"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.
