Eric Clinton Ball (born July 1, 1966) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...

player who was

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

for seven seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raid ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

(NFL). He played college football for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

College career

Ball played at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

from 1985 through 1988. He tied a Rose Bowl record in the 1986 Rose Bowl by scoring four touchdowns for the Bruins against the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

, and was the game's MVP. He was named to the

Rose Bowl Hall of Fame The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. The Ros ...

in 1996. While at UCLA, Ball had two notable fumbles in very important games. In the November 23, 1985 USC vs UCLA game, with the Rose Bowl on the line for the Bruins, Ball lost the ball on the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter as he dived for the end zone with what would have been the winning touchdown. Marcus Cotton grabbed the fumble for USC and the Trojans would win 17–13. Ball also had a crucial fumble in the UCLA vs Washington State game in 1988, when the #1 ranked Bruins were upset at home by the Cougars 34–30.JAY HOVDEY. Unbeaten U.C.L.A. Is Upset. New York Times. October 30. 1988 Quote:''U.C.L.A.'s best running play ended when the tailback Eric Ball fumbled at the Bruin 37 after a gain of 17 yards. The fumble occurred midway through the third quarter, when U.C.L.A. led, 27-13. Five plays later, Washington State scored the second of four successive touchdowns. The fumble was typical of the seesaw nature of the game.'' Ball helped the Bruins go 4-0 in Bowl Games during his college career - 1986 Rose Bowl, 1986 Freedom Bowl, 1987 Aloha Bowl,

1989 Cotton Bowl Classic The 1989 Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1989, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The game was played on January 2, the day after New Year's Day, since New Year's Day fell on a Sunday. The bowl game fea ...

, including two Pac-10 Championships (1985, 1987).

NFL career

Ball played mostly as a kick returner for the Bengals, returning 115 kicks over 97 games for a total of 2,474 return yards. In 1995, he was selected by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft but did not make the roster. He then signed with the Oakland Raiders and played one season with them.

Post Playing Career

Ball currently serves as the Cincinnati Bengals Director of Player Personnel. https://theorg.com/org/cincinnati-bengals/org-chart/eric-ball

References

1966 births Living people American football running backs Cincinnati Bengals players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Cleveland UCLA Bruins football players {{runningback-1960s-stub