On May 1st, SMU inducted legendary Mustang defensive tackle Jerry Ball into the University’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Ball, a 1987 SMU graduate and 13 year NFL veteran, was one of six legendary Mustang athletes immortalized last Friday evening at a banquet and ceremony held at Dallas’ lovely Hilton Anatole Hotel.
May 2015 will be a remarkable month for Ball. Next weekend, he will be inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in a banquet held at Baylor University’s Ferrell Center. Other inductees this year include ornery Chicago Bears legend Mike Singletary, former University of Texas All-American wide receiver Jordan Shipley, and former NFL running back Junior Coffey, who was the best offensive player on the expansion Atlanta Falcons teams of the late 1960s.
Before starring at SMU, Ball was a standout at West Brook High School in Beaumont, Texas. While Ball made his name at the collegiate and professional levels as a massive, pile moving defensive lineman, he gained the notice of college scouts playing two other positions. Ball earned all-district honors as a fullback and a linebacker in his senior year with the West Brook Bruins.
Ron Meyer recruited Ball to SMU to play fullback, but soon converted the 6’1, more than 300 pound Beaumont-native to nose tackle. The move proved advantageous for both Ball and the Mustangs. Ball earned All-Southwest Conference honors on three occasions (1984-1986).
Ball led the 1984 SWC co-champion Mustangs in tackles. He served as team captain in his senior year and is currently ranked fourth in career sacks at SMU.
The Detroit Lions selected Ball 63rd overall in the third round of the 1987 NFL Draft. He used his size, strength, and tenacity to develop into one of the league’s premier defensive lineman soon after his entry into professional football. Ball commanded double-teams throughout his career, freeing up other tacklers to bottle up opposing offenses.
Ball earned Pro Bowl honors on three consecutive occasions (1989-1991). He helped lead the 1991 Detroit Lions to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost 41-10 to the Washington Redskins, who went on to win Super Bowl XXVI. On the previous weekend, the Lions’ defense stymied the soon-to-be dynastic Dallas Cowboys in the NFC divisional playoffs 38-6.
Following the 1992 season, the Lions traded Ball to the Cleveland Browns for a third-round draft pick. Ball’s effectiveness on the field had been compromised by a knee injury that he suffered late in the 1991 season. A chop-block by the New York Jets’ Brad Baxter had ended his year. In 1993, the NFL instituted “The Jerry Ball Rule,” which banned the type of block that had so severely injured the former SMU standout two seasons earlier.
Eventually, Jerry Ball recovered from his knee injury and went on to play seven more productive seasons in the NFL. He anchored the defensive lines of the Browns, Los Angeles Raiders, and Minnesota Vikings during the latter half of the 1990s. Following his professional football career, Ball got into the sporting apparel business and runs a Detroit-based company called Ice Box Enterprises.
Ball embodies everything that’s great about SMU football. He combines Texas toughness, athleticism, and smarts. It is a great thing that he is finally being honored in University Park. His plaque will hang in the SMU Athletic Hall of Fame, right where it belongs alongside other Mustang football legends like Raymond Berry, Michael Carter, Craig James, Eric Dickerson, and Lamar Hunt.
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