An All-State defensive tackle from Altoona, PA, John Ebersole stayed close to home and went to Penn State where he was a freshman on Joe Paterno's first team as the Nittany Lions head coach in 1966.
After starting at defensive tackle as a sophomore, Ebersole was sidelined because of a knee injury. He returned the following year and became a starter at defensive end, where as a junior and as a senior, helped Penn State go undefeated and win the Orange Bowl both seasons.
Leading up to the 1970 NFL Draft, Ebersole was thinking it may be a Keystone State clean sweep before the Jets chose him in the fourth round.
"The only team I talked to was the (Pittsburgh) Steelers. And so I was surprised," he said. "It was a whole different change. But I thought it was great because they were coming off the Super Bowl (III victory) a year before."
With the idea that bigger is better, Ebersole arrived in New York for his first training camp ready to battle for a job on the defensive line only to find out the coaches had decided to move him to linebacker.
"I bulked up about 25 pounds thinking I was going to be a defensive end," Ebersole laughed. "But I liked it, that's for sure. I was a stand-up defensive end at Penn State, so it's like playing linebacker. And at 250, I could still run a 4.8, 4.9 40(-yard dash)."
A standout on special teams during his first three seasons, including when he blocked a field goal attempt against Minnesota as a rookie, Ebersole opened the 1973 season as the Jets' starting right linebacker. But after three games, he took a step to his left and played in the middle after Al Atkinson suffered a thigh injury.
Remaining the starter at middle linebacker the following season, Ebersole had what would be a career-high three interceptions.
Co-leading the Jets with Burgess Owens, he picked-off Rams quarterback James Harris and had a 5-yard return. The next game against Houston, he swiped a pass from Dan Pastorini and returned the ball two yards. And in the season-finale in Baltimore, he grabbed a Bert Jones pass and ran it back 41 yards.
Becoming a ballhawk, did Ebersole consider asking about moving to tight end?
"No, but I often thought, 'I wonder what would have happened,'" he laughed. "When I was at Penn State, I was going to ask, but Ted Kwalick was there. And, of course, he had a great career (with the San Francisco 49ers). So I just was happy with defense. I liked hitting people rather than being the hittie."
It was the Jets, however, who found themselves as the hitties more often than not. Ebersole's eight years with the team, 1970-77, were highlighted by two 7-7 seasons. Those went along with six losing ones, including back-to-back-to-back campaigns that finished with 3-11 records.
"That was a little depressing," Ebersole said. "It gets you down when you're used to winning most of your life. You just grin and bear it. I mean, it's a business, and you treat it like a business and try to last as long as you can.
"There's not much you can do about it. Obviously, you play harder if you're not playing hard enough, but that's just the way things go. I mean, you're still happier than flies on poop because you're playing professional football."
Likely because of the lack of big numbers in the win column, Ebersole and his teammates were playing professional football under several different head coaches. Six in eight years!
Weeb Ewbank, who also handled contract negotiations with the players, led the Jets for four of them. And was then followed by Charley Winner, Ken Shipp, Lou Holtz, Mike Holovak, and Walt Michaels over the next four seasons.
"Weeb was towards the end of his career. I didn't have an agent or anything so I would sit down at a table and negotiate with him, and you'd look across and his eyes were taped up," Ebersole laughed. "He used to tape up his eyelids because he couldn't keep his eyes open. But Weeb was a nice guy.
"Lou Holtz was great. I liked the guy. Of course, he didn't show up for the last game (after suddenly resigning during the 1976 season). Nobody ever really talked about or said anything about it, but I know the reason is that he couldn't take the guys smoking at halftime. I think it drove him crazy.
"And Walt Michaels was a Pennsylvania guy. I was happy for him."
Clearly loyal as well as consistent, Ebersole missed only four games during his time with the Jets.
"I had a bunch of good teammates, like Winston Hill. They were just a bunch of happy guys. You never get used to losing, and we didn't. But it was still fun even though we didn't make much money back then," Ebersole said.
"I guess longevity (is what makes me most proud of my career) and trying to stay healthy. I've got two fake knees now, but I can still walk 10 miles a week and play golf five days a week. I'm one of the lucky ones now."
Because salaries back when Ebersole was in the NFL pale in comparison to what players make today, he and the others had offseason jobs to help make ends meet. He would return home to Altoona following each season's last game where he owned some businesses – a gas station, a sporting goods store, and a beer distributorship.
And after hanging up his shoulder pads following the 1977 season, Ebersole, his wife, Janice; their daughter, Lauren, who is now a lawyer in Richmond, VA; and their son, Lee, who is a school teacher in Pittsburgh, PA; made their home in Altoona. Where in 1982, he became a Blair County Commissioner, a seat he would hold for two decades.
What led him to get into politics?
"Aggravation," Ebersole said. "I lived in a pure Republican county, and it was just crazy some of the stuff they were doing. I'm a conservative, and I never voted for a tax increase in 20 years.
"I enjoyed it. I didn't care if I got re-elected. I did the budget every year and I didn't care what anybody said about me. I just did what was right for the majority of people. Just common sense, something they never use anymore."
After he spent some time on the Celebrity Golf Tour, Ebersole and his wife would make their home in Mount Pleasant, SC, where he would get a real estate license, a home builders license, become a home inspector, and they also flipped over thirty houses.
Now retired, Ebersole, the grandfather of two, is just enjoying life.
"I live in an ideal space," he said. "I'm a mile and a half to the beach, probably five miles to downtown, and probably three miles to my golf course. Like I said, I play five days a week, sometimes six. And up until the last few years, I was the Senior Club Champion at Patriots Point (Golf Links) for about 10 years."
