NAACP honors PONY official
Dr. John S. Mattox, curator of the Underground Railroad Museum in Flushing, Ohio, served as keynote speaker at the 53rd Annual Human Rights Award Banquet in Meadow Lands.
Abraham Key
In the early years of PONY Baseball and Softball, said Abraham Key, the organization lost several members from southern states because of segregation.
PONY did not discriminate, including players regardless of race.
“PONY drew a line in the sand and established themselves as an inclusive organization, a position we actively promote even today as we now have membership from all 50 states and more than 30 countries and growing,” said Key.
Key was the recipient of the NAACP’s Human Rights award Friday at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Meadow Lands, in recognition of his efforts to promote the values of tolerance, teamwork and respect in the community and throughout the United States and the world.
Dr. John S. Mattox, founder and curator of the Underground Railroad Museum in Flushing, Ohio, delivered the dinner’s keynote address, sharing his knowledge of the Underground Railroad and the thousands of slaves who escaped from the South.
Key has served as president and CEO of PONY Baseball and Softball, which began in 1951, since January 1995.
“PONY has provided me an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of more than 8 million living alumni from around the world,” said Key. “PONY believes that life lessons learned through participation in the great games of baseball and softball will make our youths happier, healthier and better prepared adults. Players learn the importance of team work, how to win and lose gracefully, how to listen to your coach, honesty, integrity, self-reliance and self-discipline.”
Key accepted the award and thanked the NAACP on behalf of PONY and his family.
Key has coached several baseball, softball and basketball teams in Washington County, and served as the United States delegate for USA Baseball at the 2013 International Baseball Federation Congress in Tokyo, Japan. In 2006, he was awarded the ABCA Meritorious Service Award for his contributions to amateur baseball.
Key talked about the movie “42: The Jackie Robinson Story,” and shared the time Robinson visited Washington County to dedicate a new LeMoyne Community Center in 1956.
He attributed his passion for community service to his mother, who was a volunteer at the old Citizens Library and worked as a children’s and reference librarian at the new library for 25 years, raised three boys and attended night school at the University of Pittsburgh to earn a master’s degree.
“And she still found time to serve on several local nonprofit boards including the Brownson House Board,” Key said.
Mattox is a local historian with an extensive collection of publications, books, memorabilia and other articles that he began combining and putting on display at the Underground Railroad Museum.
Passionate and humorous in his address, Mattox began his speech by saying that said everyone is important and led the approximately 200 people in attendance in “The Positive Pledge.”
He encouraged people to view the Underground Railroad Movement not as black history but as American history, and said displaying memorabilia is important historical evidence. “We have come a long way,” he said. “When I see a group like this together, the trip is not going to be as long as it has been.”