Bowling
b. July 1, 1963, Richardson, TX
Ballard made his debut on the PBA tour in 1982, when he was only nineteen, but he didn't get his first victory until 1987. It was a big one, the $100,000 U. S. Open championship. Later that year, he won the Brunswick Memorial World Open.
In 1988, Ballard won his second major title, the ABC Masters. He drew media attention when he admitted, early in 1989, that he had suffered from a drinking problem that hurt his play during his early years on the tour, and was ostracized by some older players for the admission, though others applauded him for it.
Ballard won the Firestone Tournament of Champions in 1989 and took the U. S. Open for a second time in 1993. Through the 1998 PBA season, he had 12 career victories and was 14th on the all-time list with $1,061,145 in earnings.
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