Florence Ballard her suit. Angered, Gordy ordered her to return to Detroit, and Birdsong officially replaced her, abruptly ending her tenure with the Supremes. It had been decided as early as May that Birdsong would be Ballard's official replacement once Birdsong's contract with the Bluebelles was bought out. In August 1967, the "Detroit Free Press" reported that Ballard had taken a temporary leave of absence from the group due to "exhaustion". Ballard eventually married her boyfriend, Thomas Chapman, on February 29, 1968. A week earlier, on February 22, Ballard and Motown negotiated to have Ballard released from the label. Her attorney in
Jim Ballard in the Midwest by the Cleveland Touchdown Club. In 2008, Jim was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Ballard was an All-American at Mount Union College. Jim Ballard James Ballard (born April 16, 1972) is a former American football quarterback. Ballard was a one-year starter at Wilmington College then transferred after his freshman year to Mount Union College. While at Mount Union, Ballard broke numerous school, conference and NCAA records en route to leading the Purple Raiders to their first ever Division III National Championship in 1993. A two time First Team All-American Team member in 1992 and