Washington Football Team: The best quarterbacks in team history
By Jonathan Eig
No. 10 – Eddie LeBaron (1952-1953, 1955-1959)
Someone had to take over from the great Sammy Baugh, and it fell to the 5’7” LeBaron to do so. After many years as NFL royalty, Washington was in the middle of a long, slow decline to the basement when the “Little General” began his career. His deft ball-handling and aggressive passing won him fans, even if most of his teams were average.
LeBaron’s spot in the top ten is the hardest to justify based on statistics. He completed fewer than 50% of his passes and threw far more interceptions than touchdowns. His quarterback rating, by today’s standards, was terrible. But LeBaron made plays. He had a touchdown rate of 5.3% — virtually identical to Tom Brady and Drew Brees. He made three Pro Bowls in Washington and led the league in passing in 1959.
The gap in LeBaron’s tenure was the year he bolted, along with star defensive end Gene Brito, to Canada. LeBaron simply did no get along with coach Curly Lambeau. He returned after one season, with Lambeau gone. And his career was delayed at its start by the Korean War. LeBaron served in the marines for more than a year, winning two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star. Perhaps not a justification for his ranking as a quarterback – but worth a mention I think.