Ebonite adds two more pros to its national roster - New Products & Industry News - Del Ballard Jr. and Jason Queen - Brief Article

Bowling Digest, Feb, 2002

BOWLING BALL MANUFACTURER Ebonite is pleased to have added Del Ballard Jr. and Jason Queen to its national pro staff.

Ballard, who enjoyed a 15-year stint in the PBA before his 1997 retirement, rejoined the tour at the start of the current season and teamed with Ebonite. Through November, Ballard had 12 career victories--including such prestigious titles as the 1987 and 1993 U.S. Open, 1987 World Open, 1988 ABC Masters, and 1989 Tournament of Champions--and $1,120,627 in earnings. Ballard was the 11th player in PBA history to surpass the $1 million mark in career earnings. Ballard most recently served as the Ebonite pro tour coordinator for both the PWBA and PBA.

"I'm pleased to join the tour again," says Ballard. "Ebonite has several talented bowlers on staff, and I am very excited that I am a part of this team. I have to get used to not being the coaching representative and concentrate on being a good bowler."

"We hope to see Del recapture the fire that lifted him to a Hall of Fame career," says Ebonite product manager Brian Pursell. "His attributes--a good work ethic, intensity, and dedication to perfection--personify the Ebonite brand."

Among Ballard's new Ebonite teammates is the promising Queen. A longtime Ebonite regional staff member, Queen laid the foundation for his leap to the national bowling staff with his victory at the Midwest PBA Foundation Games-Sharpie Open in July 2001. "I was hoping that win would be a springboard for success when I became a full-time member of the PBA national tour in September, and joining the Ebonite staff only makes things better," says Queen. "Ebonite has some of the world's best bowlers, and I'm honored to be on the staff with them."

Queen won the 1997 ABC Masters as an amateur and earned eight second-place finishes in the two years he spent bowling in PBA regional events.

"We look for Jason to hit the ground running," says Pursell. "He has proven he can compete at this level, and the recent format change in the PBA fits his style of play. Jason is a great match-play bowler."