 LeBaron in 1958 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1930-01-07)January 7, 1930 San Rafael, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | April 1, 2015(2015-04-01) (aged 85) Stockton, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 168 lb (76 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Oakdale(Oakdale, California) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Pacific (CA) (1946–1949) Quantico Marines (1950) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1950: 10th round, 123rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Executive profile atPro Football Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Edward Wayne LeBaron Jr. (January 7, 1930 – April 1, 2015) was an AmericanKorean War veteran,United States Marine officer, and professionalfootball player. He played as aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL) andCanadian Football League (CFL).
LeBaron playedcollege football for thePacific Tigers and was selected by theWashington Redskins in the 10th round of the1950 NFL draft. Following his service in theUnited States Marine Corps during the Korean War, and subsequenthonorary discharge, LeBaron started for the Redskins during the1952 season, winningNFL Rookie of the Year. In 1960, LeBaron became the first starting quarterback of theDallas Cowboys,[2] eventually splitting playing time with protégéDon Meredith from the 1960 to 1963 seasons. LeBaron was selected to fourPro Bowls during his NFL career. Following his retirement, LeBaron served as a general manager of theAtlanta Falcons from 1977 to 1981.
Born inSan Rafael, California,[3] LeBaron graduated fromOakdale High School inOakdale, northeast ofModesto.
LeBaron enrolled at theCollege of the Pacific inStockton as a 16-year-old.[4] He playedcollege football for theTigers underAmos Alonzo Stagg andLarry Siemering from 1946 to 1949, lettering all four years and achievingAll-American honors as asenior. The Tigers registered an undefeated season (11–0) in1949, led the nation in total offense (502.9 yards a game), and set anNCAA single-season record of 575 points. LeBaron was a two-way, 60-minute player, as aquarterback on offense,safety on defense, andpunter onspecial teams. He also played one year ofbaseball for the Tigers as acatcher.
He left the school after re-writing many of the football records: career touchdowns (59), touchdowns in a season (23), longest punt (74 yards), most yardage off interception returns in a game (119), most times leading the team in total offense (3).
He was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1980,[5] into theBay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2004[6] and was a charter inductee into the Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in October 2010.[7]
LeBaron's #40 worn during his career at Pacific was retired by the university.[1]
LeBaron at age 18, joined theMarine Corps Reserve. After the Korean War broke out in June 1950, he was called to active duty and commissioned a second lieutenant in August.[8] After completingMarine Basic School atQuantico, Virginia in March 1951, he was sent toSouth Korea in April. In September, he served as a rifle company platoon commander with 2nd Platoon, B Company,1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment,1st Marine Division during the fighting for Hill 673 in theBattle of the Punchbowl. LeBaron was wounded twice and was decorated with theBronze Star Medal withCombat "V" for heroism.[8] He was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant in 1952. Due to his diminutive size, 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m), and leadership skills from his military service, he was sometimes known as the "Littlest General".[9]
While in the Marines, LeBaron played football for theQuantico Marines Devil Dogs, helping lead the team to a 61–21 win over theVPI Gobblers (now known as theVirginia Tech Hokies) in 1950.[10]
In 2008, LeBaron was inducted into the U.S. Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame.
LeBaron was selected by theWashington Redskins in the tenth round (123rd overall) of the1950 NFL draft, but had to leave training camp to perform military service during theKorean War. At 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), he was one of the shortest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL.
He returned to theNFL in1952 after a two-year commitment to theUnited States Marine Corps as alieutenant, when he was discharged after being wounded in combat. He replaced futurehall of famerSammy Baugh in the starting lineup after the fourth game and received All-Rookie honors at the end of the season.[11] The next year, he was limited with a knee injury and also shared the starting position withJack Scarbath.
In 1954, theWestern Interprovincial Football Union (a predecessor of theCanadian Football League) raided theNFL talent to improve its level of play. LeBaron signed with theCalgary Stampeders along with his Redskins teammateGene Brito, because his college coachLarry Siemering was named the team's head coach.[12] He registered 1,815 passing yards, 8touchdowns and 24 interceptions during the season. He also playeddefensive back andpunter. He decided to return to theNFL at the end of the year, after the team fired Siemering.
On December 9,1954, he re-signed with theWashington Redskins.[13] In1958, he was the league's top-rated quarterback, after completing 79 out of 149 passes for 1,365 yards and 11touchdowns. He announced his retirement to focus on his law practice at the end of the1959 season.[14]
In his seven seasons with the Redskins he started 55 of a possible 72 games at quarterback (he played in 70 of those 72 games).[15] He was also the primary punter for his first three seasons with Washington (punting 171 times for a total of 6,995 yards in five seasons).[15]
After not being able to participate in the1960 NFL draft during their inaugural year of existence, theDallas Cowboys traded their first round (#2-Norm Snead) and sixth round (#72-Joe Krakoski) draft choices in the1961 NFL draft to theWashington Redskins in exchange for LeBaron,[16] convincing him to come out of retirement to become the franchise's first startingquarterback. He started 10 of 12 games in1960, with rookieDon Meredith andDon Heinrich starting the other two.[17] He also scored the Cowboys' first-ever touchdown in their first exhibition game against theSan Francisco 49ers, on August 6 in Seattle. He set a record for the shortest touchdown pass in league history, with his throw to receiverDick Bielski from the 2-inch line against the Redskins on October 9,1960.[18]
LeBaron started 10 of 14 games in1961, with Meredith starting the other four.[19] He only started five games in1962, splitting time with Meredith.[20] He started the first game of the1963 season, but was replaced permanently by Meredith for the rest of the season.[21]
He retired at the end of1963, after playing 12 seasons, throwing for 13,399 yards and 104touchdowns and being selected for thePro Bowl four times.[15] He is the shortest quarterback to ever be selected to the Pro Bowl.[22] He was also known as an elusive scrambler and great ball-handler.
LeBaron became a football announcer forCBS Sports after his NFL career, and worked as an announcer from 1966 to 1971.[23] He had obtained anLL.B. degree fromGeorge Washington University during his off-seasons from football, and practiced law after his football career. He was also the general manager of theAtlanta Falcons from1977 to1982 and executive vice president from1983 through1985.[24] LeBaron was an avidgolfer and continued to play golf in his retirement. He died of natural causes on April 1, 2015.[25]
