Claire M. "Buzz" Ball Jr. (October 4, 1941 – April 7, 2019) was an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

from 1973 to 1982.

Early life and education

Ball was born in

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city in Athens County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 United States census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Athe ...

and graduated from Athens High School. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

, followed by a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Ohio State University Moritz College of Law The Michael E. Moritz College of Law is the Law school in the United States, law school of Ohio State University, a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1891, the school is ...

Career

Ball began his career as a congressional aide to Ohio Congressman

Clarence E. Miller Clarence Ellsworth Miller, Jr. (November 1, 1917 – August 2, 2011) was a United States Republican Party, Republican United States House of Representatives, Congressman from Ohio, serving January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1993. Early life and ...

. He later served as the prosecuting attorney of

Athens County, Ohio Athens County is a county in southeastern Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 62,431. Its county seat and largest city is Athens. The county was formed in 1805 from Washington County. Because Ohio's first state university, Ohio ...

. He was elected to the

in 1972 and assumed office in 1973. During his tenure, Ball drafted legislation to create municipal courts in Hocking and Jackson Counties. He also secured a special subsidy for the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. After leaving the House in 1982, Ball served as a member of the Ohio Workers Compensation Regional Board of Review, nominated by Governor Jim Rhodes.

References

1941 births 2019 deaths Ohio University alumni People from Athens, Ohio People from Athens County, Ohio Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio lawyers 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly {{Ohio-OHRepresentative-stub