Cape Central, SEMO standout Ebaugh remembered for exploits, heart

Great athlete, man with ballerina feet, leader, gentle giant and lifelong friend who always could be counted on to lend a hand to those in need -- just some of the words former teammates of Paul Ebaugh III used to describe the former two-sport standout at Southeast Missouri State and the 1962 Lou Muegge Award winner at Cape Central High School.

Ebaugh passed away at the age of 71 last week, but his athletic legacy and lifetime accomplishments endure.

A three-sport star at Central and a two-way player on the line for the football team at Southeast, the 6-foot-4 Ebaugh also was a three-time Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) champion in the discus, graduating as the university's record holder in the event before serving in the military and rising to the level of captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, earning the Navy Commendation Medal, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam.

He was inducted into the Central Hall of Fame in 2011, an honor previously bestowed on lifetime friend Greg Brune.

"He had great wit," said Brune, who also went on to star at Southeast. "I can remember his acceptance speech at the Cape Central Hall of Fame. He was a jokester and really did it well. He thought it out."

Ebaugh helped Cape Central basketball to a successful era, and as a senior was named the Lou Muegge Award winner. He went on to be inducted into the Cape Central Hall of Fame, as well as set discus records at both the high school and Southeast Missouri State. Gathered around the conference trophy in this Dec. 14, 1961 file photo are, in the front row, left to right, Jerry Suedekum, Alan Kesterson and Steve Mosely. In back are Curt Williams, Greg Neihart, Ron Wright and Ebaugh.Published Dec. 14, 1961

While his manner was quiet and understated, a rare combination of athleticism and physical size stood out.

"There are a couple of things that are pretty cool, as far as things that stand out," said Mike Richey, a shot put thrower at Central two years younger than Ebaugh who would eventually join him on the football field as a teammate at Southeast. "One of them was, when he threw the discus, even coaches from the other teams would come over to watch him. He was so good. His technique was fabulous. He was a great big man. I like to call to call it ballerina feet. He looked more like a dancer or something when he went around the ring. Other guys were working on brute strength, just kind of getting around, but he was this huge guy who was very smooth. When he went around he was just so coordinated. It was like watching someone in slow motion, but he was going fast."

The all-stater's quick feet and agility not only helped him set the discus throwing record at Central -- the Tigers won conference and district championships his senior year -- but served him well on the basketball court and football field, where those attributes along with his size made him a force.

Ebaugh averaged a team-leading 17.8 points per game his senior year as he earned all-conference honors on a Central team that went unbeaten in conference play and finished 23-2 overall. That came just months after he was named all-conference in football in a senior year that culminated in the Muegge Award.

Ebaugh grew up near Alma Schrader Elementary School, next door to Brune, who was two years younger.

"Paul was a little older than me in high school so I didn't play a lot with him [on teams in high school]," Brune said. "I always was on the B team and he was on the varsity in basketball and all that. He was a big man at the time."

Their opportunity to play together came at Southeast, where Richey, a center, and Ebaugh were on the offensive line and helped Brune to some record-breaking seasons at quarterback.

"Brune, I think he would have set records even if he was the only one on the field, he was that good, but Ebaugh was over on that left side a lot of the time, sometimes they had to switch him, but he was a significant factor in both Central and Southeast's success," Richey said.

Marvin Rosengarten was in his first year as the offensive line coach at Southeast in 1964, and that spring he took over a struggling track and field program.

"In '65 we were so bad in track it was unbelievable," said Rosengarten, who later became the school's athletic director. "Southeast -- for the last 100 years -- has been outstanding in track, but this was a down period. ... I remember Paul, he was my only first place in the conference meet in 1965. He was like a shining light, and was always a nice, caring guy."

His innate ability in the discus led to a career of records at Southeast.

"He told me one time, and I checked it because he told it to me one time, and then I asked him about five or six times after that just to make sure, just over the years," Richey said. "I've never heard anyone doing this. When he went to Southeast his freshman year, his first track meet, his first throw, he set the Southeast school record ... I mean that's a senior in high school plus a couple of months, and then setting a record for a university. I've never heard of anyone doing that."

Ebaugh combined his height with a 230-pound frame, which Rosengarten said was unusual size for an athlete at the time, and became a three-time MIAA conference champion in the discus during his four years as a letterman, and he continued to build on his school record. His throw of 163 feet, 1 inch during the 1966 season endured five years.

"To throw the discus that far he had to have good footwork," Rosengarten said. "I guess I would say he was an outstanding athlete and he always worked hard and he never complained, and he was always a team man. That's the thing I would like to stress about him. All the guys on the team like him."

One of those who became fast friends with Ebaugh on the football field and off was defensive lineman Van Hitt, a Jackson graduate who manned left tackle on defense.

With a lack of big bodies, Ebaugh, who split time on offense, also manned the spot at right defensive tackle.

"He was what you looked for in a football player," Hitt said. "He was intense, physical and played with a great deal of determination."

Hitt and Ebaugh found time between the football season and the start of track to enjoy the outdoors, forging a friendship that lasted a lifetime.

"We were pretty good friends," Hitt said. "He came out -- I was raised out there on the farm and all -- and he'd come out and bird hunt with me. He was a real good guy."

A sophomore during Ebaugh's senior year, Hitt said the man -- who he described as a "gentle giant" -- used his experience in a positive manner.

"He would do what he could to help all the younger players," Hitt said. "He wasn't going to show you he was the biggest boy on the block. He was very competitive, and he wanted everyone else to be competitive because he wanted the team as a whole to do well."

Ebaugh graduated from Southeast in 1967, was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marines and was sent to Vietnam. Richey and Brune graduated a year later and also found themselves in Vietnam serving in the Army.

Brune, who also was awarded a Purple Heart, later became the athletic fundraiser at Southeast for 20 years.

In addition to playing golf with Ebaugh and attending biannual football reunions with his old teammate in St. Louis, he still counted on his former lineman to cover his back.

When their old home, Houck Stadium, was in need of a solution for an old red, shale track, Brune contacted Ebaugh, who worked at Delta Companies Inc. -- he made his way up to vice president of the manufacturing division before his retirement in 2006 -- to help out. Delta did so at no charge.

"I went to him and told him, 'We're eating dust up there. We need to have some blacktop,'" Brune said. "And he said, 'All right, we'll come up and do it. All you have to do is put the Delta Company emblem in the parking lot at the end zone.' And I said, 'All right, we're going to start partying in that end zone,' and that's when we started all that when we got it paved. So that's how that all began."

As for those who knew Ebaugh, who was a charter member at LaCroix United Methodist Church, it was just Paul being Paul.

"Paul was a great guy, a true friend," Hitt said. "His word was his bond. He really was a swell guy."

Richey echoed the sentiment about a big man with an even bigger heart.

"He was a great guy. He would help anybody."