OJ Simpson, the star NFL football player whose 1995 acquittal in the so-called "trial of the century" for the brutal murders of his wife and a male friend gripped the world, has died at the age of 76, his family announced. Simpson's attorney also confirmed to TMZ that he died on the night of Wednesday, April 10, in Las Vegas. "On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer," a message signed by the family said on X.
On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.
— O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) April 11, 2024
He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.
During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.
-The Simpson Family
Born Orenthal James Simpson on July 9, 1947, in San Francisco, he was left in his mother's care at age five when his father left, growing up poor and suffering from rickets, a calcium and vitamin deficiency that warped his legs. Unable to afford an operation, his mother created crude braces by putting the wrong shoe on each foot and his legs grew stronger, so strong that eventually he was able to dash 100 yards in 9.9 seconds.
Simpson won the prestigious Heisman Trophy – for the best player in American collegiate football – at the University of Southern California in 1968, and was picked number one overall in the NFL draft the next year by the Buffalo Bills. In 1973, he won the NFL's Most Valuable Player award after becoming the first rusher to gain more than 2,000 yards in a single season.
Simpson retired from football in 1979 and was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. He had a short-lived career as sports broadcaster before setting his sights on Hollywood. He appeared in several successful films including The Towering Inferno, The Naked Gun series and Capricorn One but never really achieved A-list stardom.
Simpson earned fame, fortune and adulation through football and show business, but his legacy was forever changed by the June 1994 knife slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. Live TV coverage of his arrest after a famous slow-speed chase marked a stunning fall from grace for the sports hero.