Ralph Ham

Ralph A. Ham

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown
• Height 5' 8", Weight 158 lb.

• Debut May 6, 1871
• Final Game September 15, 1871
• Born March, 1849 in Troy, NY USA
• Died February 13, 1905 in Troy, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Left fielder Ralph Ham played just one season, for the Rockford Forest Citys in 1871. A teammate of Cap Anson, he was three years older.

He was born, and died, in Troy, NY, a hotbed of early baseball.

Don't be fooled too much by Ham's 13 errors in 19 games in left field. Rockford's home park, the Agricultural Society Fair Grounds, didn't exactly provide the true hops of, say, Wrigley Field. For one thing, there were trees in the outfield, which made the game play slightly more like pin-ball than base-ball. Second, the field wasn't exactly level. Third base was on a hill, and home plate was in a valley, which I would expect affected the sight lines in left at least a little. Not at risk of winning any gold gloves, but maybe not the worst of all time, either.

Related Sites

• BR Minors page