If you grew up around football, specifically Yale University football, the name Ducky Pond may be a household name. For Noble Horizons’ Administrator, Bill Pond, it literally is a household name – Ducky Pond was Bill’s great uncle. If you haven’t heard of Ducky yet, you are in for a treat and some interesting facts!
Raymond W. “Ducky” Pond was born February 17, 1902 in Torrington, CT. Ducky was an accomplished football and baseball player lending his talents to Torrington High School, the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, and Yale University, from which he graduated in 1925.
As a halfback for Yale University, Ducky was named a 1924 first-team All-American- an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. Bill recalls that “one of Ducky’s favorite games and stories was to tell how he got the nickname Ducky”. During a particularly grueling game in terrible weather conditions against Harvard, with a score of 0-0, Ducky returned a fumble 63 yards for a touchdown that put Yale in the lead and ultimately won them the game 6-0.Yale had not scored a touchdown vs. Harvard since the end of World War I. Grantland Rice, a sportswriter known for the most famous quote in all of sports, “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game,” dubbed Raymond “Ducky” because of how well he performed on field conditions that resembled “seventeen lakes, five quagmires and a water hazard”.
After graduation, Ducky returned to Yale as an assistant football coach in 1928, was named head coach in 1934 and led the Yale Bulldogs until 1940. Ducky was the last alumni to coach at Yale. Bill recalls that Ducky was most proud of this period of his coaching career and life. “Not only did he coach two of the first three winners of the Heisman Trophy, Larry Kelley and Clint Frank, but most people don’t realize that Ducky met Gerald Ford while coaching at Yale. Ford was one of Ducky’s assistant coaches, while also attending Yale as a law student. This friendship continued over the years. A number of times while he served as president, Ford met Ducky, in fact the former president even visited Torrington, CT. “
In 1941, Ducky became head coach at Bates College in Lewiston, ME where he led the team for one season before serving in the Navy during World War II. He returned to coach at Bates from 1946 to 1951. “One of Ducky’s greatest accomplishments while coaching at Bates was leading the 1946 undefeated Bobcats to the inaugural Glass Bowl.”
After his coaching days, Ducky worked for Seamless Rubber as a salesperson – a job he got through a contact at Bates College. He moved to the New Haven area with his wife where he lived for many years before returning to the Torrington area after he retired in 1963 to be closer to family after his wife passed.
Bill remembers spending time with his great uncle at family picnics as well as attending Yale football games with him, his father, and his grandfather. Ducky would always get them access to the press box and fill their time together will stories from both his coaching and playing days. “Ducky was a role model for me growing up. He was a very outgoing and pleasant individual. I played basketball in high school and college, and Ducky was always there to give me advice and pointers. Coaching was just what he did – it didn’t matter what sport it was.”
Bill’s relationship with his great uncle became stronger during his teens and early 20’s. “I have cousins who are a little older and could really appreciate who Ducky was earlier than I did, but I still learned so much from him. I can recall sitting on my parent’s porch in New Hartford when I was in my 20’s and just listening to all his stories.” One story that sticks out vividly for Bill is Ducky’s claim to being a better baseball player than a football player. “When my great uncle was at Yale, he pitched a game against Columbia University. There was a 1st base player, a few years younger than my uncle, who was really good. My uncle loved to talk about how he struck this particular guy out 4 times in 1 game. That player was Lou Gehrig. My uncle’s legacy lives on at Yale with the Raymond W. Pond award which is presented to the best pitcher each year.”
In his later years, Ducky moved into Bill’s childhood home in New Hartford where Bill’s father cared for him until he passed away on August 25, 1982. Ducky’s legacy, however, lives on; in fact, when Bill spoke recently with Hotchkiss Head of School Craig Bradley, he discovered that Hotchkiss still proudly displays Ducky’s memorabilia from his the prep school football days. “I haven’t been able to tour Hotchkiss yet to see their display, but I’m looking forward to visiting it in the near future”, says Bill.
Ducky’s achievements are so well-known that several Noble cottagers and residents asked Bill about his last name and relationship to the late, great Ducky Pond. “I’ve always been proud of my great uncle and his accomplishments, but I didn’t realize how profound his reach was. It was really amazing to have people ask me about Ducky and get a chance to talk about him.”