Life of OJ Simpson: NFL legend, criminal defendant

Renowned football star and infamous criminal defendant OJ Simpson died Wednesday at the age of 76, his family announced. 

Simpson “succumbed to his battle with cancer,” his family said in a Thursday statement posted to his account on the social platform X.

Coming from a rough upbringing in 1950s San Francisco, Simpson’s career took him to the gridiron, the big and small screens and into every home in America via his 1995 double murder trial, dubbed “the trial of the century.”

College football career

Despite his football talent, Simpson’s poor academic grades and troubled behavioral history led him to junior college in 1965, where he dominated on the field. 

Before transferring to a major university, Simpson also ran track. He briefly held a world record in the 4 x 110 relay in 1967, set at the NCAA championships that year.

After transferring to the University of Southern California (USC) in 1967, he led all college football in rushing for his two seasons there, tallying more than 1,500 and then 1,800 yards in each year.

Those monumental statistics made him a finalist for the Heisman Trophy his junior season, the most prestigious award in college football. He won the trophy his senior season, in addition to being named an All-American and winning the Walter Camp Award both years.

Buffalo Bills and rise to stardom

Simpson, nicknamed “The Juice,” was drafted first overall by the Buffalo Bills in the 1968 draft, but clashed with team ownership after he demanded the largest salary ever for any professional athlete: $650,000. The team eventually relented, piling on high expectations for his career.

He struggled in his early seasons but broke out in 1972. That year brought his first 1,000-yard season and the next, his first 2,000-yard season — the first time the milestone was broken in league history.

Simpson took home the NFL Most Valuable Player award in 1973 for his record rushing performance, and he still holds the record for most rushing yards over a 14-game season.

The centerpiece of a struggling Bills team, Simpson led the league in rushing two more times in his career, also snagging the single-game rushing record of 273 yards in 1975. 

He was traded to his hometown San Francisco 49ers in 1978, where he played two seasons before retirement. Retiring with the second most rushing yards of all time and considered one of the best running backs ever, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility.

Acting career

Simpson quickly took to acting after his retirement from football, capitalizing on his status as a fan favorite. He appeared in a number of TV shows and small movies in the early and mid-1980s, before making his most famous appearance as Detective Norberg in “The Naked Gun” alongside Leslie Nielsen. 

He also was a familiar face in television advertisements, becoming the face of Hertz rental cars during his football career. In 1975, People magazine said Simpson was “the first black athlete to become a bona fide lovable media superstar.”

Double murder and the chase

Simpson’s media-friendly persona changed in June 1994, when his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman were found murdered outside the Simpson’s home. The football star was quickly a prime suspect.

On June 17, prosecutors charged Simpson with two counts of murder. His attorneys told police that Simpson would surrender, but he was nowhere to be found. Simpson had left a sealed letter with his attorney, which was read by authorities that afternoon and interpreted as a suicide note.

Attempting to evade capture, Simpson led Los Angeles Police on a 75-mile, two-hour chase across the city at low speeds, armed with a handgun. The now-infamous chase was carried on television live, and it etched his white Ford Bronco into the country’s pop culture lexicon.

The Bronco was driven by his former Bills teammate and friend A.C. Cowlings, going little faster than 35 mph. 

Simpson’s USC coach John McKay was able to get on the phone with Simpson during the chase and pleaded with him to surrender. Sports announcer Pete Arbogast made similar pleas, as well as football stars Walter Payton and Vince Evans, among others.

“There is no doubt in my mind that McKay stopped O.J. from killing himself in the back of that Bronco,” Arbogast later told The Athletic in 2019.

Simpson eventually surrendered to police at his Brentwood home that evening.

An estimated 95 million people watched the chase live on television, which was carried by every cable network. Just 90 million people watched that year’s Super Bowl. Coverage even preempted the NBA Finals, with NBC showing the game in a small box in the corner of the screen while Tom Brokaw commentated on the chase.

Trial of the century

Simpson went to trial in late 1994, an 11-month marathon of a court proceeding. Represented by a star-studded legal team including Robert Kardashian, patriarch of the now-famous celebrity family, and Alan Dershowitz, Simpson’s defense argued that police evidence was not admissible.

Debate centered on the validity of DNA and physical evidence at the scene, which Simpson’s attorney said was “contaminated.” Prosecutors alleged that Simpson killed his wife and Goldman out of anger following a domestic argument that day.

The most famous moment of the trial focused on a bloody glove found at the scene, which prosecutors claimed Simpson wore during the murders. His defense said the evidence was planted by a police officer, with the motive of racism.

The prosecution asked Simpson to try on the gloves after finding a receipt for an identical pair. Simpson struggled to put them on, with them appearing too tight to wear comfortably. Critics have since noted that the gloves had been soaked in blood and frozen and unfrozen several times, possibly impacting the fit.

The moment sparked the most iconic line from the case. “If it does not fit, you must acquit,” attorney Johnnie Cochran told the jury during closing arguments.

Simpson was acquitted of the murder charges in late 1995, concluding one of the most covered trials in American history.

Civil liability

The families of Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson filed a civil suit against the football star after his acquittal in 1996. He was found liable for the wrongful death of Goldman and of battery of both Goldman and Brown in a unanimous ruling.

Simpson was ordered to pay a total of $33.5 million in the case, causing him to auction off many of his most valuable possessions, including his Heisman Trophy.

The financial troubles later led his home to be foreclosed, and to Simpson owing more than $1.4 million in back taxes to the state of California.

Robbery and jail time

Simpson led a group of men into the Palace Station Casino in 2004 to rob a room of sports memorabilia at gunpoint, including his own memorabilia. Simpson claimed the items were stolen from him.

He was charged with robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy, among other charges, and found guilty after a criminal trial in 2008. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison but served only nine years.

Media legacy

The double-murder case and Simpson’s trial left a storied history in American media, inspiring countless books, documentaries, movies and shows. Simpson wrote a book about the case, titled “If I Did It,” outlining how the murder would have gone if the prosecution’s case was true. 

Viewed by some critics as a backhanded confession, profits and proceeds of the publication were ordered to be given to Goldman’s family.