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.
