John Ward

"Players have been bought, sold and exchanged as though they were sheep instead of American citizens," John Montgomery Ward said. Ward was a bright child that attended Penn State University at the age of 13. But tragedy struck the following year, when both of Wards parents died and he was forced to quit school and support himself. He tried to make it as a traveling salesman, but quit after two weeks and discovered baseball.

John Ward career batting statistics for Major League, Minor League, and postseason baseball

Amazon.com: A Clever Base-Ballist: The Life and Times of John Montgomery Ward (9780679442349): Bryan Di Salvatore: Books

Last December baseball celebrated the 40th anniversary of player free agency. The legal case that cast asunder the reserve clause and marked the advent of free agency was a watershed moment in the history of the game, forever changing the relationship between baseball’s employees and employers. It likewise changed the relationship between the fans and the players for whom they root for a few years—before the players join another team in another city in multimillion dollar deals.

John Ward baseball stats with batting stats, pitching stats and fielding stats, along with uniform numbers, salaries, quotes, career stats and biographical data presented by Baseball Almanac.

Major League Baseball Umpire. Between 1894 and 1890, he pitched in the American Association and the National League which later hired him in 1895. He worked the First World Series in 1903 and would work nine more in his tenure. He was the senior umpire behind home plate at the Polo Grounds in which Fred Merkle committed his boner which cost the New York Giants the League pennant to the Chicago Cubs in 1908. He would go on to umpire over 2,700 games in over a thirty year career ending in 1927. (bio by: Robert)

Career: 26 HR, .275 BA, 540 SB (29th), SS/2B/P, HOF in 1964, Giants/Grays/... 1878-1894, b:L/t:R, 2x SV Leader, born in PA 1860, died 1925, Monte

John Montgomery Ward (March 3, 1860 – March 4, 1925), known as Monte Ward, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, shortstop, second baseman and manager.[1][2] Ward was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Renovo, Pennsylvania.[3] He led the formation of the first professional sports players union and a new baseball league, the Players' League.