NFL Player Profiles: O.J. Simpson

A look at the on the field career of O.J. Simpson

For younger people O.J. Simpson is just some old time football player who pops up on the television news, noteworthy for his latest criminal arrest. To those among us old enough to remember his glory days, O.J. Simpson was living the great American Dream, a rags-to riches story or riding one's talent to fame and wealth. At the height of his popularity in the late 1970's, corporations were in competition to have Simpson endorse their products nationally, and Hollywood believed his future was in movies. Somewhere between the accolades of adoring fans and the prison cell in which he now serves a 9 year sentence is a lost story of a truly great football player, which deserves to be experienced by anyone that calls themselves a football fan.

Born on July 9, 1947 in San Francisco California, O.J. Simpson attended the City College of San Francisco in 1965 and 1966 and was named a Junior College All-American as a running back. He transferred to the University Of Southern California in 1967 and quickly became a starter for the Trojans. That season, Simpson won the Walter Camp Award for his success on the field. In 1968, he led the nation in rushing and won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award as the country's top college football player. O.J. Simpson was thrust into the national spotlight as a can't-miss soon to be professional.

In the 1969 National Football League Draft, Simpson was chosen by the Buffalo Bills as the 1st selection. Buffalo had a very poor team, and Simpson's first 3 seasons there were unremarkable. As the team improved so did Simpson, and he had his first 1,000 yard rushing season in 1972. In 1973 Simpson set an NFL record for rushing yards in a season and became the first player in history to gain over 2,000 yards, finishing with 2,003 yards.

Simpson played for the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977 and with much less success for the San Francisco 49ers from 1978 to 1979. O.J. Simpson went on to win 4 NFL rushing titles, was a 5 time All-Pro, and appeared 6 times in the NFL Pro Bowls. Upon his retirement, Simpson was well renowned as the best running back of his era, and ended second on the all-time NFL rushing list behind only Jim Brown with 11,236 yards. He was so well regarded as a player that he was named to the National Football League's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. O.J. Simpson was inducted into the College Football Hall Of Fame in 1983 and the Professional Football Hall Of Fame in 1985.