O.J. Simpson died Wednesday, ending a life associated with tragedy.
Simpson’s family announced he lost his battle with cancer surrounded by his children and grandchildren.
One of the greatest running backs in pro football history. One of the best-ever Buffalo Bills. And one of his generation’s cultural icons who was as comfortable in front of the television camera as he was breaking tackles at War Memorial and Rich stadiums.
But none of that was top-of-mind once news broke of his death at age 76.
It was about the personal tragedy endured by the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, the individuals who were murdered outside Brown Simpson’s home on June 12, 1994.
The Bills' No. 32 jersey was never an officially retired number, but it was always synonymous with O.J. Simpson, who was drafted first overall in the 1969 draft by Buffalo and spent nine years with the franchise.
Buffalo News file photo
Doesn’t it feel like Simpson has been dead since his acquittal on double-murder charges on Oct. 3, 1995?
In the larger world, the court of public opinion, he received the death penalty even though he went home that day. He didn’t exist. Didn’t have his coveted social status. His magnetic make-you-smile-when-you-saw-him-on-TV persona became toxic.
The legacy of O.J. is a 180-degree turn from the impact he had on the Buffalo pro football scene from 1969-1977.
Simpson’s football career was significant and will live on forever because he was that good. Heisman Trophy winner. First overall draft pick. First player to rush for at least 2,000 yards in a season. MVP in 1973. Pro Football Hall of Fame selection in 1985. Bills legend. Ol’ No. 32.
Simpson wasn’t an automatic pro football star. He rushed for 697, 488 and 742 yards and a combined 12 touchdown runs in his first three Bills seasons. The Bills went 8-33-1 and rolled through three coaches. The franchise’s ineptness did him no favors. Playing from behind means a running back’s effectiveness is diminished.
But there had never been a running back like Simpson.
He was a Pro Football Original. He ran fast … and cut while maintaining that speed. He destroyed the notion that a 212-pound back couldn’t hold up physically while carrying the ball 20-plus times a game like the 232-pound Jim Brown. Simpson was all kinds of tough. He became so famous, even the Bills’ offensive line had a nickname (“The Electric Company”). That had to be a first, right? The next decade saw Washington’s offensive line nicknamed “The Hogs.” The big fellas up front gained recognition for the first time.
From 1972-76, even as postseason success eluded the Bills, Simpson etched his name as an all-time player. Over those five years, he won four rushing titles and led the league twice in rushing touchdowns.
Simpson was the reason to watch the Bills. He never won a playoff game in Buffalo and only played in one (a loss to Pittsburgh in December 1974), so he was the franchise.
It’s OK all these years later to idolize O.J. The Player. It’s fine for you to separate the On-Field Player and the Off-Field Villain into different boxes. Both things can be right at the same time, old-time Bills fans. You can still love No. 32, but shiver at some of his post-playing career behavior.
On Dec. 16, 1973, O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills rushed for 200 yards in a 34-14 victory over the New York Jets and set an NFL record with 2,003 yards rushing for the season. Simpson needed 61 yards to break Jim Brown’s NFL single season rushing record of 1,863 yards set in 1963.
Associated Press file photo
Buffalo sports fans in their 60s (and older) can still recall with great detail how he rushed for 250 yards to open 1973 and 200 yards to close the season with 2,003 yards, a record that stood for 11 years.
Simpson capitalized on his football fame. In 1977, polls indicated he was one of the three most recognizable faces in North America and became the first pro football player on the cover of “Rolling Stone” magazine. A year later, he became the second pro athlete to host “Saturday Night Live.”
Simpson’s Bills career ended in May 1978 when his hometown San Francisco 49ers acquired him for five draft picks. He was the second-leading rusher in NFL history (11,236) when he retired after the 1979 season; he is now 21st.
The mixed feelings in Buffalo about Simpson were summed up in the Oct. 4, 1995, edition of The Buffalo News.
A front-page story written by several reporters had this headline after his acquittal: “Around town, reaction runs the gamut.”
“Yes!” yelled Ron Fleming, who later told reporter Gene Warner: “The loudest voice you heard had to be mine. When he was acquitted, I was looking at O.J. and I felt like they were saying, ‘I’ was innocent.” A page one picture taken by Bill Wippert was of Fleming throwing his fist in the air in celebration.
Warner also talked to then 66-year old Neal Smith.
“I don’t like it,” Smith said. “I think he’s guilty. Enough said.”
Simpson’s off-the-field actions divided that small sample of Bills fans 28½ years ago. But what everybody in this region can still agree on is that during the bad, old days of Bills football, before he became infamous, O.J. Simpson was a shining football light.
O.J. Simpson through the years
O.J. Simpson on the day he was inducted onto the Bills' Wall of Fame. His arm is around his son Jason.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
O.J. Simpson is greeted by a Bills fan as he arrives to the stadium.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
O.J. Simpson arrives at Mercy Hospital for knee surgery.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
O.J. Simpson during his days with the Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo News file photo
Bills running back O.J. Simpson breaks the 2,000-yard single season mark on Dec. 16, 1973, against the New York Jets at Shea Stadium.
By Buffalo News file photo
O.J. Simpson is helped off the field in 1970 by A.J. Cowlings.
Buffalo News file photo
O.J. Simpson during his days with the Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo News file photo
O.J. Simpson with broadcaster Howard Cosell.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
O.J. Simpson poses for the camera.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
O.J. Simpson during his days with the Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo News file photo
O.J. Simpson on the Buffalo Bills sideline during a game.
Buffalo News file photo
Bills running back O.J. Simpson breaks the 2,000-yard single season mark on Dec. 16, 1973, against the New York Jets at Shea Stadium.
Buffalo News file photo
O.J. Simpson, Michael Militello, Nicole Brown at Mulligan's nightclub. On the far right are actors John Schuck and Elliot Gould.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
From left, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, running back O.J. Simpson and coach Lou Saban.
Buffalo News file photo
O.J. Simpson with his parents on the day his name was put on the Bills Wall of Fame.
By Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher, Buffalo News
The moving crew, from left, Danny Gare, Al Cowlings, O.J. Simpson, Reggie McKenzie, Bobby Chandler.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
O.J. Simpson behind the wheel waves to teammates as he prepares to move to San Francisco.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
O.J. Simpson signs autographs.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
O.J. Simpson dances at Mulligan's nightclub in the 1970s.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
O.J. Simpson dances at Mulligan's nightclub in the 1970s.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
O.J. Simpson with his family, Arnelle, Marguerite and Jason.
Photo by Mickey H. Osterreicher
A 1977 photo of O.J. Simpson with former Buffalo nightclub owner Michael Militello.
Buffalo News file photo
Seventh graders from Buffalo's School 44 crowd around O.J. Simpson during a field trip to Rich Stadium in 1974. "The Juice saw the youngsters and invited them down on the field for a visit."
Buffalo News file photo
O.J. Simpson during an interview on March 12, 2018, at his home in Las Vegas.
Buffalo News file photo
FILE - San Francisco 49ers running back O.J. Simpson is escorted from the field by police after the final NFL football game of his career, Dec. 16, 1979, against in the Atlanta Falcons at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. O.J. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76. Simpson's attorney confirmed to TMZ he died Wednesday night, April 10, 2024, in Las Vegas.
FILE - O.J. Simpson and his defense attorney Daniel Leonard leave Los Angeles County Superior court in Santa Monica, Calif., Friday, Nov. 22, 1996, after testifying in the wrongful death civil trial against him. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76.
FILE - O.J. Simpson and his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, arrive for the opening of the Harley-Davidson Cafe in New York on Oct. 19, 1993. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76.
FILE - In this May 6, 1980, file photo, former NFL football star O.J. Simpson and friend, Nicole Brown get together at party in the Beverly Hills section of Los Angeles. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76.
FILE - In this June 21, 1995 file photo, O.J. Simpson holds up his hands before the jury after putting on a new pair of gloves similar to the infamous bloody gloves during his double-murder trial in Los Angeles. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76.
FILE - In this May 14, 2013, file photo, O.J. Simpson sits during a break on the second day of an evidentiary hearing in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76.
FILE - In this June 15, 1995 file photo, O.J. Simpson, left, grimaces as he tries on one of the leather gloves prosecutors say he wore the night his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered in a Los Angeles courtroom. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76.
FILE - Southern Cal's O.J. Simpson poses with the Heisman Trophy at New York's Downtown Athletic Club, Dec. 5, 1968. O.J. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76. Simpson's attorney confirmed to TMZ he died Wednesday night, April 10, 2024, in Las Vegas.
FILE - O.J. Simpson stands as he listens to Municipal Judge Kathleen Kennedy-Powell as she reads her decision to hold him over for trial on July 8, 1994, in connection with the June 12 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76.
FILE - O.J. Simpson bites his lip Friday, July 8, 1994, as he listens to Dr. Irwin L. Golden, a medical examiner, describe the extent of Nicole Simpson Brown's wounds during testimony in Los Angeles Criminal Courts. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76.
FILE - In this June 17, 1994, file photo, a white Ford Bronco, driven by Al Cowlings carrying O.J. Simpson, is trailed by Los Angeles police cars as it travels on a freeway in Los Angeles. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76.
FILE - In this Oct. 3, 1995, file photo, O.J. Simpson reacts as he is found not guilty in the death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in Los Angeles. Defense attorneys F. Lee Bailey, left, and Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. stand with him. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76.
FILE - O.J. Simpson speaks to the media about being traded from the Buffalo Bills to the San Francisco 49ers as 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. looks on during a press conference in San Francisco, March 24, 1978. O.J. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76. Simpson's attorney confirmed to TMZ he died Wednesday night, April 10, 2024, in Las Vegas.
O.J. Simpson leaves the Clark County Regional Justice Center after his preliminary hearing in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007. Simpson must face trial on kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges stemming from a suspected sports memorabilia heist, a justice of the peace ruled Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jae C. Hong
O.J. Simpson, center of rear seat, rides into Parker Center, the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, Friday night, June 17, 1994 after his arrest following a low-speed freeway chase which ended in the drive of his Brentwood estate in Los Angeles. Simpson was charged with two counts of murder in connection with the slaying of his ex-wife Nicole, and Ron Goldman. (AP Photo/Bob Galbraith)
BOB GALBRAITH
O.J. Simpson, running back for the Buffalo Bills, poses with his wife, Marguerite, in Buffalo, N.Y., on Oct. 10, 1973. (AP Photo)
Anonymous
O.J. Simpson leaves the Clark County jail after he was released on bail in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jae C. Hong
**FILE** In this image from video, O.J. Simpson sits on the Internet TV set at MN1.com with the monitor showing the cover of his book "I Did It," in Dallas, in this file photo of July 31, 2007. With the new edition of Simpson's book in the top 5 on Barnes & Noble.com ., the superstore said Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007, it has no plans "at this point" to stock copies of the book in stores, reiterating previous statements that there was insufficient customer interest. (AP Photo/Rich Matthews,File)
Rich Matthews
FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2008, file photo, O.J. Simpson, center, arrives at the Clark County Regional Justice Center on the second day of jury selection for his trial in Las Vegas. Simpson is appearing in court on charges which include burglary, robbery and assault following an attempted robbery at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on September, 2007. The return of O.J. Simpson to a Las Vegas courtroom next Monday, May, 13, will remind Americans of a tragedy that became a national obsession and in the process changed the country's attitude toward the justice system, the media and celebrity. The return of O.J. Simpson to a Las Vegas courtroom next Monday, May, 13, will remind Americans of a tragedy that became a national obsession and in the process changed the country's attitude toward the justice system, the media and celebrity. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Locher, Pool, File)
John Locher
This is a February 24, 1978 photo showing O.J. Simpson as he appeared on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" with Gilda Radner (left), and Jane Curtin. (AP Photo/Dave Pickoff)
Dave Pickoff
Football star O.J. Simpson is seen in 1977. (AP Photo)
Anonymous
U.S. President-elect Richard M. Nixon meets members of a college All-Star team in his Pierre Hotel suite in New York City on Dec. 2, 1968. He is presented with an autographed football from O.J. Simpson. At left with crutches is Terry Hanratty of Notre Dame. The others ar not identified. (AP Photo)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
O.J. Simpson at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Thursday, May 3, 2007. The 133rd Kentucky Derby will be held on Saturday, May 5. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
Rob Carr
O.J. Simpson listens to a reporter's question as he conducts an impromptu news conference over the top of a car as he prepares to leave Superior Court for the lunch break in a hearing into his IRS tax debt Friday, June 27, 1997, in Santa Monica,Calif. Simpson said he's done nothing wrong even though the government is demanding more than $600,000 in back taxes. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
REED SAXON
O.J. Simpson (32), of the Buffalo Bills, talks with coach Jim Ringo before a workout at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, N.Y., Sept. 12, 1976. (AP Photo)
Anonymous
FILE - In this July 20, 2017, file photo, former NFL football star O.J. Simpson appears via video for his parole hearing at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nev. The 74-year-old former football hero, acquitted California murder defendant and convicted Las Vegas armed robber was granted good behavior credits and discharged from parole effective Dec. 1, the day after a hearing before the Nevada state Board of Parole, Kim Yoko Smith, spokeswoman for the Nevada State Police, said Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021. (Jason Bean/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, Pool, File)
Jason Bean
O.J. Simpson, center, leaves the Clark County Detention Center after he was granted bail in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007. Simpson was released from jail Wednesday after posting $125,000 bail in connection with the armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors at a Las Vegas hotel. Simpson, wearing a light blue sport coat and dark blue pants, carried a black bag as he strolled to a gray sedan with his lawyer and drove away from the Clark County Detention Center. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jae C. Hong
Runner O.J. Simpson poses for a photo in February 1968. (AP Photo)
Anonymous
O.J. Simpson rests his head in his hand as he talks with friend Robert Kardashian and attorney Shawn Snider Chapman during a sidebar in his hearing in Los Angeles, July 29, 1994. Judge Lance Ito set a trial date of Sept. 20. Simpson lawyer Johnnie Cochran Jr. suggested there was a mystery witness who would exonerate his famous client and demanded prosecutors turn over investigative report on that person. (AP Photo/Pool/Nick Ut)
Nick Ut
Double-murder defendant O.J. Simpson declares "I did not, could not and would not" commit murder as he addresses the court in Los Angeles, Sept. 22, 1995. The jury was not present. Both sides then rested, finishing the presentation of evidence in one of the most sensational criminal trials in American history. Behind Simpson is attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. At far right is attorney Robert Shapiro. (AP Photo/Pool/Reed Saxon)
Reed Saxon
**FILE** O.J. Simpson is seen at the 133rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in this file photo from May 5, 2007. The owner of an upscale steakhouse in Louisville said he asked O.J. Simpson to leave his restaurant the night before the Kentucky Derby because he is sickened by the attention Simpson still attracts. "I didn't want to serve him because of my convictions of what he's done to those families," Jeff Ruby said in a telephone interview Tuesday, May 8, 2007. "The way he continues to torture the lives of those families ... with his behavior, attitude and conduct." (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta-File)
Amy Sancetta
FILE - In this Nov. 9, 1968 file photo, Southern California's O.J. Simpson (32) runs against California during a college football game in Los Angeles. Simpson won the Heisman Trophy at Southern California in 1968. Simpson will have a lot going for him when he asks state parole board members Thursday, July 20, 2017, to release him after serving more than eight years for an ill-fated bid to retrieve sports memorabilia. A Nevada prison official said early Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, O.J. Simpson, the former football legend and Hollywood star, has been released from a Nevada prison in Lovelock after serving nine years for armed robbery. (AP Photo/HF, File)
HF
Football greats Joe Namath, left, and O. J. Simpson, right, stand in front of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, one day before their official induction into the sports shrine, on August 2, 1985. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
MARK DUNCAN
FILE - In this Aug. 1, 1978. file photo, O.J. Simpson of the San Francisco 49ers is shown on the field drinking water in San Francisco. O.J. Simpson's release from a Nevada prison turns another page in one of the most dramatic falls from grace in American pop culture history. A beloved college and pro football hero in the 1960s and '70s, Simpson went on to become a movie star, sports commentator and TV pitchman in the years before the 1994 killings of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles. A Nevada prison official said early Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, O.J. Simpson, the former football legend and Hollywood star, has been released from a Nevada prison in Lovelock after serving nine years for armed robbery. (AP Photo, File)
STR
Peter Fonda, left the original "Easy Rider," sits atop a Harley Davidson motorcycle with O.J. Simpson at the opening of the Harley Davidson Cafe in New York City, Oct. 19, 1993. (AP Photo/ Paul Hurschmann)
Paul Hurschmann
FILE - In this Dec. 16, 1979 file photo, San Francisco 49ers running back O.J. Simpson is escorted from the field by police after the final NFL football game of his career against in the Atlanta Falcons at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. Simpson retired from football after the 1979 season, later being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and beginning careers in acting and football broadcasting. A Nevada prison official said early Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, O.J. Simpson, the former football legend and Hollywood star, has been released from a Nevada prison in Lovelock after serving nine years for armed robbery. (AP Photo, File)
STF
O.J. Simpson, left, holding his wedge and his putter, walks on the green while talking with an unidentified partner on the Club Meadows Course at the Bay Point Yacht and Country Club in Panama City Beach, Fl. Wednesday afternoon Oct. 18, 1995.(AP Photo/Andrew Innerarity)
ANDREW INNERARITY
FILE - In this May 15, 2013, file photo, O.J. Simpson returns to the witness stand to testify after a break during an evidentiary hearing in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas. Simpson has a July 20 parole hearing that could have him released from a Nevada prison on Oct. 1, a state parole official said Tuesday, June 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, Pool, File)
Julie Jacobson
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