Del Ballard Jr.

Del Ballard Jr.
Personal information
Born (1963-07-01) July 1, 1963
Keller, Texas, U.S.[1]
Residence North Richland Hills, Texas, U.S.[1]
Sport
Sport Bowling
Medal record
Representing  United States
World Senior Championships
2013 Las VegasFours [2]
2013 Las VegasDoubles [3]

Delmas Perry "Del" Ballard Jr. (born July 1, 1963) is a professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He was a 2009 inductee into the PBA Hall of Fame, and a 2011 inductee into the USBC Hall of Fame.[4] Ballard is the husband of top female bowler Carolyn Dorin-Ballard with whom he has one daughter. The Ballard family now resides in North Richland Hills, Texas. He is also the brother-in-law of another top female bowler, Cathy Dorin-Lizzi.

In recent years, Ballard has appeared laneside in several televised PBA matches, as a ball representative and coach for Storm Bowling.

Bowling career

Ballard entered the PBA Tour in 1982 at the age of 19. He won two titles in 1987, including his first major at the U.S. Open Championship which earned him a then-record $100,000. In 1988, Ballard won his second major, the ABC Masters.[1] (The Masters was not considered a PBA Tour event at the time, but is now recognized as a PBA title and a major). He went on to win two additional majors, the 1989 Firestone Tournament of Champions and the 1993 U.S. Open. In 1991, he had his most successful year on the tour, winning 4 titles. He won 13 PBA Titles in his career (all between 1987–1993) and has career total earnings of $1,130,857. He cashed in 259 of 482 tournaments. In 31 TV appearances (the championship round of a Tour event) he had a 30–21 record, with a 216.29 average.

Ballard received an exemption for the 2006–07 PBA tour season, by finishing tenth in the Tour Trials. He was unable to retain the exemption the following year.

No longer an active bowler on the standard PBA Tour, Ballard continues to work on tour as a ball rep/coach for Storm.

The "Ballard Gutter-Ball" Incident

On March 2, 1991, Ballard was on the receiving end of one of the most bizarre and infamous incidents in PBA history. In the championship match at the Fair Lanes Open nationally-televised tournament in Baltimore, Ballard faced Pete Weber for the title. Weber finished with three strikes in the 10th frame to force Ballard to strike twice and get seven pins for the win. Ballard struck twice, then on his final shot he proceeded to throw the ball into the right gutter, thus handing Pete Weber the title.[5] A few weeks later, Ballard rebounded by winning the Long Island Open, defeating Jim Johnson Jr.

Personal life

Ballard is married to Carolyn and has a daughter, Alyssa.[1]

It was announced on PBA.com in August, 2010, that Ballard was battling tonsil cancer. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments at Texas Oncology, an affiliate of Baylor University Medical Center, and prognosis for a full recovery was good.[6] Wanting to turn a negative into a positive, he and wife Carolyn, along with a few friends, got together after one of his treatments and organized the "Ballard vs. The Big C" bowling tournament. As of 2017, the tournament has raised over $300,000 which has been donated to Cancer Care Services, Baylor Health Care and the North Texas Laryngectomy Society. Ballard was recognized by the PBA for his efforts, being presented with the PBA Tony Reyes Community Service Award for the 2017 season.[7]

Notable facts

  • 13 PBA titles, including four majors[1]
  • Ballard needs only a PBA World championship title to complete both a Triple Crown and Grand Slam. (The Triple Crown for PBA Bowlers is The U.S. Open, PBA World Championship and Tournament of Champions. To complete the Grand Slam, a bowler must also win the USBC Masters.)
  • Ballard became the 11th bowler in PBA History to surpass $1 million in career earnings in 1994.[1]
  • Ballard won the first six-figure first place prize in PBA History ($100,000 at the 1987 U.S. Open).[1]
  • Ballard was ranked #29 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years."
  • Ballard was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame on January 24, 2009.
  • Ballard was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame on July 1, 2011.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Del Ballard Jr.. pba.com
  2. ↑ World Senior Championships 2013 – Men Team of Four
  3. ↑ World Senior Championships 2013 – Men Doubles
  4. ↑ Vint, Bill. "PBA Stars Ballard, Webb, Richgels Inducted into United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame." Article at www.pba.com on July 2, 2011.
  5. ↑ YouTube video of Ballard's gutter ball
  6. ↑ Vint, Bill. "PBA Hall of Famer Del Ballard Jr. Successfully Battling Tonsil Cancer." Article at www.pba.com on August 4, 2010.
  7. ↑ Vint, Bill (January 17, 2018). "Tuesday Jason Belmonte Wins Fourth Player of the Year Award; Sanders, Loschetter, Ballard Also Win 2017 Honors". pba.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
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