OH LEO! 1944'S LION ESCAPE AT DENVER'S CITY PARK ZOO

Pedaling his bicycle in terror and in shredded trousers, a youth named Marvin Sager, of 3234 Vine Street in Denver, raced to a drug store at East 22d Avenue and Downing Street shouting: “A lion is after me!"

"The druggist was disinclined to believe the boy’s almost hysterical story, but finally he summoned police," the Rocky Mountain News said.

It wasn't a hoax. "Leo the Lion" escaped City Park Zoo that July 5 in 1944 and tore Sager's trousers with its claws during its brief urban flight. A zoo attendant failed to lock the cage. The lad escaped serious injury.

Denver Police Captain Joseph Trinier led a squad armed with riot guns and tear gas to scene of the emergency.

Hiding in shrubs, the roaring year-old beast - who weighed in at 175 pounds - evaded the mob, which "had grown to include State Highway Patrolmen, detectives and other armed volunteers," the News said.

"Resorting to frontier range land methods, the officers yelled and herded the terrified lion back into his cage," the newspaper said.

Once it was over, poor Leo the Lion may well have been more frightened than poor Marvin Sager.

The fate of the careless zoo attendant is lost to history.

[Photo: Stock image]