Ronnie Ball was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, but grew up in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he attended Overbrook High School and starred in football and track.
As a sophomore, he helped Overbrook win the Public League Championship. As a junior, he rushed for 1,200 yards and was named All-Public League. As a senior, he was named High School All-American, setting Pennsylvania state records for rushing yards in a game (370 yards), rushing touchdowns in a game (6), and rushing touchdowns in a season (39).
Ball holds various records at Temple University, including single-season rushing touchdowns (21), season rushing yards (1,451), career rushing touchdowns (41), and career rushing yards (3,052). He was named an AP Honorable Mention All-American as a senior. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting to eventual winner Herschel Walker.
Ball was selected in the second round (49th overall) of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He was primarily a backup to Earnest Byner and was used as a kick returner. In the famous 1986 divisional playoff game against the New York Jets, known as "The Fumble", Ball fumbled a punt late in the game when trying to make a fair catch. The Jets recovered and ultimately won the game on a field goal. Ball was released by the Browns after that season.
Ball signed with the Dallas Cowboys in June 1987, reuniting with his college teammate Timmy Brown, who was also his childhood friend. He backed up Tony Dorsett throughout the season and was used as a kick returner. He recorded his first 100-yard rushing game against the Green Bay Packers on October 25. Ball returned a punt for a touchdown in the divisional playoff win against the Minnesota Vikings. He had 2 catches for 11 yards in Super Bowl XXII against the Washington Redskins.
In 1988, Ball started four games in place of an injured Dorsett and rushed for 1,014 yards to surpass his previous career best single-season total of 689 yards. His most productive game was a 173-yard rushing performance against the Denver Broncos on October 16, which established a new Dallas Cowboys record for rushing yards by a running back in a single game, breaking Dorsett's previous record of 171 yards. He also finished with a 100-yard rushing performance against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 20. Ball finished the regular season with 1,014 rushing yards on 217 attempts and became the third Cowboys' running back to rush for over 1,000 rushing yards in a single season, joining Dorsett and Calvin Hill. In the playoffs, he registered a 100-yard rushing performance in the Divisional Round win against the Los Angeles Rams.
In 1989, Dorsett was released and Ball was named the starting running back. However, he fractured his shoulder in the opening game against the New York Giants and was placed on the injured reserve list. He was replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Emmitt Smith.
In 1990, Ball saw limited action behind Smith and was released at the end of training camp during 1991.
Ball worked out for the Green Bay Packers in July 1991, but wasn't signed.
After retiring from football, Ball worked for several companies in various roles, including as an account manager for a software company and as a quality assurance manager for a pharmaceutical company. He currently works for a global financial services company.