Lorenzo J. “Larry” Ponza (1918-2004) was born in Glenwood, California, near Scotts Valley, the son of Italian immigrants Lorenzo and Mary Ponza. A member of the Santa Cruz High School class of 1934, Larry began working for a local engineering firm, and in 1941 he became a Senior Civilian Supervisor for the U.S. Navy Production Control Office in Pearl Harbor. After returning to Santa Cruz, he began a career as an inventor. He received eight patents for baseball products and in 1952 developed the “Power Pitcher,” the first baseball pitching machine. The machine was the prototype for subsequent pitching machines developed by him and others. In 1974 his machine, the “Hummer,” became a batting practice staple that could be set to imitate fast balls, ground balls, and pop-up flies. In 1983 he designed the “Casey,” in 1987 the “Ponza Swing King,” and in 1988 the “Rookie.” He sold his company in the early 1990s to Athletic Training Equipment Co., of Sparks, Nevada. The original pitching machine is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. When his pitching machine was accepted by the Hall of Fame Larry Ponza was awarded a lifetime donor pass to the hall. His pitching machines and other baseball products are used around the world by youth leagues, high schools, universities, and professional leagues. This collection represents Larry Ponza’s work as a pitching machine inventor.
