Sport: The Flea & the Bear

In the football season of 1949, the world had paid too little attention to talented, towheaded Quarterback Eddie LeBaron of College of the Pacific, but that was not the fault of his fans in California's San Joaquin Valley. After the 20-year-old wonder boy led Pacific (en rollment: 1,250) through an undefeated season, San Joaquinites were aghast when Eddie got no higher national recognition, for the third straight year, than the "Little All-America." Was that his penalty for playing with a school in football's minor leagues? To show how they felt, admirers showered him...

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