Elmer Ponder

Once described as the “Heinz of Baseball” because of his variety of pitches and deliveries, Elmer Ponder tossed a two-hit shutout for his first big-league win as a late-September call-up with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1917. After missing almost a season and a half because of World War I, Ponder went on to post a 17-27 record in parts of four big-league seasons.

Charles Elmer Ponder was born on June 26, 1893, in Reed, Oklahoma. This hamlet is near Mangum, the seat of Greer County, in what is now the southwestern corner of the state. Claims made by some sources that Ponder was of Cherokee descent seem unsubstantiated.1 His parents were Mississippi-born William Perry Ponder (“Bill”) and native Georgian Mary Cornelia (née Smith), who married in 1889. Two years later they relocated from East Texas and settled near Mangum. Described as a “well known pioneering cowboy,” Bill was a farmer, a cattleman, and later, a banker.2 Located on the divide of the Elm and Salt Fork Rivers and on the western foot of the Wichita Mountains, Greer County was at that time officially in Texas. It became part of Oklahoma Territory in 1896 by decree of the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state. Elmer was the Ponders’ fourth of five children (and the third of four to survive childbirth). He was preceded by Lettia (1889) and William (1891) and followed by Revis, known as Bud (1901).

Little is known about Elmer’s formal secondary schooling, which was in its infancy in Greer County in the 1890s and first decade of the 20th century. It is almost certain that he attended a one-room schoolhouse.3 The Ponder family valued education. At the age of 16 in 1909, Elmer enrolled for the fall semester at the Territorial Normal School of Oklahoma (later known as the University of Central Oklahoma). Located in Denton, this was the state’s first public college to hold classes.4

The following two years, Ponder attended Oklahoma Baptist College in Blackwell (the Ponders were Baptists). There his reputation as an all-around excellent athlete grew. Described as “one of the fiercest linemen in the country,” the six-foot tall, 180-pound Elmer teamed with his brother Willie (a halfback) on the gridiron.5 The brothers also formed a scoring duo on the hardwood. Pivotal in Elmer’s athletic development was Gwinn Henry, who went on to qualify for the 1912 Olympics as a sprinter, and who coached all sports at the college. According to sportswriter Hugh Fullerton, Henry taught Elmer to throw a curveball in spring 1911.6

Lauded as a “star pitcher for Oklahoma Baptist College,” Ponder signed a contract paying $60 per month in June 1912 with Guthrie in the eight-team, Class D Oklahoma State League.7 Though it is unclear how or why he signed with Guthrie, it is likely that coaches or scouts saw him play against Oklahoma Methodist University (now Oklahoma City University), located in Guthrie. Ponder’s “curves have puzzled every team,” the Guthrie Star noted that summer.8 The league went under after its only season; unfortunately, player and team statistics remain unknown.9 Ponder subsequently became the property of Dallas in the Class B Texas League in September 1912.10

After the conclusion of the basketball season at Oklahoma Baptist College, around late February 1913, Ponder matriculated at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, where he was greeted as “the most promising twirler the Sooners have ever backed.”11 A Sigma Nu fraternity pledge, Ponder faced challenges to his collegiate baseball eligibility because of his professional baseball contract. However, he was granted an exception to play against all teams except for those in the Missouri Valley Conference.12 In his debut with the Sooners on March 31, Ponder went the distance to beat the Topeka Jayhawks of the Class A Western League, 9-2.13 At the end of the collegiate season, in mid-June, the 20-year-old Ponder reported to Dallas. He posted a 10-8 record and logged 157 innings against seasoned professionals.

Back at the University of Oklahoma, Ponder’s contract was purchased by Birmingham (Class A Southern Association) in January 1914.14 Once again playing with limited eligibility, Ponder opened the Sooners’ season on March 27 by shutting out Central Oklahoma on three hits while fanning 11.15 On April 6, Ponder caught the attention of major leaguers when he hurled a complete game against the Chicago White Sox at Boyd Field in Norman. Despite losing 7-0 and giving up 12 hits, Ponder was praised by White Sox skipper Nixey Callahan for being “possible big league material.”16 When the Sooners’ season ended in June, Birmingham optioned Ponder to the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Champs in the Class B Central League. Described as the “class of the minor leagues,”17 Ponder nonetheless struggled the first time he was away from Oklahoma for an extended period, posting a disappointing 6-11 record for the last-place team.

Ponder returned to the University of Oklahoma in January 1915. Several months earlier, he had filed a claim with the National Association of Professional Baseball Players to have his contract with Birmingham voided, likely because he did not want to be optioned back to Grand Rapids and to restore his full collegiate eligibility. In January 1915, his claim was rejected.18 After another season as the Sooners’ captain with limited eligibility, Ponder reported in mid-June to San Antonio in the Texas League. He excelled, winning 12 of 20 decisions while permitting fewer than three runs per game.

Despite rumors that “probably the greatest twirler the University of Oklahoma ever had” would return in 1916, the 22-year-old Ponder reported to Birmingham in March to participate in his first professional spring training.19 Local sportswriter Henry C. Vance reported that Ponder had few opportunities early in the season, and it appeared that he would be farmed out.20 Finally earning skipper Carlton Molesworth’s trust by midseason, Ponder finished with another 12-8 record in 182 innings.

Ponder’s connection to the Sooners was not yet over. In late 1916, he earned his second letter as a member of the basketball team (his other was in 1914), to go along with his three letters in baseball (1913-1914-1915).21

Expectations for Ponder were high when he returned to Rickwood Field in Birmingham for spring training camp in 1917. “This fellow Ponder has as much stuff as any young hurler I have ever seen, and he should go like a house afire,” gushed Molesworth.22 Likewise, beat reporter Vance claimed that Ponder was “a coming star.”23 Both were correct, as Ponder won 19 games.

In mid-August, the Pirates, who had a working agreement with the Barons, purchased Ponder.24 He reported to Pittsburgh on the club’s last homestand of the season and debuted in a wild affair at Forbes Field on September 18. In the second game of the twin bill against the Boston Braves, Ponder yielded just six hits over eight innings, but was a tough luck loser, 1-0. Art Nehf blanked the Bucs on three hits. The contest was marred, according to Pirates sportswriter Ed F. Balinger, by an all-out brawl which required police to “trot onto the battlefield” to restore order.25 Just four days later, Ponder “covered himself with glory,” wrote Balinger. The rookie shut out the New York Giants on two hits and fanned eight while preventing John McGraw’s squad from capturing the pennant.26 Though he was roughed up in his final appearance, he escaped with no decision, leaving his record at 1-1. Ponder’s 1.69 ERA portended a bright future in the big leagues.

World War I delayed Ponder’s return to the Pirates. The U.S. declared war on Germany in April 1917, and American troops were sent to Europe in October. In December, Ponder enlisted in the 138th Aero Squadron of the U.S. Army. His brother Willie had joined the French air force earlier that spring and became an aviation hero and ace. Elmer trained as an aviation mechanic at Henry Post Army Airfield at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and subsequently departed for England in March 1918. Ponder and the 138th fought on the Western Front in France.

Other ballplayers who had seen active combat in World War I returned stateside to participate in spring training in 1919. Unlike them, Ponder remained with the 138th in Europe until late May. The Pittsburgh Press reported that the hurler was “many pounds overweight” when he joined the Pirates in July.27 He worked to get himself into shape and made his much-anticipated season’s debut in the first game of a doubleheader against the Phillies in Philadelphia on July 23. In relief of starter Hal Carlson, Ponder got the first player he faced to hit into a double play and retired the next l5 batters he faced. [The next time a Pirates pitcher tossed at least five perfect innings in relief was on June 30, 2013 when Vin Mazzaro tossed five against the Brewers at PNC Park.] Pummeled in his first two starts, Ponder made only five appearances over the last two months of the season. He finished winless in five decisions while logging 47 1/3 innings.

In October, veteran Pirates second baseman George Cutshaw led a group of teammates, including Ponder, and a few of his former Brooklyn Robins teammates on a four-week barnstorming tour of Cuba. This competition was known as the American Series. Big-league teams had barnstormed in Cuba annually since 1908, though World War I interrupted the series in 1916, 1917, and 1918. Cutshaw’s club departed Key West on the Governor Cobb on October 9.28 The opening contest on October 11 drew “the largest crowd that ever witnessed a game in Havana,” wrote the Pittsburgh Gazette Times about the Pirates’ 1-0 victory.29 Though statistics and box scores are incomplete for the trip, Ponder and Robins pitcher Leon Cadore blanked Havana, 2-0, on October 19.30 Playing against top Cuban professional teams, the Pirates (as the team was called in the newspapers) went 11-7-1.31

Ponder reported to Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1920, to participate in his first big-league spring training. The previous two seasons had worn the luster off the prospect. Nonetheless, Bucs beat writer Charles J. Doyle cautioned readers, “[D]on’t be surprised if Elmer Ponder jumps out in front.”32 By then 27, Ponder was briefly hospitalized in a freak accident when he was struck in the head by a golf club at an indoor facility.33 Yet he pitched well enough to gain the confidence of new skipper George Gibson. In his season’s debut on April 17 against the Cardinals, Ponder hurled a “ponder-ous pitching performance,” quipped the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “in one of the most remarkable battles” in the history of Robison Field.34 He dueled Jesse Haines for 13 innings, yielding eight hits and emerging victorious, 1-0.

After recording just one out in his next start, Ponder was shunted to the bullpen and waited a month to start again. He blanked the Robins on five hits at Ebbets Field on May 23, one of his three complete-game victories over the eventual NL pennant-winners. The Pirates’ staff was remarkably durable: five hurlers – ace Wilbur Cooper, Babe Adams, Carlson, Earl Hamilton, and Ponder – combined for 147 starts and 1,263 innings (89.2% of the team’s total). While Pittsburgh finished in fourth place for the third straight season, Ponder posted a sharp 2.62 ERA in 196 innings, well below the league average – his 11-15 record was misleading. Ponder’s hard luck is best illustrated by a stretch of four straight complete-game losses in August, during which he yielded just 11 runs (10 earned) in 36 2/3 innings. However, the Pirates’ offense, which tied the Boston Braves for the fewest runs scored per game (3.4), provided just six runs of support.

Ponder spent his offseasons in Greer County assisting his father in ranching and business interests. He also refereed football and basketball games, and presumably enjoyed hunting. A local celebrity of sorts, Ponder had cowboy good looks: brown hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin. Despite his baseball success, Ponder was described as “modest and soft-spoken” and was known for his hard work.35 Pittsburgh sportswriter Doyle identified “quiet aggressiveness” and “determination” as two of his defining characteristics.36

A deep and seemingly improved pitching corps raised expectations of the Pirates in spring training 1921. Joining the durable quintet of hurlers from the previous season in West Baden, Indiana, were two right-handers from the Birmingham Barons: 24-game winner Whitey Glazner and 26-game winner Johnny Morrison. Ponder went the distance to beat the Reds in Cincinnati in the fourth game of the season but proved to be the odd man out in a stacked staff. He made only six relief appearances in the next 10 weeks as the Pirates occupied first place. With “so many promising hurlers,” observed the Gazette Times, Pittsburgh traded Ponder to the Chicago Cubs for slugger Dave Robertson.37

Ponder got off to a hot start with the Cubs, winning two of three decisions and allowing just six earned runs in 33 innings in his first four appearances. The North Siders, however, were a scuffling club. They eventually settled in seventh place with their worst winning percentage (.434) since 1901 (.381), when they were affectionately called the Orphans. Ponder’s future was doomed by a disastrous two-month stretch (1-5, 6.23 ERA in 56 1/3 innings), during which he lost his spot in the rotation.

In January 1922, the Cubs sent Ponder in a multi-player trade to the Los Angeles Angels of the Double A Pacific Coast League featuring Arnold “Jigger” Statz.38 Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley owned both teams. Ponder’s new opportunity had a fairytale beginning. For openers, he brought along his brother Bud, a pitcher at the University of Oklahoma, to participate with him in the Angels’ spring training.39

It was at this time that Ponder acquired the “Heinz of Baseball” moniker, a reference to the company’s 57 varieties of condiments. According to the Los Angeles Record, Ponder was “the most versatile twirler ever displayed [in Los Angeles]. He had three different styles of delivery and an original assortment of curves with each movement.”40 Angels beat writer Francis Perrett noted that Ponder was known to “never throw the same variety of ball to a batter in succession.”41 According to Harry A. Williams, Ponder possessed a “fastball and a curve” and was “just wild enough” to keep opponents off balance.42

An immediate fan favorite, Ponder shut out the Portland Beavers, 1-0, in his debut on April 7. He exhibited “wizzy-tizzy twirling,” as the Los Angeles Times quaintly put it.43 Ponder won his first nine decisions, but the fairy tale came crashing down on June 23. While chasing fly balls during batting practice in Salt Lake City, he fell and dislocated his shoulder.44 According to the Los Angeles Express, Ponder’s “collarbone [was] pulled loose from the tendons.”45 Arguably the league’s top pitcher to that point (10-2, 2.14 ERA), he missed the rest of the season.

Ponder experienced flashes of success but never regained the stardom of those 10 weeks before the injury. In 1923, an arm injury limited him to a mediocre 7-9 record and 172 innings while rumors swirled that he would be released during the season.46

Ponder was sold to the Atlanta Crackers in December 1923 but refused to report.47 He was subsequently traded to Salt Lake City of the PCL in February 1924.48 He posted records of 10-14 and 17-9 with ERAs over 5.00 in his two season with the Bees.49 The Salt Lake Tribune considered Ponder “something of an enigma.”50 According to the newspaper, Ponder “possess[es] all the talent” and “has a greater assortment [of pitches] than possibly any other pitcher in the league,” yet did not emerge as a star.

After the 1925 season, Ponder was traded to the St. Paul Saints in the American Association. For the second time in two seasons, he refused to report to his new club. Instead, he remained in Salt Lake City, where he sold real estate and was out of Organized Baseball for the entire 1926 season.51

Ponder was not yet ready to retire formally. His attempt to force St. Paul to sell his contract to a PCL team hit a snag in late February 1927 when he was arrested by Los Angeles police. He was charged with allegedly setting fire to a building he owned and collecting insurance money.52 Released on bail, Ponder was eventually able to substantiate his alibi and the charges were dropped in mid-March.53 Soon thereafter St. Paul sold Ponder to Portland of the PCL.

In his final two seasons of professional baseball, Ponder went a combined 21-28 while pitching over 220 innings each season.

In 12 minor-league seasons, full and partial, Ponder went 124-113. He amassed 2,119 1/3 innings, though his statistics with Guthrie in 1912 are not included. He went 17-27 with a 3.21 ERA in 378 2/3 innings in part of four big-league seasons.

Ponder married Zelpha “Zel” Gledhill, a native of Utah and silent film organist, in 1929. They resided in San Diego, where Ponder operated a car dealership. They had two children: Kent, born in 1932, and Leanne, who followed in 1937. In 1939 the family relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ponder became a prominent businessman, owning another car dealership, as well as insurance and financing agencies.54

Elmer Ponder died at the age of 80 on April 20, 1974, in Albuquerque. He is buried at Fairview Memorial Park and was survived by his wife, two children, and seven grandchildren.

Acknowledgments

This article was reviewed by Rory Costello.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author accessed ancestry.com, Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, and SABR.org.

Notes

1 Ponder’s father was born in 1864 in Mississippi to Berryman S. Ponder, who fought on behalf of the Confederacy in the Civil War, and Betheny (Pepples) Ponder. Ponder’s mother’s family, the Smiths, came from a long line of Georgians. Furthermore, there is no evidence that Ponder was ever referred to as a Native American in any newspaper article about his baseball games. There exists substantial written material about William Ponder, one of the most decorated aviation aces of World War I. In none of the articles, including the most definitive, Bill Moore’s “Oklahoma’s Air Ace. William T. Ponder and World War I,” Oklahoma Historical Society, https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2006468/m1/1/, is there any reference to the pilot as a Native American. Nonetheless, it is possible that a Ponder family member married a Native American.

2 “Former Wichitan Dies in Mangum,” Wichita Falls Times, November 10, 1941.

3 Haskell Pruett, The Schools of Greer County Oklahoma (Mangum, Oklahoma, 1921): 11-13.

4 “In Society,” Mangum (Texas) Star Weekly, September 9, 1909: 9.

5 “In with Carey,” (Oklahoma City) Daily Oklahoman, August 13, 1911: 8.

6 “Big League Watch Ponder,” Blackwell (Oklahoma) Daily News, July 11, 1914: 3.

7 “Elmer Ponder Made Good,” (Blackwell, Oklahoma) Times Record, June 20, 1912:1. Salary information is from “Ponder Got Baseball Start in Kay County,” Ponca City (Oklahoma) News, March 24, 1920: 7.

8 “Enid is Baseball Crazy; Locals Are Coming Home Monday for their Game,” Guthrie (Oklahoma) Star, June 30, 1912: 5.

9 “Stage Fright Drives Moore back to Bush,” Oklahoma (City) News, September 9, 1912: 6.

10 Ibid.

11 “Forty Candidates for Sooner Ten,” Daily Oklahoman (Norman, Oklahoma), February 20, 1913: 8.

12 “Ponder Declared Eligible,” The Umpire (Norman, Oklahoma), April 4, 1913: 2.

13 Topeka Trounces Topeka Leaguers,” Daily Oklahoman (Norman, Oklahoma), April 1, 1913: 8.

14 “Varsity Pitcher Goes to Birmingham,” University Oklahoman (Norman Oklahoma), January 23, 1914: 1.

15 “Central Blanked by Sooner’s [sic] Nine,” Daily Oklahoman (Norman, Oklahoma), March 28, 1914: 8.

16 “White Sox Shut Out Sooner Nine,” Daily Oklahoman (Norman, Oklahoma), April 7, 1914: 8.

17 “Big League Watch Ponder,” Blackwell (Oklahoma) Daily News, July 11, 1914: 3.

18 “Ponder Loses Claim against Local Club,” Birmingham News, January 15, 1915: 10.

19 “College Life in Oklahoma,” Daily Oklahoman (Norman, Oklahoma), March 19, 1916: 19.

20 Henry C. Vance, “On the Level,” Birmingham News, September 16, 1916: 5.

21 See 2021 OU Baseball Media Guide, 105. He is referred to as Charles in 1913; Elmer in 1914 and 1915. https://soonersports.com/documents/2021/4/7//2021_OU_Baseball_Media_Guide.pdf?id=12056 and 2022-2023 OU Men’s Basketball Media Guide, 113 https://soonersports.com/documents/2022/11/18/22_23_MBB_Media_Guide_Print.pdf

22 “Ponder Latest Baron to Sign,” Birmingham News, February 18, 1917: 13.

23 Henry C. Vance, “On the Level,” Birmingham News, February 6, 1917: 10.

24 Ed F. Balinger, “Bezdek Brings Bunt Back into Repertoire,” Pittsburgh Post, September 9, 1917: 16.

25 Ed F. Balinger, “Cops Check Scrap and Pirates Lose Two,” Pittsburgh Post, September 19, 1917: 10.

26 Ed F. Balinger, “Pirates Bid Giants Adieu with Even Split,” Pittsburgh Post, September 23, 1917: 18.

27 Ralph Davis, “Ralph Davis Column,” Pittsburgh Press, July 22, 1919: 32.

28 “Pirates Defeat Key West, 7-2,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, October 10, 1919: 13.

29 “Pirates Beat Havanna Club in Great Game,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, October 12, 1919: 26.

30“Havanna Team Blanked,” Pittsburgh Press, October 20, 1919: 32.

31 “Buccaneers Return from Cruise to Cuba,” Pittsburgh Post, November 19, 1919: 11.

32 “Outlook on Pirates Pitching Staff Lends Feeling of Deep Confidence,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, December 7, 1919: 27.

33 “Pirates in Good Physical Condition; Prepare for Real Game; Pittsburgh Press, March 10, 1920: 36.

34 The Pittsburgh Pirates, It Appears, Gave Branch Rickey Something to Ponder Over,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch,” April 18, 1920: 6.

35 “Ex-Buc Dies Here at 80,” Albuquerque Journal, April 22, 1974: 20.

36 Charles J. Doyle, “Baseball Season Opens Wednesday – Pirates Are Set,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, April 10, 1921: 27.

37 “Ponder Goes to Cubs for Dave Robertson,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, July 2, 1921: 9.

38 Irving Vaughn, “Veeck Picks Trio of Cubs in Trade for ‘Star’ Statz,” Chicago Tribune, January 19, 1922: 10.

39 Harry M. Grayson, “St. Louis Clubs Seek Dell, Who Wants to Pitch in Majors,” Los Angeles Express, February 2, 1922: 18.

40 “Heinz of Baseball Wins 3rd,” Los Angeles Record, April 8, 1922: 2.

41 Francis Perrett, “Great Pitching Staff Makes Angels Favorites Over Tigers,” Los Angeles Express, April 10, 1922:14

42 Harry A. Williamson, “Seraph Infielder Wins Bughouse Championship in Giving Reason for not Signing up,” Los Angeles Times, April 4, 1922: 28.

43 Harry A. Williams, “Angels Grab Another One,” Los Angeles Times, April 8, 1922: 29.

44 “Dislocated Shoulder Puts Ponder on Shelf for Two Months,” Los Angeles Express, June 23, 1922: 29.

45 Harry M. Grayson, “Yankees Will Purchase May; Ponder Out for the Season,” Los Angeles Express, June 28, 1922: 21.

46 “Elmer Ponder to Get Further Trial,” Los Angeles Times, June 27, 1923: 41.

47 “Los Angeles Buys Pitchers Arnold Crandall and Stokes,” Los Angeles Express, December 14, 1923: 31.

48 “Charlie Deal Agrees to Report to Vernon Tigers’ Camp on March First,” Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1924: 46.

49 According to one source, Ponder led the PCL in 1925 with 215 walks; Baseball-Reference.com credits him with 59 walks in 244 innings, as well as 2.2 walks per nine innings, which is well within his previously established career norms. See “Once More Hulvey Stands No. 1 Among Coast Hurlers,” Salt Lake Tribune, December 20, 1925: 21.

50 “New Skipper Enthusiastic About 1925 Prospects; Bees Will Train at Long Beach,” Salt Lake City Tribune, November 25, 1925: 14.

51 “Utah-Idaho Pilots Assemble Baseball Clubs,” Salt Lake City Tribune, April 20, 1926:14.

52 “Elmer Ponder Held in Firebug Charge,” San Francisco Examiner,” February 22, 1927: 25

53 “Ex-Ball Player in Arson Case,” Los Angeles Record, March 7, 1927: 1. “Proves Alibi in Arson Charge,” Los Angeles Record, March 16, 1927: 1.

54 “Ex-Buc Dies Here at 80.”