Joe Jaeger was another three-sport star at Napa High with strong performances in football, basketball and baseball. In football, Jaeger was a defensive back and back up quarterback as a junior, advanced to the starting quarterback position as a senior while continuing to play defense and doing the punting and place kicking. His successful extra point conversion in 1952 gave Napa a 7-6 victory over Vallejo. It was Napa’s first win over Vallejo since fellow Hall of Famer Jim Dykes’ field goal beat the Apaches 3-0 in 1942. As a basketball player, Jaeger was a member of the 1951-52 NBL championship team and was the captain and leading scorer of the 1952-53 Indian team. Jaeger excelled as a baseball player at Napa, performing as an outfielder and pitcher. He was team captain in 1953, First Team All-NBL with a .480 batting average. His two-year pitching record in the North Bay League was 11 wins and three losses. He was selected as 1953 Outstanding Athlete of the Year by the Block N. Jaeger continued his baseball career at the University of California in Berkeley where he played for four years, seeing service as a pitcher and outfielder. In his senior year, the Cal Bears won the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Jaeger entered the U.S. Air Force after graduation from U.C. Berkeley and joins his brother Marshall who was selected as a member of the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.
