Hall of Fame
A native of South Bend, Wash., Larry Beck, known as the ‘Blonde Bomber from South Bend’, joined the Washington State men’s basketball team in the fall of 1954. At 6-foot-3, Beck was a forward for the Cougars, but was known more as a football player having been recruited by both Washington and Oregon State. But Beck chose basketball and he had an immediate impact on his WSC team his first season, averaging 10.0 points and 4.6 rebounds for head coach Jack Friel. As a junior he averaged 19.5 points per game along with 8.2 rebounds an outing, on his way to Pacific Coast Conference First Team honors in 1955-56. In his senior year, Beck averaged 19.1 points and 7.5 rebounds, leading the team in scoring for the third-straight year, while picking up his second-consecutive PCC First Team honor. Beck earned All-America accolades in 1957 and ended his career holding 19 individual records, including scoring with 1,263 career points, becoming just the third Cougar to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Following his collegiate career, Beck played with the Seattle Bakers and Los Angeles Jets, both members of the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues, and was inducted into the NABL’s Hall of Fame in 2004.
