During these years, the Erie Sailors played in the
Middle Atlantic League from 1938–1939, 1941–1942, and 1946–1951; the
Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League) from 1944–1945 and 1954–1956; and the PONY's successor
New York – Penn League from 1957–1963. Several times during this period, the team was also called the
Erie Senators, after its major league affiliate, the
Washington Senators. The Sailors won the league championship in 1957. The Sailors won the regular season by nine games in 1951. They then lost the league championship series to the
Niagara Falls Citizens, four games to two. From 1948 onward, this team (and all subsequent Sailors teams) played at
Ainsworth Field. ==New York–Penn League – 1990s==