OJ Simpson, the former football star and Hollywood actor whose trial for the murder of his ex-wife became a national sensation, died Thursday at the age of 76 following a short battle with cancer.
Simpson became one of the greatest running backs in college and professional football history.
His career began at the University of Southern California, where he received the Heisman Trophy in 1968 after setting the NCAA rushing mark in a single season.
He was then taken first overall in the draft by the Buffalo Bills, for whom he played nine seasons, before finishing his career with the San Francisco 49ers.
In 1995, Simpson was exonerated by a Los Angeles jury for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend in what was dubbed “the trial of the century.”
NFL Hall of Famer OJ Simpson and several others died Thursday at the age of 76.
In 1995, Simpson was exonerated by a Los Angeles jury for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend in what was dubbed “the trial of the century.” He is shown here with his “dream team” of defense attorneys.
He avoided prison when he was found not guilty in the 1994 deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles.
He then served nine years in a Nevada prison after being convicted in 2008 of 12 counts of armed robbery and kidnapping two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint from a hotel in Las Vegas.
Nicknamed “The Juice,” Simpson was one of the best and most popular athletes of the late 1960s and 1970s. He overcame childhood disability to become an electrifying running back at the University of California. South and won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football.
After a record-breaking NFL career with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
Simpson parlayed his football stardom into a career as a sports commentator, commercial pitchman and Hollywood actor in films like the “Naked Gun” series.
All that changed after Nicole Brown Simpson and Goldman were found fatally slashed in an incredibly bloody scene outside her Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994.
Simpson quickly became a suspect. He was ordered to surrender to police, but five days after the murders he fled in his white Ford Bronco with a former teammate – carrying his passport and a disguise.
A low-speed chase in the Los Angeles area, during which the former NFL player was driving a white Ford Bronco, ended at Simpson’s mansion and he was later charged with the murders.
What followed was one of the most notorious trials in 20th century America and a media circus.
Simpson became a football star at USC where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1968.
In this December 16, 1973 file photo, OJ Simpson (32) of the Buffalo Bills runs against the New York Jets in the first quarter of an NFL football game at Shea Stadium in New York.
Simpson was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985
Simpson turned to acting after his years in the NFL, starring in the Naked Gun films and appearing on television.
But his famous fame turned to infamy after the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was later arrested in connection with their murders.
It had everything: a rich, famous defendant; a black man accused of killing his white ex-wife out of jealousy; a woman killed after divorcing a man who beat her; a “dream team” of expensive, charismatic defense attorneys; and a huge blunder on the part of the prosecutors.
Simpson, who early in the case declared himself “absolutely 100 percent not guilty,” greeted jurors and uttered the words “thank you” after the predominantly black panel of 10 women and two men acquitted on October 3, 1995.
Prosecutors argued that Simpson killed Nicole in a jealous rage, and they presented extensive blood, hair and fiber analyzes linking Simpson to the murders.
The defense countered that the famous accused had been framed by racist white police.
The trial fascinated America. At the White House, President Bill Clinton left the Oval Office and watched the verdict on his secretary’s television.
The crime scene where Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman were murdered
As police closed in on Simpson in the investigation, he led them on a lengthy chase in a white Ford Bronco along Los Angeles freeways.
The police pursuit of OJ Simpson’s Bronco captivated the nation and brought people to Los Angeles into the streets to cheer on the NFL legend.
Simpson’s photo after his arrest
“If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” became one of the most famous lines from the infamous Simpson trial.
Many black Americans celebrated his acquittal, viewing Simpson as the victim of fanatical policing. Many other Americans were dismayed by his exoneration in what seemed like a clear victory for the prosecution.
The Goldman and Brown families then filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Simpson in civil court.
In 1997, a mostly white jury in Santa Monica, California, found Simpson responsible for both deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages.
After the civil case, some of Simpson’s possessions, including memorabilia from his football days, were confiscated and sold at auction to help pay the damages he owed.
On October 3, 2008, exactly 13 years after his acquittal in the murder trial, he was convicted by a Las Vegas jury of charges including kidnapping and armed robbery. He was later sentenced to prison
In recent years, Simpson has appeared fragile during his trips to Las Vegas
On October 3, 2008, exactly 13 years after his acquittal in the murder trial, he was convicted by a Las Vegas jury of charges including kidnapping and armed robbery.
The charges stem from a 2007 incident at a hotel-casino in which Simpson and five men, at least two of whom were armed, stole sports memorabilia worth thousands of dollars from two drug dealers.
Simpson said he was just trying to get his own property back, but was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison.
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Simpson said, donning a blue prison jumpsuit with shackles on his legs and wrists, during his sentencing. “I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong.”
Simpson was paroled in 2017 and moved into a gated community in Las Vegas. He was granted early parole in 2021 due to his good behavior at age 74.
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