By Stampeders.com Staff
The Stampeders family lost one of its own earlier this month when Eddie LeBaron passed away at the age of 85.
LeBaron was the Stampeders’ starting quarterback — not to mention the punter — for a single and fairly unremarkable season in 1954, but it was just one chapter in a long and interesting life on and off the field for the San Rafael, Calif., native.
LeBaron’s year in Calgary was sandwiched between stints with the National Football League’s Washington Redskins. He had far more success south of the border than he did in Canada — while he was an all-pro in three of his first four years after returning to Washington, LeBaron completed just 116 of 251 passes in his season with the Stamps with eight touchdowns and 24 interceptions. 
To be fair, the Stamps were coming off a 3-12-1 season prior to LeBaron’s arrival and the club improved to 8-8 with the former College of the Pacific star under centre.
By joining the Stamps, LeBaron was reunited with head coach Larry Siemerling, who had coached the quarterback in college. As was the case with LeBaron, 1954 would be Siemerling’s only season with the Stamps.
LeBaron was an all-American at the College of the Pacific and led the Tigers to an unbeaten season in 1949. A little man — he stood just five-foot-seven — with big talent, LeBaron played quarterback, safety and punter for the Tigers and is the only Pacific player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Upon completing his collegiate career, football was put on hold as LeBaron served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. He was twice wounded in battle and was decorated with the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
LeBaron joined the Redskins in 1952 — two years after he had been drafted by Washington — and took over at quarterback for Sammy Waugh, who was winding down his glorious career.
He played a total of seven seasons over his two stints with the Redskins but was traded to the expansion Dallas Cowboys in 1960 and became that franchise’s first starting quarterback.
As is often the case with new teams, the Cowboys struggled in their early years. They were winless in their first season and were a combined 13-38-3 from 1960-63. Despite the team’s lack of success, LeBaron managed to earn his fourth Pro-Bowl selection following the 1962 season.
Although the wins were few and far between in Dallas, LeBaron did enjoy some memorable moments, as he reminisced in the book “Where Have All Our Cowboys Gone?”
“I guess the most unique play I was involved in . . . was when I threw the shortest pass in the NFL history,” LeBaron told the author. “We got down to about the two-inch line. (Cowboys head coach Tom Landry) had sent in a running play. The Redskins got into an 11-man line so I just called an audible and dropped it over the line to an end for a touchdown.
“When I came out, (Landry) was a little concerned. He said, ‘Why did you call a dumb play like that?’ I said, ‘It worked!’ ”
After retiring from football, he took varied career paths including serving as a football analyst for CBS and as general manager and vice-president for the Atlanta Falcons. He also put his law degree into practice as he became managing partner of a law firm. One of his clients was eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes.
LeBaron and his wife Doralee were married for 61 years and they had three sons and five grandchildren.