Howard Ellsworth "Smoky Joe" Wood (October 25, 1889 – July 27, 1985) was an American professional baseball player for 14 years.

Wood played his first amateur baseball for a local minor league team in Ouray, Colorado.

Wood recounted in the seminal 1966 book The Glory of Their Times, "I threw so hard I thought my arm would fly right off my body."

A story that gained common parlance was that legendary fastballer and pitching contemporary Walter Johnson once said, "Can I throw harder than Joe Wood?

Johnson, whether being as usual self-effacing or literal, did say Wood could throw as hard as he could for two or three innings, but his delivery put much strain on his arm.

Johnson had a speed 6.1 miles per hour (9.8 km/h) faster than anyone measured with the photo-electric system (used occasionally in the 1910s through 1930s), but Wood when tested in 1917 had already suffered a career-changing injury.

The papers of the time hyped the matchup like a heavyweight prizefight, and a standing-room-only crowd of 29,000 packed the park that day.

[3] Equally compelling in drama, Wood's Red Sox faced John McGraw's New York Giants in the 1912 World Series.

Given new life, the "Snodgrass Muff" cost the Giants as Speaker and Larry Gardner each knocked in a run to overcome the 1-run deficit.

Although he maintained a winning record and a low ERA, his appearances were limited, as he could no longer recover quickly from pitching a game.

Late in the 1917 season, Wood was sold to the Cleveland Indians, where he rejoined former teammate Tris Speaker.

Decades later, in 1981, Wood was present at an historic pitcher's duel between Yale and St. John's University, featuring future major leaguers (and teammates) Ron Darling and Frank Viola.

Wood, sitting in the stands, recalled Ty Cobb and said, "A lot of fellows in my time shortened up on the bat when they had to – that's what the St. John's boys should try against this good pitcher."

In 1984, Wood received a standing ovation on Old Timers Day at Fenway Park in Boston, some 72 years after his memorable season.

On January 3, 1985, Yale President A. Bartlett Giamatti presented Joe Wood with the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.