Undersized NFL Quarterbacks

We all love the story of the underdog that fights through adversity and breaks the mold of what is thought to be normal. In this episode we share the story of an undersized NFL quarterback that had a brilliant career, and some others that share a similar NFL story of beating the odds as an undersized signal caller.

Eddie LeBaron was 5 foot and 7 inches tall and weighed in at 160 pounds when George Preston Marshall and the Washington Redskins signed him to their team to replaced theie recently retired franchise quarterback Sammy Baugh. Marshall thought he could put a little fear into the opposition when he listed Eddie in the program as 5'9" and 180 pounds, but nothing could make make up for the extra height and weight any better than a big heart and the desire to play hard. LeBaron played QB in the NFL for 11 seasons and for all of them he was the shortest and lightest of all players in the League, 7 in Washington and another four with the Dallas Cowboys. For his career in the 1950s and early 1960s he completed 50% of his passes for over 13,390 yards and 104 touchdown passes.

Eddie made the NFL Pro Bowl after the 1956 season. Since it was a special game his wife was in attendance. Eddie took the spotlight and really showed how good he could play as his East squad snuck past the West team in a tight game. The larger guys on the West were none too happy that the little guy played so well. When he met the Mrs. outside of the locker room, one of those defenders that were a little miffed approached Eddie and said, "You little Son of Bitch! I'll get you next year." That was Big Daddy Lipscomb who stood 6 foot and 9 inches tall and wehed 300 pounds. Mrs LeBaron, not knowing much about the game of football and its gamesmanship repeated told her husband that she wanted him to quit on the spot before the giant person would kill Eddie.

In the modern NFL the prototypical heigth of a starting quarterback is 6'-3" tall. We have seen many signal callers below this mythical line succeed and even thrive in the League though. Here are a few to chew on that bucked the system of the "experts."

• Drew Brees was listed as 6 foot even, and not a smidgen more. Surely he couldn't thrive in the NFL, could he? The San Diego Chargers did not resign Brees after they drafted Philip Rivers in 2004, whose size fit the mold of a good sized QB. Brees joined the New Orleans Saints as a free agent in 2005 and not only won an NFL title and was the Super Bowl XLIV MVP, but set numerous NFL passing records. These include the most career passing yards (80,358), most completions (7142), most seasons with over 5,000 yards of passing and a handful more. I think he might have been tall enough to see over the line...what do you think?
• Russell Wilson stands only 5'-11" and he won a Lombardi Trophy, led his team to two Super Bowls and so far is a 9 time Pro Bowler. Wilson is still going too as in 2022 he was traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the Denver Broncos. Thus far he has over 37,000 yards and 292 TD passes. Russell uses every inch of his size to help provide victory.
• Doug Flutie stood just 5'-10" high but this guy had heart and gritty determination. He bounced between the USFL, NFL and CFL in his career and was a fan favorite and a play maker almost everywhere he played. His professional career spanned over 3 decades and he recorded 8 come from behind wins in his time in the NFL. In the CFL he won 3 Grey Cup Titles as a member of the BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders, and Toronto Argonauts, Flutie was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player a record six times.
• Michael Vick 6'-0" - 4 Pro Bowls
• Fran Tarkenton 6'-0" - 9 Pro Bowls, and played in 3 Super Bowls
• Len Dawson, 6'-0" - All he did was become the MVP of Super Bowl IV and become enshrined into the Pro Hall of Fame. 
• Sonny Jurgensen, was 5'-11" during his playing days and won three passing titles on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including one at the age of 40. 
• Joe Theismann, 6'-0" was the NFL MVP in 1983, made it to two Pro Bowls and helped the Washington Redskins win a Super Bowl.
• Billy Kilmer, 6'-0" was a solid QB and even backed up both Jurgesen and Theisman at different points during his career. He also started 124 games and made it to the Pro Bowl in 1972 eventually finding his way into the Redskins ring of honor.

Some guys to watch right now: Kyler Murray 5'-10" and Baker Mayfield 6'-1"

The picture in the banner above is from the Wikipedia Commons photo collection of the Public Domain of a cropped installment of Eddie LeBaron 1958

Special thanks to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Stathead.com and the National Football Post website .