Undersized Ebbert played at Connellsville, Brown
The 1957 Brown University football media guide described Connellsville鈥檚 Tom Ebbert as a watch pocket guard because of his size. At 5-11, 180 pounds, Ebbert was perhaps the smallest offensive lineman in the Ivy League at that time.
Ebbert was a three-year varsity letter-winner in football at Connellsville High School in the early 1950s. He was a part of Coker teams that posted records of 3-7 in 1951, 2-6-1 in 1952 and 7-3 in 1953.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 do too well my sophomore and junior seasons,鈥� Ebbert recalled. 鈥淏ut we weren鈥檛 too bad my senior year. Uniontown was always a big rival, they were always tough, you knew you were going to be in fist fight with Uniontown and Greensburg was the same way. Those two were heavy rivals.鈥�
Ebbert worked his way into the Coker lineup, even though he weighed in at around 160 pounds in high school. He was co-captain his senior season.
鈥淚 played sparingly as a sophomore,鈥� Ebbert said. 鈥淚 got more playing time as a junior and was a starter my senior year and was named to the All County team. I played offensive guard and a defensive nose guard and tackle. Even in high school I was not oversized by any means.鈥�
Ebbert played for coach Ted Smith at Connellsville.
鈥淚 thought a lot of Ted Miller as a coach,鈥� Ebbert offered. 鈥淗e was controversial with some of the parents of players I remember, because he was very tough, and he demanded the best you had. I always respected him. I think he was instrumental in getting me a college offer.鈥�
Ebbert also dabbled in track and field at Connellsville. 鈥淚n order to stay in physical condition, I was on the track team,鈥� Ebbert stated. 鈥淚 was not a runner, I handled the shot put and the discus, but I really didn鈥檛 have any aptitude for track and field.鈥�
When Ebbert graduated from Connellsville in 1954, he was surprised that he had some college scholarship offers.
鈥淭he recruiting was interesting,鈥� Ebbert said. 鈥淥ne of the disadvantages that I had was that I had no previous plans to go to college, so my high school course was the general course, which made me highly unprepared for the college curriculum. I was surprised when schools recruited me. Brown, Lehigh, Lafayette and Wabash College recruited me. I thought it was a neat idea to be playing teams like Yale, Princeton and Harvard and that鈥檚 why I chose Brown.
鈥淚 had no indication that I was going to qualify to be opposing those guys, but things worked out.鈥�
Ebbert played three years of varsity football for the Brown Bears on teams that posted records of 2-7 in 1955, 5-4 in 1956 and 5-4 in 1957.
鈥淲e had a good coach Alva Kelley who was highly regarded by all the sportswriters in the northeast,鈥� Ebbert explained. 鈥淗e was supposed to work Brown into a championship team and that didn鈥檛 work out during my time, but he was a good coach and we had a pretty solid team.鈥�
It was not an easy road for Ebbert in the classroom or the gridiron.
鈥淚 was never quite as heavy as I was advertised to be,鈥� Ebbert said. 鈥淭hat meant that I had to work harder to succeed. I thought I was quick. I did have to use different means to achieve the goals that others found easier. I mainly just had to work my tail off. It was a struggle all the way. Plus there was the classroom work. I was not prepared for an academic curriculum. I didn鈥檛 have chemistry and I didn鈥檛 have a language and all of that was new to me. I had to learn my way in a hurry, so the stress level was pretty heavy, but you do what you gotta do.鈥�
Ebbert graduated from Brown in 1958.
鈥淚 joined the Air Force ROTC in school,鈥� Ebbert stated. 鈥淎fter graduation I had almost a year down time before I could get into the flight program. I was in the Air Force six years commission time including active duty. In 1959, I went to flight training school and became a pilot. In the Air Force, I flew the KC-135 Stratotanker, which is a military aerial refueling aircraft. That was the tanker version of the the Boeing 707. I then went into flying commercial aircraft with Pan Am. I enjoyed flying those great airplanes until 1991.
鈥淧an Am stopped flight operations in 1991, I wanted to retire at the age of 55. I investigated a couple of options, but decided against it. I bought some land in Colorado in 1993. I designed and built my own house in 1999. My wife and two children are deceased.鈥�
Ebbert, 78, resides in Estes Park, Colorado.
鈥淔ootball was a means to an end,鈥� Ebbert said. 鈥淲ithout football I don鈥檛 know what I鈥檇 be doing now.鈥�