Pond was born on January 19, 1873, in East Saugus, Massachusetts to Abbott Sequard Pond and Ellen (Stocker) Pond. He was named after his uncle, Dr. Erasmus Arlington Pond. By the time he was in grammar school his family had moved to Rutland, Vermont, where his father sold surgical equipment for the Pond Sphygmograph Company.\n', '

On September 13, 1888, Pond entered Norwich University. He pitched for and captained the school\'s baseball team. He was also a musician in the Corps of Cadets. In 1890 he transferred to the University of Vermont. There, Pond, in addition to playing baseball, was a member of the glee and banjo clubs. During his senior year, he also played varsity football. During his first year on the Vermont baseball team, Pond played center field. The team finished the season with a record of 19-6, which was the best in the school\'s history. The following year Pond alternated at pitcher with Bert Abbey. In a game against Yale, Pond pitched a no-hitter. In 1893 Vermont was invited by Amos Alonzo Stagg to play in an eight-team double-elimination college baseball tournament at the Chicago World\'s Fair. Although Vermont did not win the tournament, the small school was the only team to defeat the eventual champion, Yale. Pond graduated from the University of Vermont in 1893, but enrolled in the school\'s College of Medicine, which allowed him to remain on the baseball team for one more season.\n', '

After he graduated from the University of Vermont College of Medicine in 1895, Pond enrolled in a post-graduate surgical course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore. Baltimore Orioles manager Ned Hanlon convinced Pond to spend his summers with the team. He signed his first major league contract on June 23, 1895, and made his major league debut on July 4, 1895. Although he pitched only in six games that season, the 23-year-old rookie found other ways to make himself useful, including serving as team doctor. After one game, the Baltimore Sun reported "Dr. Pond is suffering from a small abscess in his left hand, which he lanced himself."\n', '

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