Gulp!

Swallowing swords at 72

By Leslee Rasco
The Amarillo Independent

For 60 years, Jim "Lucky' Ball has been entertaining audiences around the world with his classic sideshow act.

Photos by Ralph Duke Tastes great: It may have a slightly metallic taste, but Lucky Ball shows a sharp affinity for sword swallowing.

No, Ball doesn't breathe fire nor can he lift 500 pounds with a single hand; Ball is a sword swallower and ventured into the act when he was only 12.

Ball, now 72, is the longest-living active sword swallower in the world, according to the Sword Swallowers Association.

Ball's talent for sword swallowing wasn't a fluke. His mother, Estelline Pike, an Amarillo native, was a sword swallower and taught him the art.

But Ball doesn't just swallow swords. During his show Saturday at Westgate Mall, Ball swallowed a bent coat hanger, an oil dip stick and a gear shift for audiences gathered at center court.

He remarked on his bizarre talent to the audience.

"You don't have to be crazy to do this, but it helps," Ball said from the stage.

Ball's show Sunday marked a very important date for him. His mother was born in Amarillo on June 6, 1908, a hundred years ago.

"I feel like I am celebrating the anniversary of where it all started," Ball said.

Ball served in the military from 1958-1960 and was based in Korea. But he didn't stop performing just because he was overseas. He performed on the army base and across Korea and Japan for audiences during his military service.

Ball has performed with the Royal American Shows, and with the Ringling Brothers at Madison Square Gardens with his mother and appeared on the TV program "What's My Line?"

But as the sideshow has become a part of history, Ball has found the secret to keeping the tradition of the act alive.

"To have a sideshow anymore, you have to be able to talk to people," Ball said.

Ball's act has severely injured him only once. In 1954, during a show at Long Beach, Calif., Ball rushed the swallowing of one sword and he cut his esophagus and then had strep throat settle into the laceration. But as long as he focuses and takes his time swallowing swords, he is in complete control of his safety, Ball said.

Ball's concern with safety also reaches into his audience.

"It's my duty to make children happy with the act," Ball said, "but they need to know not to try this at home."

Ball was awarded the SSAI Lifetime Achievement Award by the Sword Swallowers Association International in February.

Ball's act was brought to Center Court by the Knife Group at Westgate Mall.

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Posted: May 22, 2008