Rocky Mountain Chapter

NFL Alumni

Gary Ballman

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We lost one of our own and a friend to all of us this year, but not before he lived a full life.  Gary Ballman was a small town boy from Eastpointe, Michigan.  Since childhood he had a love for fishing and sports.  He later went on to star for Michigan State in football before moving on to the NFL.  Few know that his first love was basketball and he also turned down a contract to pitch in the Major League before being drafted by the Steelers.   He played with them from 1962 to 1966 earning pro bowl honors his last two years there.  He was traded to the Eagles in the beginning of the 1967 season and spent the next 6 years in Philadelphia. In 1973 he played with the Giants the first half of the season and finished the season with the Vikings.  His last game was in Super Bowl VIII against the Dolphins.

Gary stayed busy in his post-playing days working with the NFL Players Association for six years.  Ballman later moved his family to Denver and worked with Simplex Building Products and later owned his own business before retiring in 2003.

Gary met his best friend and love of his life, Judi his junior year of college and they married during his senior year. Judi and Gary raised three boys, all graduates of the University of Colorado and are proud grandparents to three beautiful girls.  If he wasn't following his passion of fishing, you could find Gary passing the time gardening or watching Tiger Woods

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