by Jim Siergey
I have never been an autograph seeker, but I do have a baseball that is signed by Pete Ward. Ward was a third baseman who played for the White Sox in the mid-60s. He had a couple of productive seasons before injuries shortened his career.
I liked Pete. His uniform number was 8, the same as mine when I played on my grammar school basketball team of which, by the way, I was the entire third string.
A friend of mine who at the time worked in the business of baseball was at a banquet where he found himself seated next to Mr. Ward. Knowing that I was a fan of Pete’s from back in the day, Tim asked him to autograph a ball, which he then presented to me when we once again met up.
Another friend, learning of this, supplied me with a Pete Ward baseball card as well as a wooden stand with plastic encasements for both ball and card. This I still proudly display, although time has not been merciful to Pete’s signature as it has faded away.
It lives on dimly just as does my memory of him scooping up ground balls at third base and occasionally banging one out of the park.
Originally posted on the site Storied Stuff, a show-and-tell for grownups started during the pandemic by our friends Steve and Sharon Fiffer.
