Dave Gambee (born April 16, 1937) enjoyed a twelve-year NBA career after playing with and for legends at Oregon State. He became the last surviving member of the Beaver teams of the late 1950’s when Oregon State College became Oregon State University.
Born in Portland, Dave grew up in Corvallis, playing baseball and basketball for Corvallis High School. He was 6-foot-7 by the time he graduated at age 17 and led the Spartans to the state championship game.
After a flirtation with the University of Washington, Gambee stayed home to play at Oregon State, thanks, in part, to the recruiting efforts of then-assistant coach Paul Valenti.
His breakout seasons came as a sophomore and junior, leading the team in scoring in 1956 and ’57. Dave also played baseball for both the Beavs and semi-pro in the summer.
As a junior and senior, he was named an All-American, and helped the Beavers tie for the Pacific Coast Conference title in ’58. They lost the PCC title game to California, 57-45. Gambee graduated from OSU as the career scoring leader at 18.9 points per game in 78 games.
The St. Louis Hawks drafted Gambee in the first round of the 1958 NBA Draft – seventh overall, and he played for the Hawks, and in Cincinnati, Syracuse, Philadelphia, San Diego, Milwaukee, Detroit and San Francisco.
In 12 years, he played 750 games and averaged 10.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He was traded three times, had his contract sold twice and was selected twice in NBA Expansion drafts. In 1967, Gambee played alongside Wilt Chamberlain with the Philadelphia 76ers, who won the NBA title.
Gambee was noted for shooting free throws underhanded, averaging 82% from the line for his career. Dave made Portland his home for much of his adult life and was very successful in the lumber business. He was also Dick Enberg's partner on college basketball broadcasts.
Dave Gambee was inducted to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 1980, and into the Oregon State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991.