In 1937 Ward had an unsuccessful trial for Leicester City risking the sack from his job, before catching the attention of Derby County scout Jackie Whitehouse.
Like many of his generation, Ward's career was adversely affected by the outbreak of World War II, and during his time in the army Ward made guest appearances for Notts County, Hamilton Academical and Leeds United and also played for the Scottish Army XI before he was sent to fight in Europe.
On his return to England, despite Arsenal offering £10,000 for his services, Derby found him a position at right-half, where he was successful enough to gain 2 full England caps, making his debut against Belgium on 21 September 1947 at The Heysel Stadium and also appearing against Wales at Villa Park on 10 November 1948.
The trouble with this club is that you can't put a threepenny stamp on a letter without consulting the board personally.
Though he arrived too late to save Barnsley from relegation, he achieved promotion straight away as Third Division North Champions in 1955.
Ward's five years at Derby were blighted by a lack of cash and a parochial attitude in the boardroom, but he is often credited with laying the foundations for the success of his successor,[3] such as signing Colin Boulton, Peter Daniel, Kevin Hector, Alan Durban and Ron Webster, all of whom were part of Clough's 1972 Football League winning side.