James Ball

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Olympic rings
athletics
silver 1928 400 m
bronze 1928 4 × 400 m relay
bronze 1932 4 × 400 m relay

James Allan "Jimmy" Ball (born May 7, 1903 in Dauphin , Manitoba , † July 2, 1988 in Victoria , British Columbia ) was a Canadian athlete who was successful in the 1930s. The 400 meter specialist took part in two Olympic Games.

He studied pharmacy at the University of Manitoba.

He was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1980.

He was 1.80 m tall and weighed 69 kg during his playing days.

Career

James Ball (left) wins silver in 1928

Jimmy Ball had his first sporting success in 1925 when he won two regional championship titles - from Manitoba and from Western Canada. Two years later he won the Dominion Championships over 440 yards as well as with the Western Canadian relay.

At the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928 , he won all the eliminations and in the semifinals left the American Ray Barbuti behind by two tenths of a second with 48.6 seconds . In the final, however, the order was reversed. Barbuti rose by a full second to 47.8 s and took the Olympic victory, while Ball came in second in 48.0 s, ahead of the German Joachim Büchner (third in 48.2 s). Ball was unable to win another individual medal in the period that followed. Two years later at the British Empire Games in Hamilton in 1930 it was more than 440 yards as well as more than 220 yards just for fifth place, and at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932 he was sixth and last of his semifinals in 49.0 seconds break up. However, as a member of the Canadian team in the 4 x 400 meter relay , he made it into the medal ranks three times:

  • At the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, the Canadian team, which consisted of Alex Wilson , Phil Edwards , Stanley Glover and Ball, won bronze in 3: 15.4 minutes behind the USA (gold in the world record time of 3:14, 2 min) and Germany (silver in 3: 14.8 min).
  • In 1930 at the British Empire Games in Hamilton, the Canadian relay team with the line-up Wilson, Art Scott , Ball and Stan Glover came in second in 3: 19.8 minutes.
  • The year 1932 got off to a promising start when Ball, along with Percy Williams , Wilson and Edwards, beat the USA team at the Millrose Games in New York City . The revenge came on the heels, however: At the games in Los Angeles, the USA again set a world record in 3: 08.2 minutes and gave the seasons from the United Kingdom and Canada no chance. The British finished second, three seconds behind, and the Canadian team of Ray Lewis , Ball, Edwards and Wilson, two seconds faster than four years earlier in Amsterdam, finished third in 3: 12.8 minutes .

With this success, Ball ended his international career.

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personal data
SURNAME Ball, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ball, James Allan; Ball, Jimmy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian athlete
DATE OF BIRTH May 7, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Dauphin (Manitoba)
DATE OF DEATH July 2nd, 1988
Place of death Victoria (British Columbia)