OJ Simpson, known for his prowess on the football field with USC and the Buffalo Bills, and later for criminal and civil trials related to the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, is died Wednesday of cancer, the Simpson family announced. announced via social media on Thursday. The 76-year-old was recently diagnosed with cancer.
On April 10, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.
He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.
During this time of transition, her family asks that you respect their wishes for privacy and grace.
-The Simpson family
– OJ Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) April 11, 2024
Before his polarizing legal troubles, Simpson was one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. But his arrest, filmed live on television after a lengthy police chase, the charges for the June 1994 murders of Brown Simpson and Goldman and the sensational criminal trial mesmerized America for eight months and ended in acquittal by Simpson.
However, in a 1997 civil trial, Simpson was found responsible for those deaths, in a decision so widely anticipated that it was broadcast on split-screen just as President Bill Clinton began his State of the State address. of the Union. In February of that year, Simpson was found liable and a judge ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages.
But Simpson’s legal woes didn’t stop after the civil trial. In 2008, a jury found Simpson guilty of 12 counts, including kidnapping and armed robbery, stemming from an attempt to seize memorabilia he claimed had been stolen from him. He gathered a group of men, some of whom were armed, to storm a Las Vegas hotel room where the mementos were kept.
On the 13th anniversary of his murder acquittal, Clark County (Nev.) District Court Judge Jackie Glass sentenced Simpson to nine to 33 years. He was conditionally released in 2017 after serving a nine-year sentence, and his parole supervision ended in 2021.
When Simpson retired from the NFL after the 1979 season, he ranked second behind Jim Brown on the league’s all-time list. Simpson, who played for the Bills and San Francisco 49ers during his 11-year career, won the rushing crown four times and, in 1973, became the first to surpass 2,000 yards. The NFL only played 14 games then, so his 143.1 rushing yards per game still stands as the 10-yard record. Simpson’s best season might have been 1975, when he rushed for 1,817 yards and scored 23 combined touchdowns.
Born in San Francisco, Simpson first rose to prominence as a member of the USC Trojans. In 1968, he won the Heisman Trophy by one of the largest voting margins in the history of the award. The Bills selected Simpson with the No. 1 pick in the 1969 NFL Draft and his illustrious career that followed earned him induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
– The Heisman Trophy (@HeismanTrophy) April 11, 2024
Simpson parlayed his on-field success into off-field marketing fame during his playing career and after his retirement.
Coined “The Juice”, Simpson became the face of a marketing campaign for Hertz in which he jumped chairs while running around an airport in commercials. The running back also starred in several films, including the series “The Naked Gun.” Other films and television productions in which Simpson appeared include the miniseries “Roots” (1977) and feature films, including “The Towering Inferno” (1974), “Killer Force” (1976), “Cassandra Crossing » (1976), “Capricorn One” (1977) and “Firepower” (1979). Simpson also worked as an analyst for NFL TV, including with the “Monday Night Football” announce team for three seasons from 1983 to 1985.
His fame turned to infamy with his connection to the 1994 double murders and the “Trial of the Century” that followed.
Simpson became the prime suspect in the murders after Brown Simpson and Goldman were found dead outside her Los Angeles home. The former running back failed to turn himself in to authorities after police charged him with the murders, leading to one of the most gripping moments in television history.
Simpson’s friend, Al Cowlings, drove him in a white Ford Bronco and led police on a slow car chase that lasted several hours on highways and neighborhood streets in Los Angeles. The chase, which ended at Simpson’s home where police arrested him, was filmed live by television cameras aboard helicopters.
The trial lasted 11 months and ended on October 5, 1995, when a jury found Simpson not guilty of the murders. An estimated 100 million people watched the verdict on television. The key turning point in the trial came when the prosecution asked Simpson, who did not testify at trial, to try on blood-stained black leather gloves allegedly found at the crime scene. The gloves appeared too small to fit Simpson’s hands, leading Simpson’s attorney, Johnnie Cochran, to say during closing arguments in the trial, “If the glove doesn’t fit you, you need to get it.” acquit. »
Several television series and documentaries followed given Simpson’s notoriety and the murder trial. In 2016, a drama series “The People v. OJ Simpson” aired on FX detailing the trial and the key figures involved in the case. ESPN also aired “OJ: Made in America,” a five-part, eight-hour documentary series (it also aired theatrically), which chronicled Simpson’s trial and life as well as his impact on sports and culture .
Simpson provided a hypothetical account of the murders for a book called “If I Did It.” Goldman’s family seized the publishing rights to the book to help satisfy the $33.5 million civil judgment.
Simpson was interviewed by Athleticism Tim Graham for an article published in August 2021 about how he thought his obituary would be presented.
“Wow,” Simpson said. “I hope it starts with football. I know they will add more elements.
“Unfortunately, in Los Angeles, some people wrongly believe something, but I’ve moved on. I still think I’m a good guy. I didn’t let him change me. That was the case for a while. I was angry for a while, but I treat everyone the way I would like to be treated.
Asked if Simpson thought the world would ever learn what happened the night Brown Simpson and Goldman were stabbed to death, he replied, “You have to seek to learn.” I thought someone would eventually confess something, you know?
Required reading
(Photo: Ross Lewis/Getty Images)