John Montgomery Ward

John Montgomery Ward (March 3, 1860 – March 4,  1925) was a 19th century Major League Baseball star pitcher,  shortstop and manager. Ward was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Renovo, Pennsylvania. He later successfully challenged the player reserve clause, leading the formation the of a new baseball league, the Players League.

Specifications

 * Publisher =
 * Publication Date =
 * Nature of Rarity =
 * Number in Existence =
 * Estimated Value =
 * Position =
 * Team(s) = Providence Grays (1878-1882), New York Gothams/Giants (1883-1889, 1893-1894), Brooklyn Ward's Wonders (1890), Brooklyn Grooms (1891-1892)

Background
At 13 years of age, he was sent to Penn State University. In his short time there, he helped jump start a baseball program and is often credited for developing the first curve ball.

The following year, in 1874, his parents died. As a result he was forced to quit school and try and earn his own way. He tried to make it as a travelling salesman, but when that proved unsuccessful, he returned to his hometown. It was there that he discovered baseball. In 1878}}, the semi-pro team that he was playing for folded, which opened the door for him to move on to a new opportunity. He was offered a contract to pitch for the Providence Grays of the still new National League, an all professional major league that had began its operations in 1876.

Providence Grays
Ward's first season with the Grays was a successful one, going 22-13 with a 1.51 ERA. He played that season exclusively as a pitcher, but during the following two seasons, while seeing increasing time in the outfield and at third base. Ward had his two finest seasons as a pitcher, going 47-19 with 239 strikeouts and a 2.15 ERA in 1879 and 39-24 with 230 strikeouts and a 1.74 ERA in 1880. Perhaps more remarkably, he pitched nearly 600 innings each year (587.0 in 1879 and 595.0 in 1880). As a 19 year old pitcher, he won 47 games and led the Providence Grays to a first place finish.

In 1880, he began to play other positions and also expanded his leadership role to include managing when became a player-manager for 32 games, winning 18 of them, as the Grays finished in second place. On June 17, 1880, Ward became only the second man in history to pitch a perfect game, defeating future Hall of Famer Pud Galvin 5-0. John Lee Richmond had thrown baseball's first perfect game just five days before, on June 12. The next perfect game by a National League pitcher wouldn't happen for 84 years, when Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game in 1964.

In 1881 and 1882, were the first seasons in which he starting playing more games in the outfield, due to a nagging arm injury that first occurred while he was sliding into a base. He still pitched well when he did pitch, winning 37 games over those two seasons and having ERAs of 2.13 and 2.59 respectively, and on August 17, 1882, he pitched the longest complete game shutout in history, blanking the  Detroit Wolverines 1-0 in 18 innings. By this time however, the Grays felt his best days were behind him, and sold their former ace hurler to the New York Giants.