Your observation about the fruit shapes is spot on PP. I think the Paragon parent can't have been Paragon, but a cross of Paragon with something.
Unfortunately, it's going back too far. I didn't (and still don't) keep maps of garden beds so I have no idea what was growing near Paragon when I grew it and saved seed. I do remember the fruit I used for seed very well. It was big, red and an ever so slightly elongated, as opposed to flattened, sphere. Of course, it may have already been crossed up which means that I would have been using an F2 in my cross with JF. Who knows? I didn't get any fruit off the plant I used in the cross as that was very bad FF year.
As observed, the ones in my garden aren't even close to what I'm after. A friend grew out one of my F2s and that plant produced a very nice oblate fruit with a great orange-pink colour and nice size so there is some hope.
I'll pursue any that are interesting but I think it's back to more crossing next season and this time I'll use something sensible like KB or KBX. Although, as I've said before somewhere, the results of the Green Giant cross in the dwarf project have been outstanding so perhaps I should cross JF with GG!!!
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Ray
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