Aaron Lee Ward (August 28, 1896 – January 30, 1961), was an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

(1917–26),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(1927) and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

(1928).

Career

He helped the Yankees win the 1921–22 and 1926 American League Pennants and

1923 World Series The 1923 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1923 season. The 20th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees against the National League champion New York Giants. ...

. Ward is famous for collecting the 1st hit by a member of the Yankees in

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, and for his baserunning error that saw him thrown out at third base to end the eighth and final game of the

1921 World Series The 1921 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1921 season. The 18th edition of the World Series, it matched the National League champion New York Giants and the American League champion New York Yankees. Th ...

. On January 13, 1927, he was traded by the Yankees to the Chicago White Sox for

Johnny Grabowski John Patrick Grabowski (January 7, 1900 – May 23, 1946) was an American baseball player. He played professional baseball for 12 years from 1922 to 1933, including seven years as a catcher in Major League Baseball with the Chicago White Sox (192 ...

and

Ray Morehart Raymond Anderson Morehart (December 2, 1899 – January 13, 1989) was an American Major League Baseball, major league baseball player. Born in Terrell, Texas, Terrell, Texas, Morehart attended Austin College and played two seasons for the Chicag ...

. On March 4, 1928, he was selected off waivers by the Indians from the White Sox. In 12 seasons he played in 1,059 Games and had 3,611 At Bats, 457 Runs, 966 Hits, 158 Doubles, 54 Triples, 50 Home Runs, 446 RBI, 36 Stolen Bases, 339 Walks, .268 Batting Average, .335 On-base percentage, .383 Slugging Percentage, 1,382 Total Bases and 152 Sacrifice Hits. Defensively, he recorded a .970 Fielding Percentage. He also managed in the

Evangeline League The Evangeline League began in 1934 in baseball, 1934 as a six–team Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball, minor league with teams based in Louisiana, United States, later adding Mississippi and Texas based franchises. In 1935, ...

in 1946. He died in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

at the age of 64. He is buried in St. Louis #3 Cemetery.

In popular culture

In the

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

movie ''

Jack Reacher Jack Reacher is the protagonist of a series of crime thriller novels by British author Lee Child. In the stories, Jack Reacher was a major in the US Army's military police. Having left the Army at age 36, Reacher roams the United States, t ...

'', the title character uses the alias "Aaron Ward" when investigating at an Ohio gun range.

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...

's character tells Cruise, "I'm pretty sure you didn't play second base for the Yankees in 1925."

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Aaron 1896 births 1961 deaths Baseball players from Arkansas People from Booneville, Arkansas New York Yankees players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Ouachita Baptist Tigers baseball players Minor league baseball managers Little Rock Travelers players Montgomery Rebels players Charleston Sea Gulls players Toledo Mud Hens players Sacramento Senators players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Shreveport Sports players Tyler Sports players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players