John Ebsworth[1] Owsley (March 17, 1883 – July 14, 1953) was an American football player and coach and businessman.

[10] Owsley returned to Yale in the fall of 1905 as the head coach of the school's varsity football team.

[12] In 1905, Owsley was one of the advisers with whom President Theodore Roosevelt consulted concerning his campaign to reduce the level of violence and reform the game of football.

The New York Times described an October 1905 meeting between Roosevelt and "the men who rule the game," a group consisting of Owsley, Walter Camp, and five other persons.

[18][19] In December 1924, Owsley traveled to Annapolis, Maryland, and was interviewed to become the head football coach at United States Naval Academy.

[3] Owsley returned to Connecticut in November 1908 to help the Yale football team prepare for its game against Princeton.

On January 7, 1918, the company sent a letter in support of a passport application to allow Owsley, then holding the position of assistant general manager, to travel to France to investigate the use of machine guns in aircraft.

The letter noted that Owsley was given the charge "to observe the requirements of the airplane program in France as it may apply to the Marlin Aircraft Guns, and return to our organization with the practical information that will enable us to co-operate with the Government in manufacture and shipment to best advantage of all concerned.

[26] On July 1, 1918, Marlin-Rockwell submitted an affidavit in support of an application to renew Owsley's passport to allow him to remain in England, noting that his presence was needed to demonstrate the company's Browning machine rifle, Browning machine gun, Barlow bombs, and Marlin aircraft gun, and to observe bomb tests.

[30] Owsley had developed a reputation as "a wartime production authority in New England" based on his service with Marlin-Rockwell during World War I.

[32] In October 1940, Owsley secured a $12 million order from the British Purchasing Commission for machine guns to be mounted on airplanes for the Royal Air Force.

[33] In 1941 and 1942, Owsley was included on a list compiled by the Treasury Department of the top salary earners in the United States.