Robert Ward

Note: This page is for 1880s third baseman Robert Ward; for the major league owner of the same name, click here.

Robert Ward

• Bats unknown, Throws unknown

• Debut June 12, 1883
• Final Game June 12, 1883
• Born 1862 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died September 29, 1900 in Philadelphia, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Robert Ward was identified in 2025 as the player who appeared in one game at third base with the Philadelphia Quakers in 1883, going 0 for 5.

For the longest time, the last name Ward was almost the only known information regarding the player. His playing appearance had traditionally been attributed to Frank "Piggy" Ward, who would have been 16 at the time and did not make his documented major league debut until six years later, but it was deemed to be almost certainly wrong.

The only other clue about who the actual player may have been was that Ward was a handball player. That proved to be sufficient for SABR researcher Justin McKinney to crack the case, as he found a note from 1881 about a handball player named Robert Ward who lived in uptown Philadelphia, PA. There was a also a Robert Ward playing third base for the Defiance club, a top amateur club in that part of the city, in 1883-and 1884. In September of 1884, Ward lost his foot in a railway accident in Columbus, OH and newspaper accounts at the time mentioned that this was the Defiance player. Robert Ward is mentioned in city directories of the time as living in the vicinity of the club's headquarters, and being born in 1862, was the right age to be Quakers player.

Further Reading

• "Robert Ward Found", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, May/June 2025, p. 1.