O.J. Simpson: Heisman Winner and NFL Hall of Famer at the Center of a La

O.J. Simpson was an American football running back, actor and broadcaster who became one of the most famous and controversial figures in American life. Born Orenthal James Simpson on July 9, 1947, in San Francisco, he rose from a childhood in the city's Potrero Hill neighborhood to become a national sports hero.

Simpson won the Heisman Trophy at USC in 1968 and was a five-time first-team All-Pro with the Buffalo Bills. In 1973 he became the first running back to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season and was named NFL MVP. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985 and acted in Roots and the Naked Gun films.

In 1995 Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in a trial watched by millions, and in 1997 a civil jury found him liable for their deaths and awarded $33.5 million to their families. In 2008 he was convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas and was paroled in 2017. He died of cancer in Las Vegas on April 10, 2024, at age 76.

Achievements: Won the Heisman Trophy (1968), first running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season and NFL MVP (1973), inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1985), appeared in Roots (1977) and the Naked Gun films (1988-1994).

Birth: July 9, 1947 - San Francisco, California.

Profession: Football running back, actor and broadcaster.

Interesting Facts: In 1967 he ran a leg of a USC relay team that set a world record in the 4 x 110-yard relay. His 1994 slow-speed police chase in a white Ford Bronco was watched live by an estimated 95 million people.