Ahhh, the ties that bind. They start in college and who knows where the long and winding road will take you.
The Buffalo Bills were 4-10 in 1969 and finished in third place in what was then the AFL’s East Division. They were six games back of the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Jets in the regular season despite a rookie from USC named O.J. Simpson rushing for 697 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The finish plopped Buffalo in the fifth overall spot in the common draft. The Steelers went first and took Terry Bradshaw. Four picks later, the Bills were up and they dipped into the Trojans for a defensive lineman/linebacker.
The Buffalo Bills used their first-round pick to choose Al Cowlings. Yes, that Al Cowlings, a close friend of Simpson since childhood.
Cowlings was a starter his first three years in Buffalo, where he was once again a teammate with Simpson. He made 40 starts as a Bill, but was traded to Houston Oilers after the 1972 season. In 1979, when Simpson was at the end of his Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers, who also added Cowlings to their roster for his final season.
Fast-forward to 1994, Cowlings was attached to Simpson in his infamous, slow-speed chase. Amazing where life can take some people on their journeys.