Remembering Gary Beban

Thanks, Roger.

In 1966, the year between the Rose Bowl season and the most exciting game ever, the Bruins and Trojans finished with identical 9-1, 3-1 records, after Norm Dow filled in for the injured Beban and sparked a stunning victory over $UC. One of the dorms—Rieber?—spelled out DOW in its windows. But then came word that the conference selectors had picked the Trojans to go to the Rose Bowl, and the Bruins ran wild, shutting down the 405.

Around the same time was the Sunset Strip Riot (which inspired Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth”), when police and hippies clashed over a club called Pandora’s Box. Joan Didion wrote a famous essay comparing the two, not realizing that there were social and economic issues between UCLA and $UC that transcended sports.

Anyway, a shoutout to Norm Dow, wherever he is, along with the great memories of Gary Beban, whose post-football success compares remarkably to the downfall of his 1967 nemesis, OJ Simpson.

It gave me goosebumps reading your description and reminded me of the energy I felt at the rivalry games in the early 90’s. Those days in the 60’s and 70’s when UCLA and U$C were ranked in the top 5 were what made the rivalry really a rivalry. Thanks so much for sharing!

The “Probation Bowl.” My first UCLA-USC game as a student. We all had T-shirts with a Bruin and a Trojan in convicts stripes.

We’d lost 4 straight to the Trojies, and when Jay Schroeder threw that horrible bloop pass to McNeil, it looked like 5 straight. I still can’t figure out how Jeff Fisher didn’t intercept it. The only explanation was that the pass was such a duck, that Fisher jumped too soon, and tipped in on his way down.

When McNeil somehow contorted himself backward to gather in the ball, and charged down the sideline, it was one of the biggest rushes I’ve ever felt at a sporting event. Fantastic. And the post-game woofing at the Masoleum and the SC campus was also pretty sweet.

Of course since both schools were ineligible, Washington went to the RB, which sucked since we beat them 31-0 that year.

My memories of Gary Beban predate my student days at UCLA from ‘71-75. In 1965, as a kid growing up in eastern Washington State I used to listen to UCLA football on my transistor radio and then on my dad’s car radio when the signal would fade. It was magical how the radio announcer described Beban’s elusiveness, running and passing. He was a qb of a different mold. On the first play of the ’66 Rose Bowl, Gary ran for more yards than Michigan State had given up in their previous games. During halftime, my younger brother and I put on our powder blue sweatshirts imprinted with number 16 in black ink, brought out the new leather football we got for Christmas and braved the freezing temps and 6 inches of snow on the ground to play football and pretend we were Gary Beban. My love for UCLA only grew more with watching Lew Alcindor (Kareem) and the rest of the legends. I was hooked and headed straight for UCLA after high school. My family and classmates were shocked. But it all started with Gary Beban and that magical season of 1965.

Would love to hear more from people with memories of these magical events many of us weren’t around for.

I too saw the 21-20 ucla loss to usc in the coliseum, as my brother played on that great UCLA team…and i would become a yell leader during the DENNIS DUMMIT time, when we lost to usc 14-12…that game was magical…we were ranked #8 in the country going into the game that year i think, and we had a student section of 20,000 UCLA STUDENTS on the south side of the field…they said it was the larget student section for UCLA up till that time…
‘DAMMIT DUMMIT DO IT"…WAS OUR BIG YELL THAT YEAR…
The UCLA/usc game where we won 20-16 due to BEBAN’S great passing was the year i officially became a UCLA BRUIN…and yes we KEPT mike garret out of the rose bowl…tehe…those were the days…

I stand corrected. And how funny that we were probably sitting within a few feet of each other (Herodotus). Since I graduated in June ’67, I was only able to watch the ’67 SC game on TV (along with like 10 alumni up at Berkeley law school), and do I recall correctly a 67 yard OJ run? Very tough afternoon. But then the same year Big Lew came off his eye injury to demolish Elvin Hayes(?) and Houston. That made up for the SC loss. I love to tell stories of having had a couple classes with Lew and Lucious (how is that spelled anyway)? Gotta go for breakfast. Enjoying the memories.

This has inspired me to write BN for the first time after becoming an avid reader over the last year or so. With that, I would like to share that one of my earliest memories of UCLA football was the 1965 SC game at the Coliseum. I attended the game with my mom, brother and sister and recall sitting in the very first row of the peristyle end of the stadium, far removed from the playing field and even further removed from the west end zone where the memorable Gary Beban to Kurt Altenberg touchdowns concluded. The funny thing about this is that I was a huge SC fan at the time. I blame this solely on my parents who are SC grads and big sports enthusiasts. During my childhood, my parents were season ticket holders for USC football and, on a number of occasions, would take my siblings and me to the SC campus and then on to the games. You can say I was completely weaned, conditioned and brainwashed to be a USC fan during my childhood. However, by the time I graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1973, I regained my senses and had become a big UCLA fan thanks to my "trail-blazing" older brother who broke family tradition and entered UCLA in 1969. During his school years at UCLA, I accompanied him and his Phi Kappa Psi fraternity brothers to several UCLA football games (including the great 1972 upset game vs. Nebraska). By the time it was my turn to attend college, my transformation was complete and the choice to become a "Son of Westwood" was a simple one…..So, when I think back to the 1965 game, I remember experiencing such a huge emotional letdown as UCLA came storming back…however, as a UCLA alumnus, I am proud of that moment and all of the other great moments in UCLA sports history that I have witnessed over time. I was a UCLA season ticket holder after graduating in1978 through the 1992 season before relocating to Portland, OR. I have remained an avid follower of UCLA football and basketball over the years and was thrilled to have attended the 1995 national championship basketball game in Seattle. I really sense that UCLA football is now, finally on the rise again. Although there have been some disappointing moments this season, the progress these last three games seem to represent critical breakthrough events that hopefully set us on an upward path to continued success. I am really looking forward to these final two games and I’m certain I’ll continue to enjoy the ride with Bruins Nation.