Karl Ebb

{{Short description|Finnish skier, athlete and racing driver (1896{{ndash}}1988)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}

File:Karl. A. Ebb 1931 (1).jpg

File:1929 Mercedes-Benz SSK Ebb.jpg

Karl Alfred "Kalle" Ebb (5 September 1896 – 2 August 1988) was an athlete and racing driver. He represented Finland at the Summer Olympics in athletics and was Finland's first internationally successful driver.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/67552 |title=Karl Ebb |work=Olympedia |access-date=24 September 2021}}

Born in Turku, he gained selection for Finland at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase and placed fifth, while his more celebrated compatriots Ville Ritola and Elias Katz took the top two spots.[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417181617/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/eb/kalle-ebb-1.html Karl Ebb]. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 14 April 2016. He was a versatile athlete and competed nationally in numerous disciplines, including cycling, swimming, and alpine skiing.[http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/de.htm#EB The Golden Era of Drivers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120041940/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/de.htm#EB |date=20 November 2018 }}. Kolumbus. Retrieved on 14 April 2016.

In his thirties he began to compete in top level Northern European motor races, driving a Mercedes-Benz SSK. His best results included wins at the 1931 Swedish Winter Grand Prix, the Eläintarhan ajot in 1933 and 1935,[http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/t5.htm#ELAINTARHA ELAINTARHA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130236/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/t5.htm#ELAINTARHA |date=4 March 2016 }}. Kolumbus. Retrieved on 14 April 2016. the 1935 Estonian Grand Prix,[http://www.silhouet.com/motorsport/tracks/piritako.html Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa]. Silhouet. Retrieved on 14 April 2016. and a runner-up finish to Per Victor Widengren at the 1935 Norwegian Grand Prix.[http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp351.htm#1 II NORGES GRAND PRIX] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315215040/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp351.htm#1 |date=15 March 2022 }}. Kolumbus. Retrieved on 14 April 2016. He was the first Finnish driver to have success at international level.

He founded the Finnish Slalom Association in 1941. He was also a businessman, forming a company with his first wife, Lempi Järvinen, which sold men's ties. The couple had a son, Heimo, who later died in World War II. Ebb remarried later in his life to Märtha Charlotte Reikko. He resided in Helsinki during much of his life and died there in 1988.[http://www.historicracing.com/driver_az.cfm?type=drivers_alpha&tStartRow=1&AlphaIndex=E&driverID=8197 Kalle Ebb] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430020901/http://historicracing.com/driver_az.cfm?type=drivers_alpha&tStartRow=1&AlphaIndex=E&driverID=8197 |date=30 April 2016 }}. Historic Racing. Retrieved on 14 April 2016.