Ebbets was born in New York City at his parents’ home at 31 Clarke Street on October 29, 1859. His father actually was John B. Ebbets (ca. 1824–March 16, 1888), a tavern owner on the corner of Hudson and Dominick Streets in lower Manhattan. John was of the fifth generation of the Ebbets family in New York City, a descendant of Daniel Ebbets (September 14, 1665–after 1724), a brickmaker who had arrived in New York from England in 1700. His mother, Anna Maria Quick (ca. 1824–July 8, 1871), was in the fifth generation of a Dutch family that had been in New York since the 1640s. Ebbets first attended Public School 39 on Clark Street but left that school when his father moved to Astoria shortly after 1871.\n', '

Following his schooling, he took up residence at 154 Alexander Avenue near 135th. His first job was with Dick & Fitzgerald, a publishing firm at 18 Ann Street in Manhattan. He then began work as an architect with the firm of William T. Beer. His work there as a draftsman and building designer would serve him well in later years when he decided to build a baseball stadium. He next became a bookkeeper with Frank Leslie\'s publishing house, a job he kept until he turned his attention to baseball.\n', '

Ebbets was not only a baseball person, as he also was a fan of bowling. He was a member of the Prospect Club, the Carleton Club, and the Commonwealth Council team of the Royal Arcanum Bowling League. In 1889 he played with the Stars of South Brooklyn and the Lincoln Council Bowlers. The following year he joined the Prospects, the arch-rivals of the Lincoln Council team, and was elected their captain. In 1893, his bowling average was 170 in more than fifty games. That year the Brooklyn Eagle stated, “He is considered one of the swiftest and, at the same time, truest bowlers in Brooklyn.”\n', '

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