Paul Allen Ebert (August 11, 1932 – April 21, 2009) was a director of the
American College of Surgeons and athlete. He had been
Chairman of the Departments of Surgery at both
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
Medical College and the
University of California San Francisco Medical Center, as well as the President of the
American College of Cardiology
The American College of Cardiology (ACC), based in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949. It bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet its qualifications. Education is a core component of the ...
, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Society of University Surgeons, and the Western Thoracic Surgical Association. Before earning his medical degree, he was an
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n in both
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
at the
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
. He was born in
Columbus, Ohio.
Athlete
As a student at
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
Ebert was 6'4", 188 lbs. He was a
forward and
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
on the school's basketball team and a
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
on the baseball team. He was a charter member of the
Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame
The Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame is the athletic hall of fame for The Ohio State University. Its purpose is to recognize individuals who have contributed to the honor and fame of the university in the field of athletics.
An athlete must h ...
, inducted in 1977.
In basketball Ebert was a first-team All-
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
selection and voted team MVP every year he played for the
Buckeyes, 1951–52, 1952–53, and 1953–54. He led his team in scoring in each of those years. He finished his collegiate basketball career with the team record in points scored (1,436), surpassed in 1956 by
Robin Freeman. Ebert scored 516 points in his senior year, becoming the first Ohio State player to score at least 500 points in a season. That year Ebert served as team captain and was named a third-team
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
selection by the
United Press International
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 20t ...
.
In baseball Ebert had a career 21–8 record as a pitcher. He led his team in both wins and strike outs every year he played. He finished his collegiate career with the Ohio State single-season (94) and career (223) record for strike outs, surpassed in both categories by
Steve Arlin in the mid-1960s. Ebert was a consensus first team All America selection as a senior. Ebert was selected to the USA Baseball team that Won Silver at the Pan American Games in Mexico 1955,he went 2–0 and was the pitcher of record with 18 strikeouts.
After college Ebert spent two summers playing semi-pro baseball in Marshall, Minnesota. At the end of the first summer in Marshall he returned to Columbus to be married to Louise Joyce Parks and to begin medical school at Ohio State. Ebert received offers to sign with the
New York Giants and
Pittsburgh Pirates, but under the
bonus baby rules of the time he would have been required to stay with the major league club for two years and could not have attended medical school.
Surgeon
Ebert received his
M.D.
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...
degree from
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
in 1958. He had internship and residency at
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 m ...
under
Alfred Blalock
Alfred Blalock (April 5, 1899 – September 15, 1964) was an American surgeon most noted for his work on the medical condition of shock as well as Tetralogy of Fallot— commonly known as Blue baby syndrome. He created, with assistance from h ...
, and then spent two years as a Senior Assistant Surgeon at the National Heart Institute,
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
, Bethesda, Maryland. He specialized in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. He is considered one of the world's outstanding pediatric heart surgeons.
Ebert's stature in his field quickly grew. He became a Professor of Surgery at
Duke University Medical Center
Duke University Hospital is a 957-acute care bed academic tertiary care facility located in Durham, North Carolina. Established in 1930, it is the flagship teaching hospital for the Duke University Health System, a network of physicians and hos ...
. From 1971 to 1975 he was Chairman of the Department of Surgery at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
Medical College and from 1975 to 1986 he was Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the
University of California San Francisco Medical Center. He was a
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons since 1968, and assumed the directorship of the College in November 1986.
Ebert was the 1989 recipient of the
Theodore Roosevelt Award
The Theodore Roosevelt Award is the highest honor the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) may confer on an individual. The award is awarded annually to a graduate from an NCAA member institution who earned a varsity letter in college fo ...
, the highest honor the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
may confer on an individual, awarded to a distinguished citizen of national reputation based on outstanding life accomplishment.
Father
After marrying Louise Joyce Parks, Paul and Joyce went on to have 3 children. Leslie Ebert Buhlman, Mike Ebert and Julie Ebert-McQuillan. Grandparents to 5 children. Holly, Rudy, Claire and Paul Buhlman and Danyon Ebert-McQuillan.
Ebert died of an acute
myocardial infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...
on April 21, 2009.
He was 76 years old.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebert, Paul
All-American college baseball players
All-American college men's basketball players
Cornell University faculty
Duke University faculty
Ohio State Buckeyes baseball players
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players
Milwaukee Hawks draft picks
American surgeons
1932 births
2009 deaths
Pan American Games medalists in baseball
Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States
American men's basketball players
Baseball players at the 1955 Pan American Games
Centers (basketball)
Forwards (basketball)
20th-century surgeons
Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games
Members of the National Academy of Medicine