In the 1930s, Joe ran a roadside Texan honky-tonk called The Sociable Inn. The central attraction was a pit of frenzied alligators who were fed domestic animals to everyone's delight. In the oft hours Joe also fed about a dozen waitresses and two ex-wives to the hungry reptiles.

Born in the 1890's, was the owner of a tavern in Elmendorf, Texas called the Sociable Inn. Some of it's distinguishing features were pretty waitresses, and a pit of alligators in the back, that the visitors would enjoy watching get fed. Ball had a hard time keeping waitresses at his tavern, but none the less, it was still a very busy place. Not everyone liked Joe. One neighbor complained about the smell coming from the gator pit, and Joe threatened him with a pistol for it. In September 1937 relatives reported Minnie Gotthardt missing. The 22 year old woman had been a waitress at Ball's tavern.

Ball claimed she left to go to another job. Then another waitress, Julia Turner, was reported missing. Still, Ball claimed she too had left for another job. The only thing was, Turner hadn't taken her clothes with her. Balls' story: Turner got into an arguement with her roommate, she was anxious to leave, he gave her $500.00 for the trip. Soon, two more women were reported missing. One of the missing women had opened a bank account a few days earlier, and disappeared without taking the money with her. Rangers compiled a list of all of Ball's employees. Many were found alive, and more than twelve were reported missing, so was two of Joe's wives. Ball's handyman eventually cracked under pressure and admitted to helping Ball dispose of many female bodies by feeding them to the alligators.

On September 24, 1938, the Rangers had enough evidence to convict Ball, so they stopped into the Sociable Inn. Ball, stepped behind the counter, rang up a "No Sale" on the register, removed a pistol from the drawer and shot himself dead. His handyman was jailed for a few years for being an accessory, and the alligators were donated to the San Antonio zoo.

Later a handyman and a neighbor said they saw Joe feeding female body parts to the gators but they remained quiet because Joe threatened to kill them.