; basketball at the Brownson House, the LeMoyne Center, JFK School and Washington Junior High School and softball at TWIST and Washington High School. He is also a member of the Washington Elks Lodge 776.
PONY Baseball and Softball
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The PONY Baseball and Softball vision is… ● Expand its youth baseball and girls softball programs to young people throughout the world. ● Continue to seek corporate and organizational partnerships to expedite and enhance the world of corporation. ● Seek ways to subsidize the cost of tournament travel for participating teams and World Series hosts. ● Provide additional materials to member leagues to assist them in providing an improved baseball/softball experience for the young people of their community. ● Provide increased funding for Zone operating expenses. ● Expand the display of historical materials and equipment at the headquarters. ● Expand the headquarters display of state-of-the-art equipment available to leagues. ● Continue to seek ways and means of providing continuing education and training staff, Field Directors, league officers and managers and coaches to enable PONY to provide an even more effective program. ● Cooperate with Major League Baseball, USA Baseball and other groups interested in the continued development and expansion of the game of baseball and softball. ● Seek partnerships with other organizations that may enable PONY to more effectively carry out or expand its mission. ● Find ways to recognize and acknowledge the efforts of individuals, groups and organizations whose efforts, at any level, have been an asset to the PONY organization in it work to help young people develop into happier and healthier adults.