Ducky Pond
Encyclopedia
Raymond W. "Ducky" Pond (February 17, 1902 – August 25, 1982) was an American football
and baseball
player and coach of football in the United States
. He served as the head football coach at Yale University
from 1934 to 1940 and at Bates College
in 1941 and from 1946 to 1951, compiling career college football
record of 52–55–3. At Yale, Pond tallied a record of 30–25–2 record, including a 4–3 mark versus Harvard, and mentored two of the first three winners of the Heisman Trophy
, Larry Kelley
and Clint Frank
. At Bates, he led the undefeated and untied 1946 squad to the inaugural Glass Bowl
. Pond was a public relations executive after his career in athletics.
, his birthplace, and the Hotchkiss School
, was a member of the Yale Class of 1925, and a 1924 first-team All-American
at halfback
.
Pond starred in the 1923 edition of The Game. He was nicknamed "Ducky" by Grantland Rice
for returning a fumble 63 yards that afternoon against Harvard on a field that resembled "seventeen lakes, five quagmires and a water hazard". Yale hadn't scored a touchdown versus Harvard since the end of World War I
. As an undergraduate at Yale, Pond also played on the baseball team, where he was coached by Smoky Joe Wood.
, who coached from 1928 to 1932, and an alumnus like every head coach before him, Time
magazine reported that the "New York City alumni, who had waged a furious fight to end Yale's policy of graduate coaches and demanded a proven winner from outside" were enraged that Michigan
's Harry Kipke had not been invited to coach the team. Kipke had coached Michigan to consecutive national championships in 1932 and 1933. The alumni probably desired a reversal of the program's decline versus Harvard. Yale led The Game series 22–6–5 from 1875 to 1912; however, from 1913 to 1933, Harvard led the series 11–7–1. Pond, whose head coaching experience had been two seasons at Hotchkiss, was the last alumnus to be head coach of football at Yale.
Pond coached an historically significant game in 1934 versus Princeton
. The 1934 contest was the last time a group of 11 starters played the entire 60 minutes of a game. At Palmer Stadium, Yale ended Princeton's 15-game winning streak with a 7–0 upset on November 17. The New York Times
reported that an expected capacity crowd of 52,000 would attend the contest, the 58th in the series. Princeton then won another 12 consecutive games after the loss. The Yale starters, Larry Kelley
among them, were nicknamed Iron Men by the press. Kelley scored the contest's sole touchdown. Fritz Crisler
, considered the father of two-platoon football, was Pond's counterpart at Princeton. The contest has been subject of two books, Yale's Ironmen: A Story of Football & Lives in The Decade of the Depression & Beyond and Football's Last Iron Men: 1934, Yale vs. Princeton, And One Stunning Upset.
Pond coached two Heisman Trophy
winners while at Yale. End Larry Kelley in 1936 and halfback Clint Frank in 1937 were the second and third winners of the most prestigious individual award in football. Among the total of 21 assistants employed by Pond at Yale, future President
Gerald Ford
served for four seasons, 1937–1940, while attending Yale Law School
, and Greasy Neale was hired as the backfield coach right after Pond's announced elevation February 1, 1934. Neale had coached West Virginia
to a 3–5–3 record in 1933, his third year there. Neale was clearly the chief strategist among the coaches.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player and coach of football in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He served as the head football coach at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
from 1934 to 1940 and at Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
in 1941 and from 1946 to 1951, compiling career college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
record of 52–55–3. At Yale, Pond tallied a record of 30–25–2 record, including a 4–3 mark versus Harvard, and mentored two of the first three winners of the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
, Larry Kelley
Larry Kelley
Lawrence Morgan "Larry" Kelley was an American football player born in Conneaut, Ohio. He played end, for Yale University. While at Yale he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and Skull and Bones, and was the second winner of the Heisman Trophy in 1936, the year it was renamed in honor...
and Clint Frank
Clint Frank
Clinton E. Frank was an American football player. He played halfback for Yale University.-College years:...
. At Bates, he led the undefeated and untied 1946 squad to the inaugural Glass Bowl
Glass Bowl
The Glass Bowl is a stadium in Toledo, Ohio. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the University of Toledo Rockets. It is located on the school's Bancroft campus, just south of the banks of the Ottawa River...
. Pond was a public relations executive after his career in athletics.
Early life and playing career
Pond, after attending high school in Torrington, ConnecticutTorrington, Connecticut
Torrington is the largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the northwestern Connecticut region. It is also the core city of the largest micropolitan area in the United States. The city population was 36,383 according to the 2010 census....
, his birthplace, and the Hotchkiss School
Hotchkiss School
The Hotchkiss School is an independent, coeducational American college preparatory boarding school located in Lakeville, Connecticut. Founded in 1891, the school enrolls students in grades 9 through 12 and a small number of postgraduates...
, was a member of the Yale Class of 1925, and a 1924 first-team All-American
1924 College Football All-America Team
The 1924 College Football All-America team consists of American football players selected to the College Football All-America Teams selected by various organizations in 1924.-Key:*WC = Collier's Weekly as selected by Walter Camp*AAB = All-America Board...
at halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
.
Pond starred in the 1923 edition of The Game. He was nicknamed "Ducky" by Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice was an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.-Biography:...
for returning a fumble 63 yards that afternoon against Harvard on a field that resembled "seventeen lakes, five quagmires and a water hazard". Yale hadn't scored a touchdown versus Harvard since the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. As an undergraduate at Yale, Pond also played on the baseball team, where he was coached by Smoky Joe Wood.
Coaching career
An uproar engulfed Pond's hiring at head football coach at Yale in 1934. Though he had been head scout and an assistant for his predecessor, Mal StevensMal Stevens
Dr. Marvin Allen "Mal" Stevens was an orthopedic surgeon and college football player and coach. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974....
, who coached from 1928 to 1932, and an alumnus like every head coach before him, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine reported that the "New York City alumni, who had waged a furious fight to end Yale's policy of graduate coaches and demanded a proven winner from outside" were enraged that Michigan
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
's Harry Kipke had not been invited to coach the team. Kipke had coached Michigan to consecutive national championships in 1932 and 1933. The alumni probably desired a reversal of the program's decline versus Harvard. Yale led The Game series 22–6–5 from 1875 to 1912; however, from 1913 to 1933, Harvard led the series 11–7–1. Pond, whose head coaching experience had been two seasons at Hotchkiss, was the last alumnus to be head coach of football at Yale.
Pond coached an historically significant game in 1934 versus Princeton
Princeton Tigers football
The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
. The 1934 contest was the last time a group of 11 starters played the entire 60 minutes of a game. At Palmer Stadium, Yale ended Princeton's 15-game winning streak with a 7–0 upset on November 17. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that an expected capacity crowd of 52,000 would attend the contest, the 58th in the series. Princeton then won another 12 consecutive games after the loss. The Yale starters, Larry Kelley
Larry Kelley
Lawrence Morgan "Larry" Kelley was an American football player born in Conneaut, Ohio. He played end, for Yale University. While at Yale he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and Skull and Bones, and was the second winner of the Heisman Trophy in 1936, the year it was renamed in honor...
among them, were nicknamed Iron Men by the press. Kelley scored the contest's sole touchdown. Fritz Crisler
Fritz Crisler
Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler was an American football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as head coach at the University of...
, considered the father of two-platoon football, was Pond's counterpart at Princeton. The contest has been subject of two books, Yale's Ironmen: A Story of Football & Lives in The Decade of the Depression & Beyond and Football's Last Iron Men: 1934, Yale vs. Princeton, And One Stunning Upset.
Pond coached two Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winners while at Yale. End Larry Kelley in 1936 and halfback Clint Frank in 1937 were the second and third winners of the most prestigious individual award in football. Among the total of 21 assistants employed by Pond at Yale, future President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
served for four seasons, 1937–1940, while attending Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, and Greasy Neale was hired as the backfield coach right after Pond's announced elevation February 1, 1934. Neale had coached West Virginia
West Virginia Mountaineers football
The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of college football. Dana Holgorsen is the team's 33rd head coach. He has held the position since he was promoted in June 2011 after the resignation of Bill Stewart. The Mountaineers play their...
to a 3–5–3 record in 1933, his third year there. Neale was clearly the chief strategist among the coaches.