In 1952, LeBaron was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant. He joined the Burgundy & Gold afterwards, and it seems George Preston Marshall needed time to get used to the presence of this new, diminutive quarterback.
"Mr. Marshall didn't want a short quarterback so in the programs in those days, initially I was 5'10 and 180 when we started and gradually, finally talked him into putting my true size down of 5'7 and 160," LeBaron said with a laugh during an interview.
Four games into the 1952 season, LeBaron took over for Baugh and received All-Rookie honors at the end of that year. He would go on to start 58 games during his seven seasons in Washington. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times, and in 1958, he was the league's top-rated quarterback after completing 79 of 149 passes for 1,365 yards and 11 touchdowns. And because these were still the days of 60-minute players, he was also the primary punter for his first three seasons in Washington.
LeBaron was a bright spot at a time when there perhaps wasn't much to be proud of about Washington football. He was so beloved in fact that in 1958 he was voted the most popular athlete in the nation's capital. His popularity stretched far beyond the bounds of D.C., and he became a model to look to for plenty of small aspiring athletes.
"I was the hero of the little folk," LeBaron said. "I used to get letter from fathers all over the country, saying, 'My son is 5-foot-3 and 112 pounds and wants to be quarterback and would you write him and tell him that he could do it.'"