John Ward
⭐ Hall of Fame 1964
Born: 3/3/1860 in Bellefonte, PA, USA
Died: 3/4/1925 in Augusta, GA, USA
MLB Debut: 1878-07-15 | Final Game: 1894-09-29
Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 5'9" | Weight: 165 lbs
Full name: John Montgomery Ward
Biography
John Ward, born in 1860, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball during the late 19th century. His career spanned from 1878 to 1894, during a transformative period in the sport characterized by the transition from the deadball era to the more modern game. Ward finished his career with a record of 164 wins and 103 losses, showcasing his effectiveness on the mound with a remarkable ERA of 2.1. He accumulated a total of 920 strikeouts and recorded 3 saves, reflecting his ability to dominate opposing hitters and contribute to his team's success.
Ward's impact on the game extended beyond his impressive statistics. He was known for his strategic pitching style and versatility, which allowed him to excel in various roles throughout his career. His contributions to baseball were formally recognized when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1964, solidifying his legacy as one of the sport's early greats. Ward's career remains a significant part of baseball history, illustrating the evolution of pitching and the competitive spirit of the game during his era.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 164 | 103 | 293 | 262 | 245 | 24 | 3 | 2469.7 | 2324 | 576 | 26 | 253 | 920 | 2.10 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 | PRO | NL | 22 | 13 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 6 | 0 | 334.0 | 308 | 56 | 34 | 116 | 1.51 | 365.1 |
| 1879 | PRO | NL | 47 | 19 | 70 | 60 | 58 | 2 | 1 | 587.0 | 571 | 140 | 36 | 239 | 2.15 | 4628.2 |
| 1880 | PRO | NL | 39 | 24 | 70 | 67 | 59 | 8 | 1 | 595.0 | 501 | 115 | 45 | 230 | 1.74 | 4731.9 |
| 1881 | PRO | NL | 18 | 18 | 39 | 35 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 330.0 | 326 | 78 | 53 | 119 | 2.13 | 2213.7 |
| 1882 | PRO | NL | 19 | 13 | 34 | 33 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 286.0 | 268 | 81 | 36 | 72 | 2.55 | -821.3 |
| 1883 | NY1 | NL | 16 | 13 | 34 | 25 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 277.0 | 278 | 83 | 31 | 121 | 2.70 | 2661.7 |
| 1884 | NY1 | NL | 3 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60.7 | 72 | 23 | 18 | 23 | 3.41 | -1117.0 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1827 | 7656 | 1410 | 2107 | 231 | 96 | 26 | 869 | 540 | 421 | 326 | 0.275 | 0.314 | 0.341 | 0.655 | -1232.7 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 | PRO | NL | 37 | 138 | 14 | 27 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0.196 | -306.5 |
| 1879 | PRO | NL | 83 | 364 | 71 | 104 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 41 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0.286 | 487.1 |
| 1880 | PRO | NL | 86 | 356 | 53 | 81 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 0.228 | -670.5 |
| 1881 | PRO | NL | 85 | 357 | 56 | 87 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0.244 | -518.8 |
| 1882 | PRO | NL | 83 | 355 | 58 | 87 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 39 | 0 | 13 | 22 | 0.245 | -282.6 |
| 1883 | NY1 | NL | 88 | 380 | 76 | 97 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 54 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 0.255 | 235.1 |
| 1884 | NY1 | NL | 113 | 482 | 98 | 122 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 51 | 0 | 28 | 47 | 0.253 | 187.8 |
| 1885 | NY1 | NL | 111 | 446 | 72 | 101 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 17 | 39 | 0.226 | -952.5 |
| 1886 | NY1 | NL | 122 | 491 | 82 | 134 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 81 | 36 | 19 | 46 | 0.273 | -13.4 |
| 1887 | NY1 | NL | 129 | 545 | 114 | 184 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 53 | 111 | 29 | 12 | 0.338 | 1005.3 |
| 1888 | NY1 | NL | 122 | 510 | 70 | 128 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 49 | 38 | 9 | 13 | 0.251 | -651.1 |
| 1889 | NY1 | NL | 114 | 479 | 87 | 143 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 67 | 62 | 27 | 7 | 0.299 | -93.2 |
| 1890 | BRP | PL | 128 | 561 | 134 | 188 | 15 | 12 | 4 | 60 | 63 | 51 | 22 | 0.335 | 2054.4 |
| 1891 | BRO | NL | 105 | 441 | 85 | 122 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 39 | 57 | 36 | 10 | 0.277 | -131.3 |
| 1892 | BRO | NL | 148 | 614 | 109 | 163 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 47 | 88 | 82 | 19 | 0.265 | 567.9 |
| 1893 | NY1 | NL | 135 | 588 | 129 | 193 | 27 | 9 | 2 | 77 | 46 | 47 | 5 | 0.328 | 897.4 |
| 1894 | NY1 | NL | 138 | 549 | 102 | 146 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 79 | 39 | 35 | 6 | 0.266 | -3047.8 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 65 | 14 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 0.400 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1889 | WS | NY1 | 9 | 36 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0.417 |
| 1888 | WS | NY1 | 8 | 29 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0.379 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 493 | 0 | 1226 | 1646 | 263 | 167 |
| 3B | 46 | 0 | 53 | 112 | 27 | 6 |
| OF | 214 | 0 | 355 | 77 | 78 | 7 |
| P | 293 | 0 | 169 | 574 | 54 | 20 |
| SS | 826 | 0 | 1522 | 2641 | 530 | 294 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 | PRO | P | 37 | 0 | 23 | 74 | 15 | 4 |
| 1879 | PRO | P | 70 | 0 | 31 | 134 | 11 | 2 |
| 1879 | PRO | 3B | 16 | 0 | 17 | 32 | 9 | 2 |
| 1879 | PRO | OF | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1880 | PRO | P | 70 | 0 | 43 | 133 | 3 | 1 |
| 1880 | PRO | 3B | 25 | 0 | 30 | 69 | 12 | 4 |
| 1880 | PRO | OF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1881 | PRO | P | 39 | 0 | 26 | 77 | 7 | 7 |
| 1881 | PRO | SS | 13 | 0 | 20 | 39 | 13 | 4 |
| 1881 | PRO | OF | 40 | 0 | 57 | 14 | 9 | 0 |
| 1882 | PRO | P | 34 | 0 | 18 | 73 | 6 | 4 |
| 1882 | PRO | SS | 4 | 0 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 1 |
| 1882 | PRO | OF | 49 | 0 | 69 | 20 | 19 | 3 |
| 1883 | NY1 | P | 34 | 0 | 25 | 67 | 10 | 2 |
| 1883 | NY1 | 2B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1883 | NY1 | 3B | 5 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 0 |
| 1883 | NY1 | SS | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 1883 | NY1 | OF | 56 | 0 | 118 | 28 | 24 | 2 |
| 1884 | NY1 | P | 9 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| 1884 | NY1 | 2B | 47 | 0 | 95 | 177 | 35 | 17 |
| 1884 | NY1 | OF | 59 | 0 | 103 | 13 | 21 | 2 |
| 1885 | NY1 | SS | 111 | 0 | 167 | 350 | 55 | 36 |
| 1886 | NY1 | SS | 122 | 0 | 191 | 369 | 69 | 36 |
| 1887 | NY1 | SS | 129 | 0 | 226 | 469 | 61 | 53 |
| 1888 | NY1 | SS | 122 | 0 | 185 | 331 | 86 | 39 |
| 1889 | NY1 | 2B | 7 | 0 | 16 | 20 | 8 | 0 |
| 1889 | NY1 | SS | 108 | 0 | 229 | 319 | 68 | 38 |
| 1890 | BRP | SS | 128 | 0 | 303 | 450 | 105 | 59 |
| 1891 | BRO | 2B | 18 | 0 | 55 | 56 | 6 | 8 |
| 1891 | BRO | SS | 87 | 0 | 180 | 296 | 66 | 28 |
| 1892 | BRO | 2B | 148 | 0 | 377 | 472 | 74 | 48 |
| 1893 | NY1 | 2B | 134 | 0 | 348 | 464 | 73 | 41 |
| 1894 | NY1 | 2B | 138 | 0 | 333 | 453 | 66 | 53 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 293 |
| Second Base | 493 |
| Third Base | 46 |
| Shortstop | 826 |
| Left Field | 4 |
| Center Field | 110 |
| Right Field | 100 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania State University | State College | PA | 1875 |