Retired numbers
Jonathan Ogden, the former UCLA offensive lineman who announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday, is one of eight Bruin football players to have his number retired.
Ogden wore No. 79 at UCLA and is the second offensive lineman to have his number retired.
The other seven are:
No. 5: Kenny Easley
No. 13: Kenny Washington
No. 16: Gary Beban (The only Bruin to win the Hesiman Trophy. He did it in 1967).
No. 34: Paul Cameron
No. 38: Burr Baldwin
No. 80: Donn Moonaw (The other OL for UCLA, also known as President Ronald Reagan's minister).
No. 84: Jerry Robinson
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About Inside UCLA
This is Brian Dohn's sixth season covering UCLA after spending 4 1/2 years covering the Dodgers for the Daily News and other Los Angeles Newspaper Group papers. He graduated from Rutgers, where the first college football game was played in 1869. Sure, the Scarlet Knights suffered for a long time, but now RU is doing what Jerseyans always thought was possible. Winning at Rutgers also proves winning is possible everywhere else in the nation, so underachieving coaches better be careful. Now, if only men's hoops can turn it around.
im only 22 so i have no idea who any of these guys are other than ogden. but it seems that retired numbers should be reserved for all time greats ex: Brett Favre, Joe Montana, etc. at some point the team is going to run out of numbers.
Now why would ucla have retired these players' numbers? Being a student of college football history I know a little something about a few of these guys. Beban was incredible for his day, a runner and a passer. He beat SC in one of the greatest comebacks in ucla history, should have beaten the No. 1 SC team the following year if he had had field goal kicking help, and beat No. 1 Michigan State in the Rose Bowl. Oh, yeah, he also won the Heisman Trophy.
The name Kenny Washington speaks for itself-- one great all-around star.
Donn Moomaw (correct spelling) spear-headed ucla's only national champion team as a mean 'backer in 1954.
Kenny Easley was the same class athlete as SC's Ronnie Lott.
Jerry Robinson, if I recall correctly, was the star in the 1976 Rose Bowl victory over No. 1 Ohio State (who had beaten the bruins badly earlier in the regular season).
And mind you, this is for college excellence, not for how they did in the pros (Beban did not do so well). And as the writer above pointed out Favre and Montana are great names, but not so much for what they did at the college level, but for what they did in the pros.
ZzzzZzZzZzzzzzzZzZZZZZzzzz...
You're puttting to me sleep with these boring freaking posts. First a post about track and freaking field, and now retired football numbers?
When does Dohn get back again?
Jerry Robinson was a three-time All-American and considered to be one of the greatest linebackers ever.
Ogden won an Outland Trophy while at UCLA and I've never seen a better offensive lineman for the Bruins.
"QUOTE:
Wednesday, is one of eight Bruin football players to have his number retired."
Dohn would have written one of ONLY eight Bruin football players...
Give Tim Haddock a break. The guy is filling in; the sub. He's doing the best he can and he is not the regular beat writer. You can always check back in July if you don't like these posts.
Tim, keep up the good work.
Sac -
Time to read up on your Bruin history! These ARE all-time greats at the COLLEGE level. Check any list, the guys on this list are all considered at least among the greatest players for their respective eras. Beban's a given -- Heisman trophy winner, and one of the great dual threat QBs. Jerry Robinson and Kenny Easley were the first three-time consensus All-Americans in college football history, and they played on the same team! Robinson, Easley, and Ogden all rank among the best ever at their respective positions on just about any list.
Montana and Favre are all-time greats at the PRO level. But, remember that neither of them made All-American at the COLLEGE level. That's why Montana's #3 remains in use at Notre Dame. That's why Tom Brady will probably make the pro HOF and have his Patriots #12 retired when all's said and done, but won't ever have his Michigan number retired.
If you retire numbers based on what a player does at the pro level, then why aren't Jimmy Johnson, Tom Fears, Bob Waterfield, and Troy Aikman's numbers retired? All of them are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but none of them have had their UCLA numbers retired.
VB -
Track and field is the only sport where Bruins are still competing for NCAA titles. True Bruin fans who welcome news on all of our athletic teams appreciate the updates, especially those that still have a chance at #104.
i didnt necessarily mean what Favre and Montana had done in college vs. the pros. its just an example. you can only retire so many numbers, after awhile you will run out of number to giver your players. so im saying that retired numbers need to be reserved for ALL TIME GREATS!
And what I'm saying is that these retired numbers ARE going to ALL TIME GREATS. Who among them would you take the honor away from? It's not like numbers get retired every year, and Ogden's number was retired over a decade ago.
Robinson, Easley, and Ogden are pretty much consensus picks among the greatest ever at their respective positions at the college level. Beban's a Heisman trophy winner, and one of the great dual threat QBs.
The others on the list had a significant role in Bruin history. Depending on your source, either Kenny Washington or Burr Baldwin was UCLA's first consensus All-American. And Kenny Washington was a pioneering figure as one of the first African-American players in the NFL. Cameron and Moomaw were the best players on UCLA's best team (the 1954 NC team), with Moomaw the first two-time consensus All-American in school history and Cameron a multi-position player that Red Sanders called the best back he'd ever coached. (And if you don't know who Red Sanders is, please read up! It's worthwhile to know his legacy, and his place in Bruin lore)
Cameron was a super-star, triple-threat back for the Bruins (1951-53). Considered one of the greatest tailbacks in CFB history, and played some defense. He did not play on the NC team.