Eddie LeBaron was with the Commanders early in his career and was "tutored" by Sammy Baugh. He left the NFL to play in the CFL but the Commanders still held his NFL rights so we had to trade a high pick (can't remember what it was now and don't have time to look it up, maybe after I get back from breakfast) for him.
The guy hadn't even played for them for a few years but we had to give up one of our precious future draft picks to sign him. That sucked!
Anyway, he was a very good player. His size was always a knock on him (listed at 5'9 but I think he was even shorter than that). He had a good arm and could move really well which was a good thing because our O-Line was a mess for several years before we finally got some good players there. Doug Flutie always reminded me of LeBaron.
After his first season, Landry started to swap him and Meredith in and out during games. I never thought that worked very well but Landry liked to call the plays and that's how he would send them in, by swapping the QB ever play (or almost every play, he tried changing it around at times too).
Eddie was one of the reasons why I came to be a Cowboys fan. He looked like a kid and since I was only 5 at the time I connected with him. Then I met Bob Lilly before a pre-season game against the Rams and I've been a fan ever since, but it was LeBaron who got me to want to go to that particular game in the first place. Plus the uniforms from 1962 were AWESOME! So when the pre-season game against the Rams (I lived in L.A.) came up I wanted to go.
LeBaron was a tough guy for being so small and he took a beating in those early years. In 1962 our offense was excellent but our defense sucked. That was LeBaron's best year as a Cowboy.
Anyway, I've got to run but will post more later...
