Background
Ball was born in Beaumont, Texas and graduated from West Brook High School in Beaumont, Texas, where he played Fullback rushing for 1000 yards and LB for 1982 5A State Championship All State honors.
Ball was born in Beaumont, Texas and graduated from West Brook High School in Beaumont, Texas, where he played Fullback rushing for 1000 yards and LB for 1982 5A State Championship All State honors.
Student, Southern Methodist University.
He played professionally for the Detroit Lions, the Cleveland Browns, the Los Angeles Raiders, the Oakland Raiders, and the Minnesota Vikings. He was All District in three positions and was selected to play in the Texas high school all star game. He played college football at Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas.
All-American, All Southwest Conference 84-86.
Ball was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 3rd round (63rd overall) of the 1987 NFL Draft. During his career he went to three Pro Bowls with the Detroit Lions.
Ball played in the NFL for thirteen seasons. He recorded 32.5 sacks during his career, most of them coming as a nose tackle with the Detroit Lions.
Despite this fact, Ball spent his entire career being double teamed and often triple teamed by opposing teams.
Ball"s dominance was such a force that teams would realign their best players to help centers deal with the pressure Ball kept on the middle of the offense. Known mostly as a run stuffer later in his career, he has been considered one of the best nose tackles of this era. Anchoring the Minnesota Viking defense alongside John Randle, also a Pro Bowl defensive tackle, Ball re-emerged as a leader and dominant force on the Vikings 15-1 record setting team