Springfield Ponies was the primary name of minor-league baseball teams based in Springfield, Massachusetts, that played between 1893 and 1943. The team competed as the Ponies through its history, except for single seasons as the Maroons (1895), Tips (1915), and Green Sox (1917), and three seasons each as the Rifles (1932, 1942–1943) and Nationals (1939–1941). The team played its home games at Pynchon Park (also known as Hampden Park).

The team was a member of several baseball leagues, including three that were known as the Eastern League. The team's longest tenure was in the second Eastern League, in which it played from 1916 to 1932. During most of its history, the team had no farm-team arrangement with a Major League Baseball team, as much of its history antedated formal affiliations. When operating as the Rifles, the team was affiliated for one season with the New York Yankees (1932) and for one season with the New York Giants (1943). When operating as the Nationals, it was affiliated with the Washington Nationals for the 1939 season.

The team finished atop league standings three times at the end of a full regular season (1895, 1908, and 1911) and once at the end of a truncated regular season (1932). The team won playoff series twice (1895 and 1927), although it played mostly in leagues without postseasons.

Three of the team's managers were later inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in recognition of their major-league playing careers: Roger Connor (manager in 1902–1903), Billy Hamilton (manager in 1914), and Rabbit Maranville (manager in 1941). Two fellow inductees played for Springfield late in their careers: Dan Brouthers (1896–1899) and Jim O'Rourke (1903, 1907). Brouthers had a .415 batting average in 126 games for the Ponies in 1897.

Earlier teams Prior to 1893, teams from Springfield competed in six minor-league seasons, each in a different league: 1878 in the International Association 1879 in the National Association 1884 in the Massachusetts State Association 1885 in the Southern New England League 1887 in the Eastern League

These early teams were simply known as Springfield or the Springfields. The teams of 1879, 1885- and 1887 failed to complete their seasons.

Records by season The following table lists each season between 1893 and 1943, when teams from Springfield competed primarily as the Ponies.

Year League Class Record Finish Manager Postseason (games) Ref. 1893 Eastern League A 2nd of 8 Thomas E. Burns none held 1894 Eastern League A 4th of 8 Thomas E. Burns none held 1895 Eastern League A 1st of 8 Thomas E. Burns defeated Providence Grays (4–2) 1896 Eastern League A 6th of 8 Thomas E. Burns did not qualify 1897 Eastern League A 4th of 8 Thomas E. Burns did not qualify 1898 Eastern League A 7th of 8 Billy Lush / Billy Barnie none held 1899 Eastern League A 5th of 8 Tom Brown none held 1900 Eastern League A 5th of 8 Thomas E. Burns none held 1901 no team 1902 Connecticut State League B 2nd of 8 Roger Connor none held 1903 Connecticut State League B 7th of 8 Roger Connor none held 1904 Connecticut State League B 2nd of 8 Daniel O'Neill none held 1905 Connecticut State League B 2nd of 8 Daniel O'Neill none held 1906 Connecticut State League B 2nd of 8 Daniel O'Neill none held 1907 Connecticut State League B 3rd of 8 Daniel O'Neill none held 1908 Connecticut State League B 1st of 8 Daniel O'Neill none held 1909 Connecticut State League B 5th of 8 John Zeller none held 1910 Connecticut State League B 6th of 8 John Zeller none held 1911 Connecticut State League B 1st of 8 John Zeller none held 1912 Connecticut State League B 5th of 6 John Zeller none held 1913 Eastern Association B 6th of 8 Frank Corridon / Jack O'Hara none held 1914 Eastern Association B 5th of 8 Billy Hamilton / Simon McDonald none held 1915 Colonial League Ind. 5th of 8 Henry Ramsey none held 1916 Eastern League B 3rd of 10 John Flynn none held 1917 Eastern League B 7th of 8 William Carey / John O'Hara none held 1918 Eastern League B 6th of 8 Freddy Parent league suspended July 22 1919 Eastern League A 5th of 8 Ed Holly / Jack O'Hara none held 1920 Eastern League A 2nd of 8 John Flynn none held 1921 Eastern League A 6th of 8 John Flynn none held 1922 Eastern League A 5th of 8 John Hummel none held 1923 Eastern League A 4th of 8 Patsy Donovan none held 1924 Eastern League A 2nd of 8 Eugene McCann none held 1925 Eastern League A 5th of 8 Eugene McCann none held 1926 Eastern League A 4th of 8 Eugene McCann none held 1927 Eastern League A 2nd of 8 Joe Benes defeated Albany Senators (3–0) 1928 Eastern League A 6th of 8 Joe Benes none held 1929 Eastern League A 6th of 8 George J. Burns none held 1930 Eastern League A 3rd of 8 Kid Gleason did not qualify 1931 Eastern League A 3rd of 8 Frank "Bud" Stapleton none held 1932 Eastern League A 1st of 8 Billy Meyer league disbanded July 17 1933 no team 1934 Northeastern League B 6th of 8 Bobby Murray did not qualify 1935–1938 no team 1939 Eastern League A 3rd of 8 Spencer Abbott lost in first round 1940 Eastern League A 5th of 8 Spencer Abbott did not qualify 1941 Eastern League A 8th of 8 Rabbit Maranville did not qualify 1942 Eastern League A 8th of 8 Les Bell did not qualify 1943 Eastern League A 7th of 8 Spencer Abbott did not qualify designates a year in which the team's nickname was not Ponies: 1895 as Maroons, 1915 as Tips, 1917 as Green Sox, 1939–1941 as Nationals, and 1932/1942/1943 as Rifles.

See also Springfield Cubs, a baseball team based in Springfield from 1948 to 1953 Springfield Green Sox players Springfield Maroons players Springfield Nationals players Springfield Ponies players Springfield Rifles players Springfield Tips players

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