Harry Ebding
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Harry Joseph "Irish" Ebding (September 12, 1906 – September 11, 1980) was an American professional
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player who was an
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for seven seasons in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). A collegiate
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for Saint Mary's College in California, Ebding played in the NFL for the
Portsmouth Spartans The Portsmouth Spartans were a professional American football team that played in Portsmouth, Ohio, from their founding in 1928 to their relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct independent professional and semi-prof ...
(1931–1933) and their successor organization, the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
(1934–1937). In 1932, Ebding finished third in the NFL in total yards receiving, with 171. He was named
All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
in 1933.


Biography


Early life

Harry Ebding was born September 12, 1906, in
Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...
. His parents, Heinrich Wilhelm Ebding (1863–1919) and the former Katherine Herr (1866–1921), both hailed from the city of
Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
in Southwestern
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and emigrated to the United States. Both of Harry's parents died during his boyhood years. His mother died when Harry was 15, apparently from
botulism Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by botulinum toxin, which is produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum''. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, Fatigue (medical), feeling tired, and trouble speaking. ...
resulting from the consumption of improperly home-canned
asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...
. He attended
Walla Walla High School Walla Walla High School (commonly Wa-Hi) is a public high school in Walla Walla, Washington that is the largest school in the Walla Walla Public School System. Located in Walla Walla East, the sprawling 60-acre campus features detached buildings ...
in that city, playing
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
and
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
.


Collegiate career

Ebding attended Saint Mary's College, a private Catholic school located in
Moraga, California Moraga is a town in Contra Costa County, California, United States. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the town is named in honor of Joaquín Moraga, member of the famed Californio family. As of 2020, Moraga had a total population of 16,870 ...
, known for having one of the top
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
programs on the Pacific coast. During 1927, his first year at the school, Ebding played halfback for the freshman team. He did not stay long in the backfield, however, at the first scrimmage of the 1928 St. Mary's team, head coach Ed "Slip" Madigan moved Ebding to
end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...
.Frank Lowery
"Madigan Gives Saints First Scrimmage,"
''Oakland Tribune,'' Sept. 24, 1928, p. 13.
He was regarded as a promising prospect playing on both sides of the ball under the
one-platoon system The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a platoon system, rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby the same players were expected to stay on the field for the entire game, playing both offense and defense ...
of the day, said by one news reporter to be both "extremely good on defense" and "equally adept to snagging passes and getting down under punts." Ebding also played basketball for the Gaels, starring as a
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on the 1927 rookie team before being promoted to the varsity squad the following year. He continued to play basketball throughout his college career, quickly winning a starting and emerging as a key player on the team. He was also a boxer for the Gaels for their inaugural team in 1931, fighting in the
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
classification. Ebding saw expanded playing time during his 1929 junior year, starting at right end and helping to lead St. Mary's to an undefeated record of 8–0–1. He emerged as the team star for the Gaels, winning a position as left end of the second team for the 1929 All-Pacific Coast squad selected by the West coast sportswriters of the
United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
. Ebding was regarded by one observer as "one of the fastest and roughest ends on the coast" of the 1929 season. He was elected by his teammates as a co-captain of the Galloping Gaels team ahead of his 1930 senior season. The job of kicking off the football and placekicking was added to his tasks in his last collegiate season. Ebding's reputation had grown throughout his time at St. Mary's, to the point where he was regarded as one of the best ends on the West coast as he entered his senior year. St. Mary's was a major football power of the day and college and professional scouts kept their eyes on Ebding and the team. The 1930 season opener for the Galloping Gaels against West Coast Army was attended by an estimated two dozen scouts.William Leiser
"St. Mary's Eleven Downs Army, 32-0: Gael Gridders Go Into Early Lead in Kezar Stadium Game,"
''San Francisco Examiner,'' Sept. 29, 1930, p. 21.
The Gaels won in front of a crowd of 12,000 fans at
Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium () is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, United States, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It serves as the home of San Francisco City FC of USL League Two ...
by the resounding score of 32–0, doing nothing to dampen enthusiasm for the player and the team. This marked the start of an outstanding 8–1 season for the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
school, marked by five shutouts, a 21–6 win over
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
, and a cross-country 20–12 victory over
Fordham Fordham may refer to: Education * Fordham Preparatory School, an all-male, Jesuit high school in New York City * Fordham University, a Jesuit university in New York City ** Fordham Rams, athletic teams of the above university ** Fordham University ...
.


Professional career: Portsmouth

Prior to 1936, there was no
NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
and players were signed on the basis of talent scouting. As a star of the prominent St. Mary's team, Ebding was noticed and in August 1931 he signed a contract to play with the
Portsmouth Spartans The Portsmouth Spartans were a professional American football team that played in Portsmouth, Ohio, from their founding in 1928 to their relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct independent professional and semi-prof ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL).Milt Phinney
"Under the Goal Posts,"
''Oakland Tribune,'' Aug. 13, 1931, p. 33.
Joining him at camp with the Portsmouth squad was his former teammate and co-captain at St. Mary's, halfback Fred "Stud" Stennett. Terms of Ebding's deal were not published. Ebding won a place on the Portsmouth squad and was soon starting at right end."One Point Cards' Winning Edge: Portsmouth Spartans Fall by 20–19 Score at Chicago,"
''Cincinnati Enquirer,'' Nov. 23, 1931, p. 13.
The team started the 1931 season like a house on fire, holding their opponents scoreless in five of the season's first eight games — all of which were won by the Spartans. A season highlight came in the penultimate week, when in Chicago Ebding blocked a punt by the
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and recovered the ball on Chicago's 34 yard line. The team was unable to convert the possession to points, however, and wound up losing the game by a single point, 20–19, en route to a record of 11 wins and 3 losses — losing the league championship to the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
by a single game. Ebding started 13 of the Spartans' 14 games in 1931, although no statistical records beyond wins and losses were kept by the National Football League prior to 1932, so his precise offensive accomplishments are lost to history. He did not score a touchdown during the year, however."Harry Ebding,"
Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com/
The
1932 NFL season The 1932 NFL season was the 13th regular season of the National Football League. It was a year marked by a decrease in the number of franchises to just eight and the last time all teams were encompassed in a single division. The league title w ...
marked the beginning of systematic league statistical record-keeping and Harry Ebding was the receiving leader out the gate, topping the entire league with 11 catches for 119 yards for the first five games of the season. He was also the hero of Week 6, snagging a 32-yard pass against the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
and setting up Portsmouth for the only touchdown in a 6–0 victory. This would prove to be virtually all of Ebding's offensive output for the year, however, as he would finish the season with 14 catches for 171 yards (an average of 14.3 yards per catch) and 1 touchdown. Portsmouth would finish the season with a record of 6–1-4, tied with the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
and their record of 6–1–6. League champions had historically been declared based upon won-loss percentage, as ratified by vote of the owners, but bad feelings still remained from the
1925 NFL season The 1925 NFL season was the sixth regular season of the National Football League. Five new teams entered the league: New York Giants, Detroit Panthers, Pottsville Maroons, Providence Steam Roller, and a new Canton Bulldogs team. The Kenosh ...
, in which the 9–0 Chicago Bears had been declared the champion over the 9-0
Pottsville Maroons The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. In 1929 they relocated to Bost ...
. Nor did the head-to-head match-up of the two teams provide illumination, since the Bears and Spartans had battled to two ties, 13–13 and 7–7.Page, ''Pro Football Championships Before the Super Bowl,'' p. 15. As a solution, it was determined that the Spartans and Bears should meet in Chicago for a one game "Championship Play-off" to determine the 1932 NFL championship. Due to blizzard conditions, this first
NFL Championship game Throughout its history, the National Football league (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national ...
was moved indoors to
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, home of the
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hockey team. The arena was too small for a proper football field, measuring 60 yards from goal line to goal line, and the two parties agreed that each time a team crossed midfield, they would automatically be backed up 20 yards, resulting in a field with a virtual size of 80 yards. Harry Edbing started at right end for Portsmouth but the Spartans would be scoreless that day, with Chicago winning 9–0 on a 4th quarter pass from Bronco Nagurski to
Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American professional American football, football Halfback (American football), halfback who played for the Chicag ...
and a Portsmouth
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. Portsmouth finished the game with just two passes completed, for 29 yards.Page, ''Pro Football Championships Before the Super Bowl,'' p. 22.


Professional career: Detroit


Death and legacy

Harry Ebding died September 11, 1980, in
Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...
. He was 73 years old at the time of his death.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebding, Harry 1906 births 1980 deaths Walla Walla High School alumni Sportspeople from Walla Walla, Washington Players of American football from Washington (state) Saint Mary's Gaels football players American football ends Portsmouth Spartans players Detroit Lions players