Tag: OJ Simpson

The Top 100: NFL’s Greatest Players: O.J. Simpson highlights

A lot overshadows OJ’s career with the #Bills, and here are some of his highlights from when he was named one of the best in NFL history:

OJ Simpson died at age 76 on Wednesday after a battle with cancer. His legacy forever changed because of off-field reasonings.

In fact, for many, him being the focal point of the “trial of the century” which revolved the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman… completely overshadow his Hall of Fame NFL career.

While many are allowed to have their own opinions on Simpson’s personal life, few should have any reason to debate on the gridiron. He was one of the all-time greats.

Simpson’s prowess at football had much to do with his career with the Buffalo Bills. That part of his life is highlighted by the NFL, who named Simpson the 40th best player ever in league history during the 100th anniversary of professional football in 2019.

That analysis and highlights of Simpson’s career in Buffalo can be found in the YouTube player below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1cu5ykSda0

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Lalas: USMNT ‘glued to TV’ as OJ chase unfolded on eve of World Cup

Several USMNT stars didn’t get the sleep they needed ahead of the biggest game of their life

Former U.S. men’s national team star Alexi Lalas recalled one of the wildest moments in recent American history on Thursday, following the news that O.J. Simpson had died of cancer at age 76.

On June 17, 1994, the nation was captivated by a slow-speed car chase on the freeway in Los Angeles, as Simpson sat in the passenger seat of a white Ford Bronco driven by his friend Al Cowlings.

Earlier in the day, Los Angeles police said the ex-NFL star was a fugitive who was sought in the killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

Eventually, Cowlings and Simpson led police to Simpson’s home, where he surrendered. Simpson was acquitted of the murders after a trial that captivated the nation over 11 months between 1994 and 1995.

The events of June 17 took place the night before the USMNT opened the 1994 World Cup on home soil, facing Switzerland at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan.

As news spread of Simpson’s death, Lalas went on X to recall the surreal moment.

“It was the start of our World Cup,” he said. “Biggest game of our lives. Night of June 17th, we all sat in our hotel rooms glued to the OJ Bronco chase happening in LA.”

Lalas also spoke to The Athletic in 2019 about the events of that summer evening on their 25th anniversary.

“Look, everybody remembers where they were, if they were around, and cognizant of what was going on,” Lalas said. “It is that seminal type of moment: Where were you when this was happening? It was the ultimate reality show unfolding in real time in front of you.

“The whole team was doing this. Everybody was watching it. You would move from the television in the lobby of the hotel, to the television where we were eating, to the television in our room. It was this running show that seemed like it would never end. And yet you couldn’t turn away and you were waiting for that conclusion.”

Former USMNT goalkeeper Tony Meola told ESPN in 2014 that he wasn’t as rested as he should have been for one of the biggest games of his life, which would end in a 1-1 draw.

“I was exhausted on the day of the game. I roomed with John Harkes and we had spent the night watching the O.J. Simpson chase. Harkes kept yelling at me to turn the television off but I was totally glued to it,” Meola said.

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Here’s how ESPN announced O.J. Simpson’s death

O.J. Simpson is dead at the age of 76.

O.J. Simpson, the former NFL star running back who was accused of and ultimately acquitted in the death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, is dead at the age of 76.

That’s according to his family in a post on X (formerly Twitter), which said that he died on April 10 after a battle with cancer.

So how did ESPN cover the breaking news about the former athlete? Shae Peppler Cornette kept it simple, stating the facts about Simpson and his life before sending it to Jeremy Schaap.

Here’s the moment, along with the tweet from Simpson’s family on Thursday:

Former Bills RB O.J. Simpson dies at 76 after battle with cancer

Former #Bills RB O.J. Simpson dies at 76 after battle with cancer:

Former Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson, whose trial for the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman captivated the nation, has died.

Simpson, 76, passed away following a battle with cancer. Simpson’s family announced his death on Thursday:

Simpson won the 1968 Heisman Trophy at USC, earning the most first-place votes (855) in history.

In 1969, the Bills selected Simpson with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. He earned five first-team All-Pro honors, including in 1973. Simpson was named NFL MVP that year after he became the first player ever to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season and will likely go down as the only one to do so in only 14 games.

Simpson spent nine years in Buffalo. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2019, USA TODAY named him one of the NFL’s 100 best players of all time.

Simpson worked after retirement as a broadcaster for “The NFL on NBC” and  “Monday Night Football.” He also starred in numerous commercials and films such as “The Naked Gun” franchise.

Simpson’s legacy forever changed in 1994. Simpson became the focal point of the “trial of the century.” He was acquitted of the murders of Brown and Goldman but was found liable for their deaths in a civil trial in 1995 and was ordered to pay $33.5 million.

In more recent years, Simpson had shown up at Highmark Stadium during Bills games, where he would pose for photos with fans in his suite.

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Upcoming ‘The Perfect 10’ documentary features 3 Raiders greats to go from Heisman to Hall

Only 10 people have ever won a Heisman and gone onto the Hall of Fame. And 3 of them are Raiders greats. Set your DVRs Raider Nation.

“This is an amazing feat, man. Only ten guys have been able to accomplish this. More men have walked the moon than to have been able to accomplish what we’ve accomplished,” said Tim Brown in front of six other NFL legends to open the upcoming FOX documentary ‘The Perfect 10’.

Those seven legends all have something special in common. They’re being called ‘The Perfect 10’ because they make up the ten men in the world have hoisted both the Heisman Trophy and have a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

‘The Perfect 10’ will premiere on FOX this Saturday, February 11 at 5 pm Pacific (8pm ET). And if you’re a Raiders fan, you will want to set your DVR.

No team is more well represented in this exclusive club than the Raiders.

Of the seven NFL legends in that room, three are Raiders greats.

The first to join the club was Marcus Allen. Then it was Tim Brown in 2015. And Charles Woodson completed the ten in 2021.

“To have this individual type of accomplishment and to have it be so few who have done it is really mind boggling, you know,” Woodson told Raiders Wire. “I was thinking earlier about the amount of kids who played little league football, high school football, college football, the few that make it to the NFL, and then to just carve that down to just ten guys that have done something like that with the history of the game, that is really quite amazing and hard to put it into words.”

Woodson said as a kid he had imagined himself winning the Heisman Trophy and winning championships (something he also did) but the Hall of Fame was not something he grew up imagining. And even the Heisman seemed out of reach once he switched to defense at Michigan.

“When I got to college and chose to play defense, that dream was pretty much…that was a wrap. Because defensive players don’t win that award,” Woodson said of his Heisman hopes. “So, for me to get to my junior year and to have the success we had as a team, to make the plays at the right time that I made as an individual player, when those things start to happen, that’s when it’s like ‘oh man’ and that dream that was kind of a fleeting thought in my mind was back. . . Then to be invited to the ceremony and ultimately have my name called, holy cow, that was an incredible moment.”

The four other NFL legends on hand for ‘The Perfect 10’ include Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, Barry Sanders, and Roger Staubach. The three not present are OJ Simpson, and Doak Walker (deceased), and Paul Hornung (deceased).

O.J. Simpson: USC Heisman Trophy profile

O.J. Simpson was one of the best college football players of all time. His #Heisman win for #USC in 1968 was simply spectacular.

USC’s most famous Heisman Trophy winner became USC’s most infamous Heisman Trophy winner. Before that summer of 1994 when everything about Orenthal James Simpson’s life and reputation completely changed, he was a Monday Night Football announcer. He was an ever-present pitchman for various commercial brands. Simpson was a Black athlete corporate America loved. He was a smiling, pleasant face on national television who cultivated an easy-to-digest image.

It all started with his iconic, unforgettable cutback run against the UCLA Bruins in November of 1967. O.J. defeated that year’s Heisman winner, UCLA quarterback Gary Beban, in an epic 21-20 victory which sent USC to the 1968 Rose Bowl. The Trojans beat Indiana and won John McKay’s second national title.

During Heisman week, we look back at O.J.’s Heisman story at USC. The Trojans are about to win their eighth Heisman Trophy when Caleb Williams takes center stage at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York.

Meanwhile, O.J. Simpson, who was a …

Meanwhile, O.J. Simpson, who was a spokesman for Spot-Bilt, a casual shoe brand, vouched for Jordan and insisted the brand match Nike’s offer to lure him into signing with the company. “The Last Dance” executive director Jason Hehir told the story to “Jalen & Jacoby,” explaining how Michael Jordan nearly signed with an otherwise long-forgotten company: “Spot-Bilt, you remember them?” asked Hehir in a recent interview. “They matched [Nike’s] offer. Michael Jordan came this close to being with Spot-Bilt because the spokesman at the time was another athlete who had broken, transcended some racial bounds, it’s a guy by the name of O.J. Simpson. “He said to the guys at Spot-Bilt: ‘The kid out of Carolina is the next me. Go get him.’ So they matched Nike’s offer, but they couldn’t match the marketing. They couldn’t promise [agent] David Falk that they could market Michael the way that Nike would. And that ultimately is what put that deal over the top, financially, for them.”