Bob Forward was from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. He was a star pitcher with various teams in the Nova Scotia professional league before World War I. In 1921, Forward was the first-string pitcher with the Yarmouth team and that year he led them into the Nova Scotia provincial finals against Springhill.

In 1922, the Yarmouth and Springhill teams were back at it again, competing for the provincial title, with Forward leading the way for his Yarmouth team. He won the first game 9-2, pitching against Jack Caulfield. He lost the second game 3-1 against Ackie Allbon. The third game was never played, as the two teams could not decide on a neutral field to play the final and deciding game.

Forward also had tryouts with the Boston Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National Baseball League. He is an original Sport Hall of Fame inductee.