OJ Simpson's life and death: From NFL running back to Bronco chase and the ... trends now
OJ Simpson, the former football star and Hollywood actor whose murder trial for the killing 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 the history of college and then professional football.
His career began at the University of Southern California, where he was awarded the Heisman trophy in 1968 after setting the NCAA single-season rushing mark.
He went on to be chosen first in the draft by the Buffalo Bills, for whom he played nine seasons, before wrapping up his career with the San Francisco 49ers.
In 1995, Simpson was cleared by a Los Angeles jury for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend in what was dubbed 'the trial of the century.'
OJ Simpson, NFL hall of famer and several other things, died on Thursday at the age of 76
In 1995, Simpson was cleared 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 stabbing deaths of former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles.
He later served nine years in a Nevada prison after being convicted in 2008 on 12 counts of armed robbery and kidnapping two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel.
Nicknamed 'The Juice,' Simpson was one of the best and most popular athletes of the late 1960s and 1970s. He overcame childhood infirmity to become an electrifying running back at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy as college football's top player.
After a record-setting career in the NFL 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 sportscaster, advertising pitchman and Hollywood actor in films including 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 emerged as a suspect. He was ordered to surrender to police but five days after the killings, he fled in his white Ford Bronco with a former teammate - carrying his passport and a disguise.
A slow-speed chase through the Los Angeles area, during which the former NFL player was famously driving a white Ford Bronco, ended at Simpson's mansion and he was later charged in the murders.
What ensued was one of the most notorious trials in 20th century America and a media circus.
Simpson became a football star while at USC where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1968
In this Dec. 16, 1973 file photo, Buffalo Bills' O.J. Simpson (32) runs against the New York Jets in the first quarter of an NFL football game at Shea Stadium
