The Wilshire Warriors are headed to Cooperstown for the first time since the pandemic interrupted the annual national baseball tournament. Windsor Square resident Steve Matloff, coach and manager of the Wilshire Warriors PONY Baseball program out of Pan Pacific Park, told us the team is organizing a fundraiser Thursday evening to raise funds so that every family on the team can participate.
“I have been co-coaching and managing the competitive club/travel team that our son is on for 5 years or so, and they are now the 12U team that travels to Cooperstown, NY during the summer to represent the Warriors in a national tournament,” explained Matloff. “We are going for a week starting June 28. Last year’s Wilshire Warriors 12U team decided not to go, so ours is the first team to represent the Warriors program since before COVID.”
“Not surprisingly, the trip is expensive and we have families for whom the cost is prohibitive, so we very actively fundraising to try to make sure that financial capacity or lack thereof is not a barrier for anyone,” said Matloff. “We will be doing a series of fundraisers, the first of which is tomorrow. “Cocktails for Cooperstown” [will be held] this Thursday night in the backyard of one of our team families who live in the neighborhood.”
“Tickets are $50 per head minimum with some donating more, and we are hosting a social gathering from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.,” said Matloff. He added that the team is also really grateful to some who have bought tickets but aren’t planning to attend; they just wanted to support the program, which gives these young players this unique opportunity to play in a national tournament in Cooperstown, the mecca for baseball in the U.S.
We’ve reported on the adventure of the Wilshire Warriors in the past. If you’re a Warriors fan or just a baseball fan, you can click here for more information on  buying tickets or donating.
What ever happened to the Wilshire Little League that played at John Burroughs?
Zeke — Steve Matloff, Warriors 12U co-coach/manager here. Thanks for your question. What years are you thinking of?
I ask because both my co-coach Fred Ragsdale and I grew up in this neighborhood and started our baseball lives (45+ years each at this point!) in our local programs in the late-’70s and continued into the early-’80s. We both played West Wilshire Baseball out of Gardner Park, which is now Field #2 of Pan Pacific Park (ie, that diamond became 1 of 3 at Pan Pacific after it was created and engulfed what used to be Gardner Park). I am pretty sure that was an unaffiliated league — ie, not affiliated with PONY (which Wilshire Warriors is affiliated with) or Little League.
I ended up moving over to the Ahmanson League which I always heard originated on Hudson on the Ahmanson family property somewhere between 3rd and Beverly. By the time I played Ahmanson ball, it was located at John Burroughs, so perhaps that is the league you are referring to. I believe it also was unaffiliated — so not PONY or Little League.
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE MEMORIES OF YOUTH BASEBALL IN THE MID WILSHIRE/HANCOCK PARK/WINDSOR SQUARE AREA THAT THEY CAN SHARE? We have a great tradition of youth sports and youth baseball here!!!