The BIZARRE Retirement of Eddie LeBaron

In 1958, Washington Redskins quarterback Eddie LeBaron announced that he was retiring from the NFL. However, he played five more seasons in the NFL after that, and most notably, became the first starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. This is the story behind the bizarre retirement announcement of Eddie LeBaron.
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Eddie LeBaron played for the following teams:
1952 Redskins
1953 Redskins
1954 Redskins
1955 Redskins
1956 Redskins
1957 Redskins
1958 Redskins
1959 Redskins
1960 Cowboys
1961 Cowboys
1962 Cowboys
1963 Cowboys

[@nasetvideos]

Another fascinating human interest story. I don't know how you find these types of stories but your research is beyond anything I've ever seen on KZbin or anywhere else. This is an incredible channel and it just keeps getting better. Fantastic way to wake up each day to these videos. Great job. Thank you

[@RicoBurghFan]

Great story. You have some of the best NFL content out there.

[@AngleFan45]

He was the shortest QB to play in the NFL, at 5’7 and playing in an era that was way tougher, big props 💯

[@misterresister8271]

He looks like a kid playing out there! That play at 10:30 is pretty cool...

[@ecembrew]

Lol@ way tougher... people live to think it was tougher back then ....

[@dallasbrubaker6054]

@@ecembrew You beat me to it; I chuckled at that too,

[@deathtowrestling2518]

@@ecembrew It objectively was. No rules to give special protection to the receivers and QBs, the way it should be

[@ecembrew]

@@deathtowrestling2518 just because the rules changed doesn't mean it was tougher. The rules were about getting rid of cheap shots... half the players in those days worked stock rooms at JC Penny's in the off-season...do you honestly think that would be a standard today...quit romanticizing the past...

[@derekcabanaw1789]

If someone like Chuck Bednarik says you can play, that alone speaks volumes. He could have played in pretty much any era. Was a good GM as well with the Falcons.

[@bobscott2429]

@Matt Joseph That teammate was defensive lineman Norm "Wild Man" Willey. NFL Films did a piece on LeBaron as part of a show called "The Men Who Played The Game," which premiered on ESPN in 1984.

[@chadwickwhite6107]

Eddie LeBaron was WAY BETTER than SPIKING the BALL into the ground on EVERY single OFFENSIVE play. So is this video.

[@tm-cv3qt]

You've got a good thing going here. Love your channel and your deep dives into the history of the best sport on this planet. Keep them coming, and thank you.

[@derangedhippo5146]

Yo, get this guy a new contract, videos are always top notch 💯💯💯

[@KnightBoat]

The WIFU was what mutated into the Western Conference when the CFL was formed.

[@robertsprouse9282]

Yep, WESTERN INTERPROVINCIAL FOOTBALL UNION, FORMERLY= several western Canada R. UNIONS/ASSOCS./LEAGUES.. The R=RUGBY as in Canadian-styled Rugby with 12 players on each side on the field..sound familiar? THE WIFU merged with the EASTERN CANADA-based INTERPROVINCIAL RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION(IRFU), or the "BIG FOUR"= TORONTO, HAMILTON, MONTREAL AND OTTAWA, in 1958 TO FORM THE CFL.. The Burnside Rules changed the world's version of BRITISH RUGBY into the CANADIAN VERSION of that and eventually CANADIAN BIG FIELD FOOTBALL emerged. Yep.. ONE MORE THING ABOUT EDDIE LEBARON.. He played at COLLEGE of the PACIFIC, NOW U. OF THE PACIFIC OR PACIF.U. IN STOCKTON, CALIF. FOR... AMOS ALONZO STAGG. I kid you not.. That was STAGG's last coaching job at a major, then it was, football school. He was 84.. STAGG coached as co-head football coach with his son AMOS JR., at SUSQUEHANNA COLLEGE (PENN.)right after LEBARON graduated from C.OF P., and ended his career 12 years later in 1958 at the age of 96, as a special teams/kicking coach at STOCKTON COLLEGE(CA.)!! STAGG WAS ON THE FIRST ALL-AMERICAN TEAM REPPING YALE IN... 1889.. He lived to be 102, four months shy of number 103..dying in 1965, with seven BIG TEN CROWNS.. GOOGLE HIM..he coached more than pigskin. HE WON TWO NATIONAL TITLES AT U. OF CHICAGO, FROM THE BIG-10 THEN.. Neither U.OF CHI. NOR, the U. OF THE PACIFIC PLAY FOOTBALL TODAY. OH YEAH..EDDIE LEBARON won THE BRONZE STAR IN THE KOREAN WAR..after being wounded... twice.. He is in the U.S.MARINES SPORTS HALL OF FAME. HE BEAT VIRGINIA TECH(THEN VA. POLYTECH INSTITUTE=VPI) WHILE PLAYING FOR A MARINES TEAM..61-20.. LeBARON later in retirement did color analysis for CBS regional NFL coverage for five seasons '66-67 until '70-71.. Oh..THE NCAA DIVISION THREE FOOTBALL NATIONAL TITLE GAME IS CALLED.. THE STAGG BOWL.

[@misterresister8271]

Against the Steelers in 1962, LeBaron threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Frank Clarke, only to have the record scoring play called back for a holding penalty on guard Andy Cvercko. Naturally, a holding penalty in the end zone results in a safety, so there was a nine-point swing. The Cowboys ended up losing to Pittsburgh, 30-28.

[@misterresister8271]

p.s. Frank Clarke #82 was amazing

[@iceman4408]

@@misterresister8271 Yes, he was.

[@marcus813]

I didn't know LeBaron played in one of the modern CFL's forerunners. Stuff such as this is why I love watching your videos!

[@levikatriel]

1. In 1964, the cowboys spent two hours on their first pick, and then six hours on their second. This was allowed back then, as there was no time limits on draft picks. 2. In 1966, the cowboys quarterback who switched plays with LeBaron, Don Meredith had a game so good that Tom Landry described the performance as perfect.

[@squealingsalamander6546]

He made a video in the Picks a while ago

[@Tenskwatawa4U]

And when Eddie LeBaron retired for real, he was replaced by Craig Morton, who I believe also wore #14.

[@iceman4408]

@@Tenskwatawa4U LeBaron retired after the '63 season. The Cowboys QB's the next season were Meredith and John Roach.

[@DreamCather147]

Trivia: Eddie set a record for the shortest touchdown pass in league history, with his throw to receiver Dick Bielski from the 2-inch line against the Redskins on October 9, 1960.

[@thatsmrtguy4935]

And he almost set the record for the longest touchdown pass but it got called back due to holding

[@billslocum9819]

That black and white footage is really cool. Was that ball made of flubber or ectoplasm at 8:04?

[@tygrkhat4087]

During the 50s, the NFL used white footballs for night games.

[@jewsco]

Your work is snacking keep it up and I hope you get many more subs

[@67marlins81]

How could Coach Landry literally alternate Quarterbacks on 'every single play' in 1962.....and have that work?!? According to Jaguar man, that's what happened.....but that's crazy.

[@troyc4250]

Landry also alternated with Morton and Staubach

[@t4texastom587]

@@troyc4250 You are most definitely correct....1971, their first World Championship year.🏈

[@orbyfan]

This is the first item I've ever seen about Eddie LeBaron that didn't call him by his first name: Little. You can tell the films are from the Cowboys' early years by the large number of empty seats. The colour commentator on Cowboys' telecasts in their early years was Davey O'Brien, a 5' 7" QB who had a College Football Hall of Fame career at Texas Christian and started with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1939 and '40 before retiring to become an FBI agent. This video got me wondering when the NFL used white footballs; this article gives an explanation: www.profootballresearchers.org/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/21-02-792.pdf The list of teams for LeBaron should be corrected for 1954 to Calgary Stampeders, with whom he completed 116 of 251 passes for 1,815 yards (7.2 average per pass), a long gain of 79, 8 touchdowns and 24 interceptions, and punted 109 times for 4,264 yards (39.1 average), with a long punt of 80. The Stampeders went through a fair number of quarterbacks in those days whose names American fans will recognize: Frankie Albert (1953); Don Klosterman (1955-'56); Ronnie Knox (1956); Tom Flores (1958 pre-season); Cotton Davidson (1958); Jack Kemp (1959); and Joe Kapp (1959-'61). Klosterman's career ended with a near-fatal skiing accident in Banff National Park. The Stampeders didn't win even a single playoff game with those QBs.

[@misterresister8271]

The Little General!

[@slimmsayton]

Doug Floutie is not 5’10”

[@tygrkhat4087]

That's what he says. But I don't believe him.

[@slimmsayton]

@@tygrkhat4087 exactly. I’ve seen the dude next to ‘six foot’ receivers who tower over him

[@Milordvega]

More like 5'9". Or 5'8 1/2" maybe

[@jonniez62]

Have you told the story of how Dallas came to be? Right in line with the stories you tell.

[@marcus813]

Learning the Cowboys' origins helped me understand why their rivalry with the Washington Football Team has always been so fierce. The WFT's owner didn't realize that the rest of the American South having old-guard NFL clubs was inevitable given the growth of some cities (Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans, etc.).

[@67marlins81]

They're called the REDSKINS.

[@jonniez62]

@@67marlins81 y are you replying to me?

[@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820]

@@67marlins81 should’ve been called the whiteskins, the NFL had to force George P Marshall to integrate his team.

[@ciesaro]

@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 George Preston Marshall tried to force future HOFer Bobby Mitchell sing Dixie during a team meeting

[@misterresister8271]

In LeBaron's first game as QB for the Dallas Cowboys he threw for a career high 345 yards.

[@kevinmadden1645]

The Eagles, on their way to the NFL title, won the game 27-25 on account of two blocked extra points . In 1958 LeBaron was the league's top- rated quarterback, not Unitas. Unitas never led the league in passing. It is incredible but true.

[@scottconner7930]

63 Years Ago

[@pretorious700]

As recently as the 80's (before the strikes), starting linemen on NFL teams averaged $65k a season.

[@williammoss9065]

You do some really great stuff funny I found myself thinking of Greg Cook and Bob Trumpy, I know different eras and I am not even a Bengals fan you rock thanks!

[@gluserty]

I learned of Eddie LeBaron through the NFL Films (😍!) segment on him. LeBaron was saddled with some lousy teams, but what I understand he was pretty good while proving that a small quarterback could succeed. I didn't know about his aborted retirement though.

[@ShadySportsNetwork]

It helps that back in those days average height was like 6'0 in the NFL.

[@denisceballos9745]

Eddie LeBaron came out of Univ. of the Pacific. which is where Amos Alonzo Stagg developed the T - formation, I believe. Other UOP grads include; Dick Bass (22) and Tom Flores (15). Their football program is now defunct.

[@joego7924]

It was called College of Pacific in Stockton CA

[@denisceballos9745]

Joe Go; True - I should know, I’m an alumnus.

[@davidwhite2116]

UOP was a powerful program

[@kyledamron]

I was not aware Landry did the 2 qb thing before he did it with Morton and Staubach with little success. But no wonder he thought it would work

[@CTubeMan]

This unofficial Official Jaguar Gator 9 historian will remind everyone you made another video about another quarterback from the University of Pacific.

[@jeremydobbs9308]

If we're talking off the wall retirements, how about John Riggins and Too Tall

[@ShadySportsNetwork]

Pretty sure he already did Riggins.

[@ericthomas917]

"I am announcing my retirement today..... Just kidding"

[@rjsweda]

did they apply passer ratings back then, or is it done retroactively? love the old film footage.

[@t4texastom587]

1. Roger Staubach 2. Don Meredith 3. Danny White 4. Troy Aikman 5. Eddie Lebaron

[@diaz5292]

I've heard it said a thousand times: thank God for lawyers!...lol

[@mrmoose6619]

The WIFU of Canada in 1954 was constituted of the same 5 teams of the modern CFL Western Division and is considered the forerunner of said Western Division. At this time they played only Western teams (much like the AFL and NFL only played their own league teams in the pre-merger Super Bowl era). LeBaron played for the Calgary Stampeders, as did Doug Flutie who was mentioned in this video. The Stamps did not make the playoffs that year.

[@orbyfan]

They had a record 3 straight shutouts early that season and still missed the playoffs, costing Larry Siemering his job after just one season as coach.

[@toddbiesel4288]

WIFU sounds like a dirty acronym.

[@davesimms8825]

WIFU stands for Western Interprovincial Football Union

[@gilbertgiles]

Another good video, thanks! But I'm not certain the "passer rating" stat meant anything at all in those days, or through the 1960s, at all. I realize these things are likely measured today retroactively, but you'd be hard-pressed to find reference to the term in any media before the Fox network got the game, I daresay.

[@daviddechamplain5718]

It definitely was mentioned in the 80's before Fox did football.

[@bobscott2429]

Passer Rating became an official statistic in 1973. The five variables used are: pass attempts, completions, passing yards, touchdown passes, and interceptions. (Source: Wikipedia) A perfect passer rating is 158.3. Currently, Patrick Mahomes is the career leader with a rating of 108.7. (Source: Pro Football Reference)

[@rabbitt83]

Eddie labaron never played QB For the Washington football club He was the QB of the WASHINGTON REDSKINS!!!!!

[@SuperAV21]

It's because Official JaguarGator9 (amongst many people) doesn't want say the franchise's former name for 87 years of use when narrates WFT-related videos for his channel, although he types the former name in the description box or even as part of a couple of titles for his videos which have been uploaded to KZbin.

[@SteelerFanInRI]

10:58 if those are Steelers uniforms (I always get them mixed up with Cleveland's when it's black and white lol), then that 70 is the back of Ernie Stautner, the only non-Joe Greene person to have their number retired by the franchise.

[@tygrkhat4087]

Ernie later got a couple of Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach with the Cowboy.

[@SteelerFanInRI]

@@tygrkhat4087 Indeed; those Doomsday era Cowboys teams had a star-studded coaching staff with former players.

[@yakamarezlife]

Ah thats right the steelers and cowboys don't retire numbers

[@ciesaro]

@@yakamarezlife and the Raiders

[@artsteadman2230]

Met Eddie & his wife DoraLee in 2006. The nicest people

[@Milordvega]

That little guy could sure throw the football

[@67marlins81]

At 5'6", maybe I should try out....just kidding. But I give LeBaron lots of respect for his toughness and great arm.

[@squealingsalamander6546]

2:03 Man just wanted to get a hard block, no regard for the whistle or necessity of the play lol

[@plannein]

I know you are correct about this but can you tell me how the Cowboys and Washington were already rivals when the Cowboys just got there and were in the opposite conference at first 😂😂😂

[@JIMOTOOLE1949]

Now The Commanders.

[@rabbitt83]

First Eddie labaron was the WB of the Washington trdskins

[@troyc4250]

Joseph Herring, while correcting his pronunciation, you wrote this: “Buy he coached at Notre Dame, the Redskins, and Philadelphia.” At least learn to check your typing when correcting someone’s pronunciation. 😉

[@Seuration]

DREW BREES FFS

[@joeshmoe7789]

Did they have passer ratings in the 1950's? What do they mean? How are they calculated? Are QB's given credit when no one is open and they throw the ball away? How about when a receiver drops a ball he should have caught? or tips a ball that's eventually intercepted? Are sacks part of the QB rating. I couldn't watch this all the way thru because it was mostly based on QB ratings and you never said the quality of the offensive lines or receivers he had or if there were running games that took pressure off him. Johnny Unitas had a terrible lifetime passer rating. What does that prove?

[@chriswahl4139]

so he was the Brett Favre of his day

[@josephherring2838]

Dude! You not only mispronounced Coach Joe Kuharich's name. You mangled it. Kuharich may not have been a great coach (quite the opposite). Buy he coached at Notre Dame, the Redskins, and Philadelphia. At least learn how his name was pronounced. Thank you!

[@orbyfan]

An entertaining video could be made about Joe "The Barracuda" Kuharich, as well as his son Lary, who had a fairly short, but colourful, coaching run in the CFL.

[@SteelerFanInRI]

Kyu-HAIR-ick

[@troyc4250]

Joseph Herring, while correcting his pronunciation, you wrote this: “Buy he coached at Notre Dame, the Redskins, and Philadelphia.” At least learn to check your typing when correcting someone’s pronunciation. 😉

[@howardharaway2259]

NICKY 6 Foles was about to retire. Then Doug Peterson, New Eagles Coach brought him to the Eagles from KC. Carsen Wentz got the Eagles to the playoffs, Nicky 6 did the rest, and beat Tom Brady. NO ONE BUT NO ONE Gave Foles a Chinnermens Chance of making it to the SUPERBOWL, let alone beating thee best QB in NFL history. He simply Outscored Brady cuz the Eagles Defense Could not STOP Brady. Imo, thee most exciting SUPERBOWL in NFL history.