O.J. Simpson obit

O.J. Simpson Dies of Cancer at Age 76

 

He was not on the list.

Former NFL running back O.J. Simpson died on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 76.

“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” a statement from the family said. “During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”

Simpson made headlines in February when it was announced that the former NFL player and accused murderer had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Reports also indicated that Simpson had entered hospice care while he received chemotherapy treatment. However, Simpson himself refuted that report on X.

“Hospice? Hospice? You talking ‘bout hospice?” Simpson said in a video posted to X.

Simpson achieved fame as a college football star at the University of Southern California (USC) and followed that up with a stellar 11-year career in the NFL before launching a successful broadcasting and movie career.

However, in 1994, Simpson’s fame gave way to infamy as video of him fleeing Los Angeles police officers in a white Bronco after he was charged with the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.

Simpson went to trial to contest the charges in 1995 and was acquitted of criminal murder. The verdict came as a shock to many who believed Simpson was the murderer and that the verdict was fraudulent.

Two years later, Simpson was found civilly liable for the murders.

During his time at USC, Simpson was seen as a breaker of racial barriers during the turbulent 1960s.

Simpson was one of the biggest stars in the NFL during his time in Buffalo. In 1973, he became the only player to rush for 2,000 in a 14-game season. He also had an 1800-yard season in 1975 and a 1500-yard season in 1976.

Anyone who watched television in the 1980s remembers the Hertz car commercials featuring a running, spinning, and jumping O.J. Simpson as he hurried to make his flight.

The former Heisman Trophy winner also gained notoriety for his marriage to a former homecoming queen, Nicole Brown.

“We don’t need to go back and relive the worst day of our lives,” Simpson said of the killings in 2019. “The subject of the moment is the subject I will never revisit again. My family and I have moved on to what we call the ‘no negative zone.’ We focus on the positives.”

The first selection 1969 AFL–NFL Common Draft was held by the AFL's Buffalo Bills, after finishing 1–12–1 in 1968. They took Simpson, but he demanded the largest contract in professional sports history: $650,000 over five years. This led to a standoff with Bills' owner Ralph Wilson, as Simpson threatened to become an actor and skip professional football. Eventually, Wilson agreed to pay Simpson.

Simpson entered professional football with high expectations, but struggled in his first three years, averaging only 622 yards per season. Bills coach John Rauch, not wanting to build an offense around one running back, assigned Simpson to do blocking and receiving duties at the expense of running the ball. In 1971, Rauch resigned as head coach, and the Bills brought in Harvey Johnson. Despite Johnson devising a new offense for Simpson, Simpson was still ineffective that year. After the 1971 season, the Bills fired Johnson and brought in Lou Saban as head coach. Unlike Rauch, Saban made Simpson the centerpiece of the Bills offense.

Simpson breaks the NFL's single-season rushing record in 1973

In 1972, Simpson rushed for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, gaining a league-leading total of 1,251 yards. In 1973, Simpson became the first player to break the highly coveted 2,000 yard rushing mark, with 2,003 total rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.[33][37] Simpson broke the mark during the last game of the season against the New York Jets with a seven-yard rush. That same game also saw Simpson break Jim Brown's single-season rushing record of 1,863 yards. For his performance, Simpson won that year's NFL MVP Award and Bert Bell Award. While other players have broken the 2,000-yard mark since Simpson, his record was established when the NFL had only 14 games per season, as opposed to the 16-game seasons that began in 1978. As of 2013, Simpson still holds the rushing record for 14 games.

Simpson gained over 1,000 rushing yards in the next three seasons. He did not lead the league in rushing in 1974, but did cross the 1,000-yard barrier despite a knee injury. In game 11 of 1974, he passed Ken Willard as the rushing leader among active players, a position he maintained until his retirement more than five seasons later. Simpson also made his first and only playoff appearance during the 1974 season. In a divisional game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Simpson rushed for 49 yards on 15 attempts and caught a touchdown pass, but the Bills lost the game 32–14. Simpson won the rushing title again in 1975, rushing for 1,817 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also had a career-high 426 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns that season.

Simpson again led the league in rushing in 1976, rushing for 1,503 yards and eight touchdowns. He had the best game of his career during that season's Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions on November 25. In that game, Simpson rushed for a then-record 273 yards on 29 attempts and scored two touchdowns. Despite Simpson's performance, the Bills would lose the game 27–14.

A low light that season came during a game against the Patriots a few weeks earlier when defensive end Mel Lunsford and several other Patriots defenders stuffed the superstar running back for no gain. Still, as Simpson tried to continue driving forward, Lunsford bodyslammed him to the ground. Simpson got up and punched Lunsford, which prompted Lunsford to swing back. Bills offensive lineman Reggie McKenzie then jumped on Lunsford's back. Still, Lunsford bent down and flung McKenzie over his head. He went back to swinging at Simpson before a melee of the two teams stopped the fight and ended up in a pile on the field. Lunsford and Simpson were ejected from the game as the Patriots' solid defense persisted, with New England winning 20–10 to finish the 1976 season 11–3. The Bills finished 2–12.

Simpson played only seven games in 1977, as his season was cut short by injury.

 

Career information

High school:            Galileo

(San Francisco, California)

College:            CCSF (1965–1966)

USC (1967–1968)

NFL draft:            1969 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1

Career history

Buffalo Bills (1969–1977)

San Francisco 49ers (1978–1979)

Career highlights and awards

NFL Most Valuable Player (1973)

NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1973)

5× First-team All-Pro (1972–1976)

5× Pro Bowl (1972–1976)

AFL All-Star (1969)

Bert Bell Award (1973)

AP Athlete of the Year (1973)

3× UPI AFC Offensive Player of the Year (1972, 1973, 1975)

4× NFL rushing yards leader (1972, 1973, 1975, 1976)

2× NFL rushing touchdowns leader (1973, 1975)

NFL scoring leader (1975)

NFL 1970s All-Decade Team

NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team

NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team

Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame

National champion (1967)

Heisman Trophy (1968)

Maxwell Award (1968)

Walter Camp Award (1967)

2× UPI Player of the Year (1967, 1968)

SN Player of the Year (1968)

2× Unanimous All-American (1967, 1968)

2× First-team All-Pac-8 (1967, 1968)

USC Trojans No. 32 retired

Career NFL statistics

Rushing yards:            11,236

Rushing average:            4.7

Rushing touchdowns:            61

Receptions:            203

Receiving yards:   2,142

Receiving touchdowns:            14

Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Pro Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

 

Actor

Mayday Z

Nordberg

Post-production

2025

 

ADHDtv: With Lew Marklin (2007)

ADHDtv: With Lew Marklin

6.4

TV Series

Courtroom Parody

2008

1 episode

 

O.J. Simpson in The Lemon Twist (2004)

The Lemon Twist

1.6

Short

The Jealous Boyfriend

2004

 

Elisabeth Harnois, John Hoffman, and Reece Holland in Adventures in Wonderland (1992)

Adventures in Wonderland

7.9

TV Series

O.J. Simpson

1994

1 episode

 

O.J. Simpson and Louis Mandylor in Frogmen (1994)

Frogmen

5.1

TV Movie

John 'Bullfrog' Burke

1994

 

Leslie Nielsen in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)

Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult

6.5

Nordberg

1994

 

Drew Barrymore and Kris Kristofferson in No Place to Hide (1992)

No Place to Hide

5.1

Allie Wheeler

1992

 

CIA Code Name: Alexa (1992)

CIA Code Name: Alexa

4.3

Det. Nick Murphy

1992

 

Delta Burke in 1st & Ten (1984)

1st & Ten

6.5

TV Series

T.D. Parker

1986–1991

67 episodes

 

Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear

6.9

Nordberg

1991

 

Carroll O'Connor and Howard E. Rollins Jr. in In the Heat of the Night (1988)

In the Heat of the Night

7.6

TV Series

Councilman Lawson Stiles

1989

1 episode

 

Leslie Nielsen, George Kennedy, Ricardo Montalban, Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, Jeannette Charles, Reggie Jackson, and Nancy Marchand in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

7.6

Det. Nordberg

1988

 

Student Exchange (1987)

Student Exchange

6.0

TV Movie

Soccer Coach

1987

 

Paul Reubens, Frankie Avalon, Bob Denver, Annette Funicello, Don Adams, and Stevie Ray Vaughan in Back to the Beach (1987)

Back to the Beach

5.9

Man at Airport (uncredited)

1987

 

Lillian Gish and Candy Clark in Hambone and Hillie (1983)

Hambone and Hillie

4.9

Tucker

1983

 

Cocaine and Blue Eyes (1983)

Cocaine and Blue Eyes

4.9

TV Movie

Michael Brennen

1983

 

Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood (1981)

Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood

4.4

TV Movie

Joe Gallagher

1981

 

Detour to Terror (1980)

Detour to Terror

4.2

TV Movie

Lee Hayes

1980

 

O.J. Simpson and Melissa Michaelsen in Goldie and the Boxer (1979)

Goldie and the Boxer

5.7

TV Movie

Joe Gallagher

1979

 

Sophia Loren, James Coburn, and O.J. Simpson in Firepower (1979)

Firepower

5.0

Catlett

1979

 

Capricorn One (1977)

Capricorn One

6.8

John Walker

1977

 

Elizabeth Montgomery and Dean Stockwell in A Killing Affair (1977)

A Killing Affair

6.0

TV Movie

Woodrow York

1977

 

LeVar Burton, Louis Gossett Jr., John Amos, Maya Angelou, Thalmus Rasulala, Madge Sinclair, Leslie Uggams, and Ben Vereen in Roots (1977)

Roots

8.4

TV Mini Series

Kadi Touray

1977

1 episode

 

The Cassandra Crossing (1976)

The Cassandra Crossing

6.3

Haley

1976

 

Christopher Lee, Maud Adams, Peter Fonda, Telly Savalas, O.J. Simpson, and Hugh O'Brian in Killer Force (1976)

Killer Force

5.4

'Bopper' Alexander

1976

 

Fred Astaire, William Holden, Paul Newman, Richard Chamberlain, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, O.J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Blakely, and Jennifer Jones in The Towering Inferno (1974)

The Towering Inferno

7.0

Jernigan

1974

 

Richard Burton, Lee Marvin, and O.J. Simpson in The Klansman (1974)

The Klansman

5.2

Garth

1974

 

O.J. Simpson, Tim Buckley, and Linda Gillen in Why (1973)

Why

5.4

The Athlete

1973

 

Here's Lucy (1968)

Here's Lucy

6.9

TV Series

O.J. Simpson

1973

1 episode

 

Arthur Hill in Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (1971)

Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law

7.0

TV Series

Simms

1973

1 episode

 

Glenn Ford, Edgar Buchanan, Victor Campos, Sandra Ego, Peter Ford, and Taylor Lacher in Cade's County (1971)

Cade's County

7.0

TV Series

Jeff Hughes

1972

1 episode

 

Henry Darrow in The Dream of Hamish Mose (1969)

The Dream of Hamish Mose

5.3

1969

 

James Daly in Medical Center (1969)

Medical Center

7.1

TV Series

Bru Wiley

1969

1 episode

 

Richard Widmark and Lena Horne in Death of a Gunfighter (1969)

Death of a Gunfighter

6.2

Townsman (uncredited)

1969

 

The Name of the Game (1968)

The Name of the Game

7.6

TV Series

Gas Chamber Prison Guard (uncredited)

1968

1 episode

 

Raymond Burr and Barbara Sigel in Ironside (1967)

Ironside

6.9

TV Series

Onlooker (uncredited)

1968

1 episode

 

It Takes a Thief (1968)

It Takes a Thief

7.5

TV Series

Airplane Passenger (uncredited)

1968

1 episode

 

Harry Morgan and Jack Webb in Dragnet 1967 (1967)

Dragnet 1967

7.7

TV Series

Potential Recruit (uncredited)

1968

1 episode

 

Producer

O.J. Simpson in O.J. Fitness: Minimum Maintenance Fitness for Men (1994)

O.J. Fitness: Minimum Maintenance Fitness for Men

2.4

Video

associate producer

1994

 

Cocaine and Blue Eyes (1983)

Cocaine and Blue Eyes

4.9

TV Movie

executive producer

1983

 

High Five

TV Movie

executive producer

1982

 

Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood (1981)

Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood

4.4

TV Movie

executive producer

1981

 

Detour to Terror (1980)

Detour to Terror

4.2

TV Movie

executive producer

1980

 

O.J. Simpson and Melissa Michaelsen in Goldie and the Boxer (1979)

Goldie and the Boxer

5.7

TV Movie

executive producer

1979