OJ Simpson was one of the best football players ever before ‘Trial of the Century’
OJ Simpson, the Heisman Trophy-winning and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back who was acquitted of double murder, died Thursday after a battle with cancer, his family announced. He was 76.
For one generation, Simpson is synonymous with the sensational criminal trial that ended in him being found not guilty in the death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and visitor to the house Ronald Goldman.
An older generation also remembers Simpson as one of the best football players of his time.
Simpson led the nation in rushing yards during both of his seasons at USC, finishing second in the Heisman vote in 1967 before winning it in 1968.
Simpson’s 64-yard touchdown run against UCLA and its Heisman-winning quarterback Gary Began in 1967 was the biggest play and tied the fourth-quarter score before the PAT in what was considered one of the best games of the 20th century, leaving the Trojans ranked No. 1.
Simpson eventually became just as dominant in the NFL after he was the No. 1 pick in the 1969 NFL Draft, though his career got off to a slow three-year start after demanding the then-largest contract in professional sports history (five years, $650,000).
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He became a five-time First-Team All-Pro and the 1973 MVP who would later be selected to the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team, the 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and the 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Simpson still ranks just outside the top-20 in NFL history with 11,236 career rushing yards over nine seasons with the Bills and two with his hometown 49ers.
He led the league in rushing four times, including when he became the first member of the 2,000-yard club in 1973, setting a record that was later passed by Eric Dickerson in 1984.
To this day, only eight running backs have reached 2,000 yards in a season, even as the schedule expanded from 14 games when Simpson did it to 16 and now to 17.
Simpson was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 1985.
After his career ended, he worked as a broadcaster for ABC’s “Monday Night Football” and a football analyst for NBC.