Inductee #1 (2001)
	5 Bob Ward | Coach Hometown: Camargo, OK School: Camargo High School Coached from 1964-2000 Head Coach College: OU Notes: Coached the Travelers legion program for 37 years, winning nearly 2,000 games along with two state titles and one World Series berth.

Where do you find the adjectives to describe Bob Ward's career? Great, Superb, Dynamite, Unbelievable, AmazingÖor one of his favorite expressions, "Wow."

All to some extent tell the story of Bob Ward's 37-year career as head coach of the Woodward Travelers, a career that came to an end after the 2000 campaign. The numbers aren't hard to digest - they're a bit difficult to add up, though.

In his 37 years at the helm, Bob won 1,939 games and took a fledgling program and built it into a powerhouse legion program that was recognized throughout the United States and played just about everywhere in the United States.

Ward's winning percentage as a coach was a whopping .709 which was aided by 25 seasons of 50 wins or more. He led seventeen squads to district championships, twelve to state tournament berths, five to the Mid-South National Regional tournament and one to the American Legion World Series.

The trip to the World Series came in 1985, the year they won a program-record -- and still mind-boggling to this day - 86 games. They won the State Championship and later the Mid-South regional that year on a marvelous August night at Fuller Park in Woodward, beating Gonzales, La., twice, then celebrating with some 5,000-plus fans afterwards.

The 1985 state championship was the program's first. The second came in 1998.

The Travelers' sustained excellence under Bob Ward covered parts of five decades. Throughout the years, Ward tirelessly promoted his program and his players, as well as spearheading improvements to Fuller Park which was one of the state's best American Legion facilities before the team left legion and moved to Elk City in 2002.

With rosters full of small-town kids in a small-town part of the state, Ward quickly built the Traveler program into a winner that people and businesses all over northwest Oklahoma took pride in and wanted to support.

As the local support grew, so did the aura of Traveler baseball.

Ward took his teams from coast to coast. In his tenure, the Travelers played in New York, Boston, Carson City, Houston, Dallas, Colorado, Indiana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, New Orleans and just about anywhere in Oklahoma. The Travelers played in Arlington Stadium for several years and they performed at the Houston Astrodome - winning by the way.

Everywhere his team and players represented their community and state with class and dignity.

One other number deserves significant mentionÖcollege scholarships received by his players: Over 200 scholarships with an estimated total of over $1 million. This last number is perhaps the most important legacy of the Travelers.

Coach Ward and the Traveler program provided an opportunity for youngsters in northwest Oklahoma to display their talent across the state and even across the nation to college and professional scouts. It gave them a chance to learn about baseball and work on their skills. The result was a lot of scholarship help for young men to continue their education, leading to careers in all fields - law, medical, teaching, coaching, aviation and many others.

Traveler alumni that played under Coach Ward have played at the highest levels of college and professional baseball.

The last national championship team at the University of Oklahoma included three Traveler players - Ryan Minor, Damon Minor and Dusty Hansen. Traveler alums have played at OSU, Kansas, Texas Tech and other Big 12 schools. They played at as many junior colleges as you can name - including several at the powerhouse Seminole program. They have dotted rosters at NCAA Division II schools, NAIA schools and any other league you can think of.

Four of Bob's Traveler players - Don Carman, Monty Fariss, Ryan Minor and Damon Minor - have made it to "The Show."

Don Carman had a successful Big League career with the Philadelphia Phillies. Monty Fariss was a No. 1 draft pick and made it to the majors with both the Texas Rangers and Florida Marlins. Ryan Minor's name is in the baseball Hall of Fame. While with the Orioles, Ryan Minor had the honor of playing third base the night Cal Ripken Jr. ended his Iron Man streak. Damon Minor made his big league debut with the San Francisco Giants.

Dozens of other Traveler players spent time in professional baseball over the years as well.

Bob Ward's Traveler career started in 1964. It ended when he turned over the head coaching position to his youngest son Mark in 2001Öjust 61 wins shy of two thousand.

Bob still lives in Camargo with his wife Sherrie where they keep up with 10 grandchildren. He's rarely missed a game since hanging up the coaching shoes and his No.5 jersey is the first and only number ever retired in the history of the Traveler programÖand for good reasonÖ

He's the reason there is a Traveler program.