Aaron Ward (baseball)

Aaron Lee Ward (August 28, 1896 – January 30, 1961) was an American infielder for the New York Yankees (1917–1926), Chicago White Sox (1927), and Cleveland Indians (1928). A former player at Ouachita Baptist University, Ward spent ten seasons as a reliable utility infielder for the Yankees under Bill Donovan and Miller Huggins, going to three straight World Series in 1921 (where he made a crucial error in Game 7 and sealed the game for the New York Giants getting thrown out at third base in Game 8), 1922 and 1923 (where he would get ten hits). Ward also was on the roster for the 1926 World Series, but did not play in a game for the team, having become a bench player in favor of Tony Lazzeri and Mark Koenig. Ward got the first hit for the Yankees on April 18, 1923, the opening of Yankee Stadium off Boston Red Sox pitcher Howard Ehmke. After several attempts in previous seasons, the Yankees traded Ward to the White Sox in December 1926, where he only lasted a season. The Indians claimed Ward off of waivers in March 1928 before releasing him in June 1928.

The son of an Arkansas politician, Ward also served in the Arkansas State Legislature as a reading clerk during the offseason. He also owned and managed the Class D New Iberia Cardinals of the Evangeline League from October 1945–February 1947. His son, Gene Ward, would also work in Minor League Baseball.