O.J. Simpson Snubbed in Favor of Gary Beban for 1967 Heisman? Maybe

The greatest matchup between USC and UCLA hands down was the 1967 meeting, when UCLA was looking to secure a second National Championship. The top-ranked Bruins were led by Gary Beban, but fell to the fourth ranked Trojans on the legs of O.J. Simpson’s legendary 64-yard cut-back touchdown run with 10:38 left in the game. It was the signature moment for Simpson, and as Lost Lettermen call it, “the definition of a Heisman moment”. Gary Beban went on to win the Heisman anyways, in what Lost Lettermen call the second biggest Heisman snub of all time, after Paul Hornung’s unethical victory over Jim Brown in 1956.

"2. UCLA QB Gary Beban over USC RB O.J. Simpson (1967)This was a head-scratcher for many reasons. UCLA quarterback Beban had just fair numbers, throwing for 1,359 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions while losing a classic game to Simpson’s rival USC.In addition, Simpson capped the victory over the cross-town rival with a 64-yard, go-ahead touchdown that has gone down as one of the great plays in college football history – the definition of a Heisman moment. It handed the Bruins their first loss en route to an eventual national title for the Trojans.Oh yeah, and Simpson ran for over 1,400 yards and averaged 5.0 yards per carry. Obviously, Simpson’s not getting a lot of sympathy these days despite the slight."

Are they right? They just might be. While Beban is widely considered the greatest quarterback in UCLA history despite the records held by Cade McNown, but he completed just 87 passes, good for a mediocre 55.8 percent, with a QB rating of 135.6. In comparison, Beban’s best season at UCLA was as a sophomore in 1965 when he had a better rating (152.6), threw more touchdowns (9), and averaged more yards to attempt (10.2 in 1965, vs. 8.7 in 1967).

And that O.J. guy? Well if he would have won the Heisman in 1967, he would have become the first player to win twice, considering he won the award a year later in 1968. Not to mention that 1967 was Simpson’s first season in the NCAA, as he was a junior college transfer out of the City College of San Francisco. Wrap your head around that for a second.

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