Preston Meyer Ward (July 24, 1927 – June 2, 2013) was an American professional baseball first baseman who appeared in 744 games over nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1948 and 1959 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Athletics. Ward was born in Columbia, Missouri, and attended Missouri State University. He threw right-handed, batted left-handed, and was listed as 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg). His professional career began in the Brooklyn farm system in 1944 when he was 16 years old.