Eddie LeBaron obit

Original Cowboys quarterback Eddie LeBaron dies at 85

He was not on the list.

Eddie LeBaron Jr., the first quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, a college football Hall of Famer and a war hero, has died. He was 85.

The University of Pacific said LeBaron died of natural causes Wednesday.

The 5-foot-7, 160-pound LeBaron quarterbacked the Cowboys for most of their first three seasons before being replaced by Don Meredith after the first game of the 1963 season. LeBaron retired at the end of the 1963 season.

LeBaron enrolled at the College of the Pacific in Stockton as a 16-year-old. He played college football for the Tigers under Amos Alonzo Stagg and Larry Siemering from 1946 to 1949, lettering all four years and achieving All-American honors as a senior.

LeBaron, who received the Davey O’Brien Legends Award in Fort Worth in 2013, played 11 seasons in the NFL, including his first seven with the Washington Redskins, the team that drafted him in the 10th round in 1950 out of Pacific. He threw for 13,399 yards and 104 touchdowns and was selected to four Pro Bowls. He also played one season with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

He later served as general manager for the Atlanta Falcons from 1977 to 1982 and was the league’s Executive of the Year in 1980. He also served on the NFL’s Competition Committee.

At Pacific, LeBaron finished sixth in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy. He was known as a deceptive ball-handling quarterback who tricked opposing defenses with his spinning moves in the backfield.

His pro career was delayed for two years while serving as a U.S. Marine in the Korean War. He was wounded twice and was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for heroism.

His passing yardage puts him 149th among all quarterbacks in NFL history — better than names such as Super Bowl starters Vince Ferragamo and Tony Eason and San Francisco 49ers star Frankie Albert.

He is survived by his wife Doralee, sons Edward “Wayne” III, Richard and William, and five grandchildren.

 

Some of his football associates include: 

George Preston Marshall, Curly Lambeau, Harry Gilmer, Johnny Williams, Hugh Taylor, Sammy Baugh, Charlie Justice, Paul Lipscomb, Laurie Niemi, Dick McCann, Julius Rykovich, Wayne Millner, Herman Ball, Gene Brito, Don Doll, Bill Dudley, Chuck Drazenovich, Sam Baker, Joe Kuharich, Rob Goode, Billy Wells, Al Dorow, Ralph Guglielmi, Joe Scudero, LaVern Torgeson, Dick Stanfel,  Dick James, Don Bosseler, Al DeMao, Dick Evans, Leo Elter, Volney Peters, Jim Podoley, John Carson, Jim Schrader, Johnny Olszewski, Bill Anderson, Bob Toneff, Emil Karas, Richie McCabe, Bill McPeak, Tom Landry, Clint Murchison Jr., Jim Doran, Don Meredith, Duane Putnam, Dick Bielski, Billy Howton, Tex Schramm, Don Perkins, Chuck Howley, Bob Lilly, Jerry Tubbs, Jim Myers, Dick Nolan, Don Bishop, Frank Clarke, Lee Folkins, Pettis Norman, Cornell Green, Red Hickey, Lee Roy Jordan and Gil Brandt.