John Ward (1964)


Date of Birth: 3/3/1860
Date of Death: 3/4/1925
Birthplace: Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
College: Pennsylvania State University

John Ward played baseball at Pennsylvania State University after helping to start their baseball program. A few years later, he started playing semi-pro baseball.

Providence Grays (NL)

In 1878, Ward signed to pitch with the Providence Grays of the National League. He pitched in 37 games and he had 22 wins and 13 losses in 334.0 innings. He led the NL in ERA with a career low of 1.51.

Ward pitched and played third base and in the outfield for the Grays in 1879. As a pitcher, he had career highs in wins with 47 (to 19 losses) and in strikeouts with 239 (to 36 walks). He led the NL in both wins and strikeouts. He finished with a ERA of 2.15 in 587.0 innings in 70 games. As a batter in 83 games, he had 104 hits and a .286 batting average.

Ward was player-manager for the Grays in 1880. That year he pitched a perfect game, the second in major league baseball history. In 70 games, he had 39 wins and 24 losses, 230 strikeouts to 45 walks, and a 1.74 ERA in 595.0 innings. As a batter in 86 games, he had 81 hits and a .228 batting average.

Ward had a 2.13 ERA in 39 games in 1881. As a batter that year, he had 87 hits and a .244 batting average. His numbers were similar in 1882, when he had a 2.59 ERA in 33 games and a .245 batting average and 87 hits in 83 games.

New York Gothams/Giants

After the 1882 season, Ward's contract was sold to the New York Gothams/Giants. In his first season with the Giants, he had 16 wins and 13 losses, 121 strikeouts to 31 walks, and a 2.70 ERA in 277.0 innings in 34 games. He batted .255 with 97 hits in 88 games.

In 1884, Ward suffered an arm injury that ended his pitching days. He was a center fielder for the rest of the 1884 season but in 1885, he became a shortstop. In addition to playing for the Giants, Ward was manager of the team in 1884. He played in 113 games and he batted .253 that year. He also pitched 60.2 innings in 9 games and he had a 3.41 ERA.

Ward played in 111 games in 1885, and he batted .226 with 101 hits. Defensively, he led all NL shortstops in putouts with 167 and in double plays with 36. He had a better season in 1886, batting .273 with 134 hits, 17 doubles, and 36 stolen bases in 122 games. He again led all NL shortstops in putouts with 191.

Ward had career highs in stolen bases (111) and batting average (.338) in 1887. He led the NL in games played with 129 and in stolen bases. Defensively, he again led NL shortstops in putouts with 226.

Ward's batting average dropped to .251 in 1888. He had 128 hits, 14 doubles, and 38 stolen bases in 122 games. He played better in 1889, finishing with 143 hits, 13 doubles, 62 stolen bases, and a .299 batting average in 114 games.

Players League

After the 1889 season, Ward helped start the Players' League and he became player-manager for the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders. He played in 128 games and he had 188 hits, 15 doubles, a career high 12 triples, 63 stolen bases, and a .335 batting average. He led all shortstops in the league in assists with 450 and in putouts with 303.

Brooklyn Grooms/Dodgers

When the Players League folded in 1891, Ward went to the Brooklyn Grooms/Dodgers as player-manager, a position he held with the team for two seasons. In his first year with them, he batted .277 in 105 games.

In 1892, Ward led the NL in stolen bases with 88. He had 163 hits, 19 strikeouts to a career high 82 walks, and a .265 batting average in a career high 148 games.

Return to the New York Giants

Ward returned to the Giants in 1893 as their player-manager. He had career highs that year in hits (193) and doubles (27). He had 46 stolen bases and a .328 batting average in 135 games.

Ward batted .265 in 136 games in 1894. He retired at the age of 34 after the season ended.

As a player-manager for seven years (1880, 1884, 1890-1894), Ward led his teams to 412 wins and 320 losses.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Led the NL in stolen bases (2 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Ward as a pitcher in six seasons (1878-1883) in the major leagues include:

  • 3 seasons with over 20 wins, with a high of 47 in 1879
  • 230 strikeouts in 1880, 239 strikeouts in 1879
  • 6 seasons with an ERA under 3.00, with a low of 1.51 in 1878

Ward played in over 100 games as a batter in each of 11 seasons (1884-1894). His statistics during that time include:

  • 4 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 193 in 1893
  • 6 seasons with over 40 stolen bases, with a high of 111 in 1887
  • 3 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .338 in 1887

Career statistics for Ward as a pitcher include:

  • 292 games played
  • 2,461.2 innings pitched
  • 164-102 win-loss record
  • 920 strikeouts to 253 walks
  • 2.10 ERA

Career statistics for Ward as a batter include:

  • 1,825 games played
  • 2,104 hits
  • 540 stolen bases
  • 326 strikeouts to 420 walks
  • .275 batting average
  • .314 on-base percentage
  • .655 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Ward at shortstop include:

  • 826 games played
  • 2,641 assists
  • 294 double plays
  • 1,522 putouts
  • 530 errors
  • .887 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

Ward was very intelligent, attending a university for the first time at the age of just 13. In 1885, he graduated from Columbia Law School and after retiring from major league baseball, he became a lawyer, often representing baseball players. He also was president and part owner of the Boston Braves.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - John Ward
ESPN - John Ward
Baseball Reference - John Ward

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