University of California, Los Angeles

Beban passed and ran his way to UCLA's first Heisman while leading the Bruins to a 7-2-1 record and a No. 10 national ranking.

"The Great One"

Gary Beban

QB | Senior | University of California, Los Angeles

Beban – known as “The Great One” – passed and ran his way to UCLA’s first Heisman while leading the Bruins to a 7-2-1 record and a No. 10 national ranking.

Born in San Francisco, Beban graduated in 1964 from Sequoia High in Redwood City, Calif. He starred as a single-wing tailback for Sequoia, earning all-league honors in both 1962 and 1963.

Beban signed with UCLA and was brilliant in his first season starting as a 1965 sophomore, passing for 1,483 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 590 yards and 14 scores as the Bruins went 8-2-1, won the Rose Bowl over Michigan State and finished fifth in the polls. As a 1966 junior, Beban threw for 1,245 yards and six scores and rushed for 454 yards and 10 TDs as the Bruins went 9-1 and again finished fifth in the polls. He also finished fourth in the Heisman vote.

Beban led UCLA to a great start as a senior. The Bruins jumped to a 7-0-1 record and a No. 2 national ranking behind his leadership. He threw for 1,359 yards and eight touchdowns while rushing for 227 and 11 scores, but UCLA missed out on a possible national title by losing a hard-fought 21-20 decision to USC. Nonetheless, Beban was given the Heisman over USC’s O.J. Simpson as a testament to his overall skill set and career accomplishments.

Beban quarterbacked UCLA to 23 victories against five losses and two ties in his three-year reign with the Bruins. He passed for 4,070 yards, while rushing for 1,280 yards and he crossed the goal line 35 times.

He was a second-round selection (30th overall) of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1968 draft. He was later traded to the Washington Redskins and played a couple years with the team before joining CB Commercial, the nation’s leading full-service real estate organization.

After serving as an industrial property specialist and holding various management positions, Gary has served as the President of CB Richard Ellis [CBRE] from 1987 to 1998, and co-chaired the Global Account Management Group until his retirement in 2008. Still active with CBRE as an advisor and client account manager, he also serves as a Director of the Hubbell Realty Company.

Beban was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1988.

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Heisman Voting Results

Number of electors: 1,033 - Announced: November 28, 1967.

 PlayerClassPositionSchool1st2nd3rdTotal Points
1Gary BebanSRQBUCLA3693321971,968
2O.J. SimpsonJRRBUSC2613592211,772
3Leroy KeyesJRRB-CBPurdue2781422481,366
4Larry CsonkaSRFBSyracuse222030136
5Kim HammondSRQBFlorida State1715990
6Bob JohnsonSRCTennessee13101776
7Granville LigginsSRNGOklahoma2113361
8Dewey WarrenSRQBTennessee4131856
9Wayne MeylanSRNGNebraska1151255
10Terry HanrattyJRQBNotre Dame1122754

Three points are awarded for first place on a ballot, with two points for second place and one point for third place.

Heisman Voting By Region

At this time, Heisman voters are spread out across five regions.

South

 Player
1Gary Beban
2O.J. Simpson
3Leroy Keyes
4Kim Hammond
5Bob Johnson

East

 Player
1Gary Beban
2O.J. Simpson
3Leroy Keyes
4Larry Csonka
5Terry Hanratty

Midwest

 Player
1Leroy Keyes
2Gary Beban
3O.J. Simpson
4Wayne Meylan
5Terry Hanratty

Southwest

 Player
1Gary Beban
2O.J. Simpson
3Leroy Keyes
4Chris Gilbert
5Granville Liggins

Far West

 Player
1Gary Beban
2O.J. Simpson
3Leroy Keyes
4Paul Toscano
5Granville Liggins

Statistics

DateOpponentResultAttCompPct.YardsYPATDIntRatingRushesYardsYPCTDPlaysTotal OffYPPTotal TDs
9/16/67#2 TennesseeW 20-1620945.01075.40269.9421723.422411794.362
9/23/67at PittsburghW 40-810550.0696.900107.9613151.15223843.652
9/30/67at Washington StateW 51-2314750.01289.110150.3710101.001241385.752
10/7/67at #10 Penn StateW 17-15161062.51086.801106.701910.051351093.111
10/14/67CaliforniaW 37-14141071.41339.520198.3713513.921271846.813
10/21/67at StanfordW 21-167342.9507.10174.2921813.852281314.672
11/4/67#7 Oregon StateT 16-16181055.51578.701117.7116211.311341785.231
11/11/67WashingtonW 48-0221463.628913.131209.897446.2812932311.134
11/18/67#1 USCL 21-20241666.730112.521191.1816-59-3.680402426.052
11/25/67#12 SyracuseL 32-1411327.3171.540122.079-9-1.0002080.400
Heisman StatsUPI #107-2-11568755.813598.788135.611452271.561130115865.2619

Media

Gary Beban - Heisman Winner
Gary Beban - Heisman Winner
Gary Beban - Heisman Winner
Gary Beban - Heisman Winner
Gary Beban - Heisman Winner
Gary Beban - Heisman Winner