O. Ball Paddle Holster

[Ol' Drover]

I've never been a fan of paddle holsters in general but I do admire the work of the late Fort Worth Homicide Lt. Oliver Ball, so, when this one for a 2" J-Frame became available, I grabbed it.

Other than the beautiful one for a pocket Colt auto that turnerriver has posted on this forum, I don't believe I've ever seen another O. Ball paddle holster. Are there any others out there?

 

[turnerriver]

I apologize for taking so long to reply. I just got this Ball paddle holster a month ago and hadn’t had a chance to take any photos. It’s a plain holster but as you already know it’s built like a tank. It fits a Chiefs Special as shown.
I couldn’t get a good shot of his maker’s mark but it’s there.
That carved paddle holster is a beaut.
Regards,
turnerriver

 

[LPD256]

Those both are cool holsters. I can picture some old gumshoe in a fedora and London Fog raincoat smoking a stub of a cigar wearing one of these at a crime scene.

 

[Bob L]

I like them!!

 

[Ol' Drover]

Thanks for posting that, turnerriver, I was beginning to think mine was a one-off design that he gave up on.

Regarding the gumshoe in a fedora (in Texas that would have been a Stetson Open Road) and a stub cigar wearing a holster like one of these...I have an enduring mental image of a disco-era vice detective who wore the first paddle holster I ever saw under his pastel colored leisure suits while he danced the hustle.

My PTSD flares up every time I have flashbacks to it.

 

[LPD256]

Thanks for posting that, turnerriver, I was beginning to think mine was a one-off design that he gave up on.

Regarding the gumshoe in a fedora (in Texas that would have been a Stetson Open Road) and a stub cigar wearing a holster like one of these...I have an enduring mental image of a disco-era vice detective who wore the first paddle holster I ever saw under his pastel colored leisure suits while he danced the hustle.

My PTSD flares up every time I have flashbacks to it.

I agree on the Stetson in Texas. In the Midwest flyover country it probably was a fedora. I prefer the Stetson myself.

 

[Truckman]

I believe I've mentioned before here, but can't remember for sure, my family and I lived a few doors down from Oliver Ball and his family in the 50's in the 3500 block of Hamilton Drive in Ft. Worth...My only memories of him were seeing him mowing his lawn with a reel type push mower, and also visiting him in his shop when he was working on a holster...He gave me one of them, and I'm not sure where it is today...I recall also a very thick piece of reinforced glass he kept in his shop for unknown purposes...

I recall his son, who was a few years older than me, teaching me how to stay upright on my 26" Schwinn which was way too big for me...His son later became a Secret Service agent if my memory serves me right...To this day I look through old boxes of holsters at gun shows looking for one marked "O. Ball"......Ben

 

[boykinlp]

He gave me one of them, and I'm not sure where it is today....Ben

Wow, I would sure try to find it! Do you remember what it looked like? Here is one of my O. Ball holsters.
Larry