Frank Ball | |
Birth Place: | West Kirby, Cheshire, England |
Spouse: | Lucille Ball |
Status: | Professional |
Prowins: | 3 |
Masters: | DNP |
Usopen: | T22: 1928 |
Pga: | DNP |
Frank Ball (born) was an English professional golfer who played in the early 20th century. He tied for third place in the 1924 Open Championship.[1]
Ball was born circa 1892 in West Kirby, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England, to William Henry Ball and Hannah Silcock Roscoe. He had four brothers and four sisters. His birthplace was but a short distance south of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake.
Frank's father, William (1856–1926), was a greenkeeper from Hoylake.[2] Frank's brothers Tom, Sydney, William Henry (Harry) were also professional golfers, as was Harry's son Errie.
In 1923 Ball reached the final of two important tournaments within a month. In late-June he lost to Arthur Havers in the Glasgow Herald Tournament but in mid-July he won the Broxbourne Tournament beating James Sherlock.[3] [4]
The 1924 Open Championship was held 26–27 June at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. The American golfer Walter Hagen won the second of his four Open Championships, one stroke ahead of runner-up Ernest Whitcombe.[5] [6] Ball finished in a tie for third place with Macdonald Smith.
He sailed from Southampton on 29 October 1926 aboard RMS Andania[7] to find new opportunities in America and quickly found work at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.[8] His career and whereabouts after moving to Atlanta is somewhat of a mystery.
Ball's date of death is unknown.
Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Open | T22 | T32 | |||||||||
The Open Championship | T61 | T19 | T16 | T3 | T24 |
Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Open | |||||||
The Open Championship | T27 |