Born in 1862 at East St. Louis, Illinois, Ward was a stockyard worker and played for the independent Bellville Nationals, where he had a "splendid record" at pitcher.

[1][2] He played one game in Major League Baseball for the 1885 Providence Grays on September 19 of that year.

[3] Ward's appearance resulted from a sore arm to the scheduled Providence pitcher, Dupee Shaw.

When he struck out two batters in the fifth inning, a contingent in the crowd from East St. Louis applauded vigorously.

"[6] Ward later worked for several years as the head office man at Cassidy Brothers, a livestock company in Kansas City, Missouri.