Gary John Ballman (July 6, 1940 – May 20, 2004) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Ballman starred at Michigan State before playing halfback and wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1962 to 1966, making the Pro Bowl the final two seasons.
 Ballman in 1972 | |||||||||
| No. 48, 82, 85 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | July 6, 1940 Detroit, Michigan, USA | ||||||||
| Died: | May 20, 2004 (aged 63) Aurora, Colorado, USA | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | East Detroit (Eastpointe, Michigan) | ||||||||
| College: | Michigan State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1962 / round: 8 / pick: 104 | ||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1962 / round: 16 / pick: 122 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Biography
editEarly years
editGary Ballman was born July 6, 1940, in Detroit, Michigan.
He played football collegiately at Michigan State University, joining the Spartans' varsity squad as starting right halfback in 1959 as a sophomore.[1]
Ballaman remains among the Pittsburgh Steelers' career leaders in kickoffs (64 returns for 1,711 yards), with the second-best average of 26.7. His 93-yard return against Washington on November 17, 1963, is tied for seventh-longest in team history. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1967 to 1972, then split his final season between the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings.
He later worked for the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) until 1979 before moving to Colorado, where he worked as a building products salesman until his retirement in 2003.[2]
On May 20, 2004, Ballman was stricken while mowing his lawn at home in Aurora, Colorado, and died at the age of 63.[2]
NFL career statistics
edit| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1962 | PIT | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | PIT | 14 | 4 | 26 | 492 | 18.9 | 67 | 5 |
| 1964 | PIT | 13 | 13 | 47 | 935 | 19.9 | 47 | 7 |
| 1965 | PIT | 14 | 12 | 40 | 859 | 21.5 | 87 | 5 |
| 1966 | PIT | 13 | 13 | 41 | 663 | 16.2 | 79 | 5 |
| 1967 | PHI | 12 | 12 | 36 | 524 | 14.6 | 67 | 6 |
| 1968 | PHI | 12 | 12 | 30 | 341 | 11.4 | 55 | 4 |
| 1969 | PHI | 14 | 13 | 31 | 492 | 15.9 | 80 | 2 |
| 1970 | PHI | 14 | 13 | 47 | 601 | 12.8 | 26 | 3 |
| 1971 | PHI | 6 | 6 | 13 | 238 | 18.3 | 57 | 0 |
| 1972 | PHI | 8 | 4 | 9 | 183 | 20.3 | 43 | 0 |
| 1973 | NYG | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 |
| MIN | 5 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Career | 131 | 104 | 323 | 5,366 | 16.6 | 87 | 37 | |
References
edit- ^ "'S' Grid Squad Showing Results of Hard Work," Lansing State Journal, April 24, 1960, p. S1.
- ^ a b "Gary Ballman, 63; Twice Played in Pro Bowl While With Steelers," Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2004, p. B7.