Del Ballard Jr.

Delmas Perry "Del" Ballard Jr. (born 1 July 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.

Del Ballard Jr.
Personal information
Birth nameDelmas Perry Ballard Jr.
Born (1963-07-01) 1 July 1963
Keller, Texas, U.S.[1]
ResidenceNorth Richland Hills, Texas, U.S.[1]
Years active1982-2007 (competition)
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Sport
SportTen-pin bowling
Turned pro1982
Achievements and titles
National finals13 PBA Tour (4 majors)
Medal record
Representing  United States
World Senior Championships
2013 Las VegasFours [2]
2013 Las VegasDoubles [3]

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. He also manages the Motown Muscle PBA League team, while wife Carolyn manages the NYC Kingpins.[5]

The "Ballard Gutter-Ball" Incident

On 2 March 1991, Ballard was on the receiving end of one of the most bizarre and infamous incidents in PBA history. In the nationally-televised championship match at the Fair Lanes Open tournament in Baltimore, Ballard faced Pete Weber for the title. Weber finished with three strikes in the 10th frame, forcing Ballard to get two strikes and at least seven pins to win. Ballard got strikes on his next two balls, but the third unfortunately came too close to the right-hand gutter and fell in, thus handing Pete Weber the title.[6] Ballard recovered from this loss a few weeks later, defeating Jim Johnson Jr. to win the Long Island Open.

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.[7] 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.[8]

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 24 January 2009.
  • Ballard was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame on 1 July 2011.
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References
  1. 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 2 July 2011.
  5. Warner, K (18 May 2020). "PBA League Draft Results". pba.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  6. YouTube video of Ballard's gutter ball
  7. Vint, Bill. "PBA Hall of Famer Del Ballard Jr. Successfully Battling Tonsil Cancer." Article at www.pba.com on 4 August 2010.
  8. Vint, Bill (17 January 2018). "Tuesday Jason Belmonte Wins Fourth Player of the Year Award; Sanders, Loschetter, Ballard Also Win 2017 Honors". pba.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
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