The Pioneer League was founded in 1939 and has operated continuously, except for the WWII years of 1943-1945 and the cancelled 2020 season, to this day. The league was directly affiliated with Major League Baseball through the 2020 season. With MLB’s reorganization of the minor leagues, the PL transitioned to an independent MLB Partner League for 2021.
J.P. Halliwell 1939-1952
Claude Engberg 1953-1965
Ralph Nelles 1975-1993
James R. McCurdy 1994-2020
Michael Shapiro 2021-
