A collegiate All-American for Saint Mary's College in California, Ebding played in the NFL for the Portsmouth Spartans (1931–1933) and their successor organization, the Detroit Lions (1934–1937).

His parents, Heinrich Wilhelm Ebding (1863–1919) and the former Katherine Herr (1866–1921), both hailed from the city of Freiburg im Breisgau in Southwestern Germany and emigrated to the United States.

[6] 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.

[7] He was regarded as a promising prospect playing on both sides of the ball under the one-platoon system 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.

[10] 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.

[14] 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.

[16] The Gaels won in front of a crowd of 12,000 fans at Kezar Stadium by the resounding score of 32–0, doing nothing to dampen enthusiasm for the player and the team.

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 of the National Football League (NFL).

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.