A spectacular sight
O.J. Simpson in the open field looked as majestic as Red Rock Canyon.
He ran upright, seeming to tower above the field, untouchable. He glimmered as he slipped and shook defenders. He was breathtaking.
A 1990 Sports Illustrated cover story about contemporary tailbacks asked: "Why can't they run like O.J.?"
Generations know him better as the subject of true-crime tales and maybe even as hapless detective Nordberg from "The Naked Gun" movies.
But anyone who watched him run for USC or the Bills in the 1960s and 1970s recalls a spectacular performer. On one of the most famous runs in college history, he went 64 yards for the winning touchdown over UCLA and the 1967 national championship.
"When that gun went off, and we as a team knew we were the national champions," Simpson said, "they put me on their shoulders, and I said, 'This is going to be the highlight of my career. Nothing I could ever do could ever beat this.' "
The next year he earned the Heisman Trophy.
The Bills drafted him first overall in 1969, but they were so dismal Simpson was rendered irrelevant. He was reborn three seasons later, when Lou Saban returned to coach and assembled an offensive line called the Electric Company. They turned on The Juice.
Simpson in 1973 became the first to rush for 2,000 yards in an NFL season, the only one to do it over a 14-game schedule.
"From the moment that happened, I knew I was a part of football forever," Simpson said. "I was the first guy to gain 2,000 yards and nobody could beat that, like being the first to hit 60 home runs or run the four-minute mile."
Often overlooked, his 1975 campaign might have been more prolific. He ran for 1,817 yards, gained a career-high 2,243 yards from scrimmage and scored a team-record 23 touchdowns to lead the NFL in scoring.
"I always thought that '75 was the better year, and it wasn't really that close," Simpson said.
Simpson is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and on the Bills' Wall of Fame. He was a league MVP, made five All-Pro teams, won four rushing titles and finished his career second only to Jim Brown in rushing. His six 200-yard rushing games remain the record. The Bills never re-issued his No. 32 jersey.
He's among football's all-time offensive threats, yet the Bills played one postseason game over his eight seasons with them.
Simpson blames Wilson, the Bills' owner, for not funding a winner. Simpson contended Wilson was fearful of making the playoffs for financial reasons, that the sweet spot was a full stadium without achieving greatness.
"Buffalo was a different franchise then," Simpson said. "Ralph Wilson, I don't think winning was the optimal thing with him. He was more of a businessman than he was a sportsman, which was evident by the GM [Bob Lustig] and others in the front office not being football people."
If Simpson ever was accused of not being totally immersed in football, then he could say the same about his owner.
"Ralph Wilson said something during my first negotiation with him," Simpson recalled. "My agent, Chuck Barnes, told him, 'O.J. can be the guy to turn this franchise around and fill the stadium and make them a championship team. Ralph's reply was, 'What good would a championship do me? All that means is everybody wants a raise.'
"Me, being a 22-year-old kid, I had never heard anybody in athletics talk that way. That's when it dawned on me this guy is all about the business and not about the game. You knew just from what you read every day in L.A. that Carroll Rosenbloom was a competitor. I knew, growing up in San Francisco, Al Davis was a competitor."
Simpson added he enjoyed Wilson's company and stated a belief Wilson became competitive with age and wealth. Simpson in retirement considered Wilson a friend and relished covering the Bills' Super Bowl years as an NBC Sports analyst.
Wilson's ownership tactics evolved over his six decades in pro football. His frugality has been widely acknowledged. His willingness to spend, particularly during the Super Bowl years, was equally evident at times.
But Simpson's first impression further motivated him to find other ways to trade on his charm and Los Angeles celebrity. He ventured into acting, network broadcasting and entrepreneurship during offseasons.
He gained another level of fame as the pitchman for Hertz Rent a Car in a series of popular commercials that showed him juking and jumping his way through airports.
"Ralph said there was no chance they ever were going to trade me, so I figured I was through after three years," Simpson said. "I started preparing myself for leaving football."
His first Bills coach, John Rauch, made matters worse by deploying Simpson as a receiver more than a runner. Through his first three seasons under Rauch and Harvey Johnson, Simpson averaged an unimpressive 642 rushing yards.
Simpson began to accumulate records in 1972. The Bills found traction in their new Orchard Park stadium.
The awakening caused by Saban, the Electric Company and the maturation of quarterback Joe Ferguson didn't last.
"I just never thought the front office had the commitment to the team, to help us get over that hump," Simpson said.
"If not for injuries in '75, I thought we were the best team in football. We beat Pittsburgh, the defending champs, early. I thought nobody could stop us. Injuries caught up with us.
"Then we lose instrumental guys because we won't re-sign them, and I thought, 'I can't go through another two or three years like my first three years. I'll have no chance. We're back to rebuilding.' "
Simpson began posturing for a trade before the 1976 season and threatened to retire, but Wilson gave him an irresistible contract extension.
In a 1977 Rolling Stone cover feature, Simpson's growing fame away from the field underscored football was losing its grip on him. America already thought of him in more than football terms, the phrase "Buffalo Bills" unmentioned until the story's 4,150th and 4,151st words.
"I used to dream about football, about making long runs and all," Simpson told Rolling Stone. "I don't dream about it anymore."
Hobbled by knee trouble in 1977 and scoring zero touchdowns in only seven games, Simpson was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. He spent two raggedy final seasons with his hometown team and retired.
to be continued...
O.J. Simpson in the open field looked as majestic as Red Rock Canyon.
He ran upright, seeming to tower above the field, untouchable. He glimmered as he slipped and shook defenders. He was breathtaking.
A 1990 Sports Illustrated cover story about contemporary tailbacks asked: "Why can't they run like O.J.?"
Generations know him better as the subject of true-crime tales and maybe even as hapless detective Nordberg from "The Naked Gun" movies.
But anyone who watched him run for USC or the Bills in the 1960s and 1970s recalls a spectacular performer. On one of the most famous runs in college history, he went 64 yards for the winning touchdown over UCLA and the 1967 national championship.
"When that gun went off, and we as a team knew we were the national champions," Simpson said, "they put me on their shoulders, and I said, 'This is going to be the highlight of my career. Nothing I could ever do could ever beat this.' "
The next year he earned the Heisman Trophy.
The Bills drafted him first overall in 1969, but they were so dismal Simpson was rendered irrelevant. He was reborn three seasons later, when Lou Saban returned to coach and assembled an offensive line called the Electric Company. They turned on The Juice.
Simpson in 1973 became the first to rush for 2,000 yards in an NFL season, the only one to do it over a 14-game schedule.
"From the moment that happened, I knew I was a part of football forever," Simpson said. "I was the first guy to gain 2,000 yards and nobody could beat that, like being the first to hit 60 home runs or run the four-minute mile."
Often overlooked, his 1975 campaign might have been more prolific. He ran for 1,817 yards, gained a career-high 2,243 yards from scrimmage and scored a team-record 23 touchdowns to lead the NFL in scoring.
"I always thought that '75 was the better year, and it wasn't really that close," Simpson said.
Simpson is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and on the Bills' Wall of Fame. He was a league MVP, made five All-Pro teams, won four rushing titles and finished his career second only to Jim Brown in rushing. His six 200-yard rushing games remain the record. The Bills never re-issued his No. 32 jersey.
He's among football's all-time offensive threats, yet the Bills played one postseason game over his eight seasons with them.
Simpson blames Wilson, the Bills' owner, for not funding a winner. Simpson contended Wilson was fearful of making the playoffs for financial reasons, that the sweet spot was a full stadium without achieving greatness.
"Buffalo was a different franchise then," Simpson said. "Ralph Wilson, I don't think winning was the optimal thing with him. He was more of a businessman than he was a sportsman, which was evident by the GM [Bob Lustig] and others in the front office not being football people."
If Simpson ever was accused of not being totally immersed in football, then he could say the same about his owner.
"Ralph Wilson said something during my first negotiation with him," Simpson recalled. "My agent, Chuck Barnes, told him, 'O.J. can be the guy to turn this franchise around and fill the stadium and make them a championship team. Ralph's reply was, 'What good would a championship do me? All that means is everybody wants a raise.'
"Me, being a 22-year-old kid, I had never heard anybody in athletics talk that way. That's when it dawned on me this guy is all about the business and not about the game. You knew just from what you read every day in L.A. that Carroll Rosenbloom was a competitor. I knew, growing up in San Francisco, Al Davis was a competitor."
Simpson added he enjoyed Wilson's company and stated a belief Wilson became competitive with age and wealth. Simpson in retirement considered Wilson a friend and relished covering the Bills' Super Bowl years as an NBC Sports analyst.
Wilson's ownership tactics evolved over his six decades in pro football. His frugality has been widely acknowledged. His willingness to spend, particularly during the Super Bowl years, was equally evident at times.
But Simpson's first impression further motivated him to find other ways to trade on his charm and Los Angeles celebrity. He ventured into acting, network broadcasting and entrepreneurship during offseasons.
He gained another level of fame as the pitchman for Hertz Rent a Car in a series of popular commercials that showed him juking and jumping his way through airports.
"Ralph said there was no chance they ever were going to trade me, so I figured I was through after three years," Simpson said. "I started preparing myself for leaving football."
His first Bills coach, John Rauch, made matters worse by deploying Simpson as a receiver more than a runner. Through his first three seasons under Rauch and Harvey Johnson, Simpson averaged an unimpressive 642 rushing yards.
Simpson began to accumulate records in 1972. The Bills found traction in their new Orchard Park stadium.
The awakening caused by Saban, the Electric Company and the maturation of quarterback Joe Ferguson didn't last.
"I just never thought the front office had the commitment to the team, to help us get over that hump," Simpson said.
"If not for injuries in '75, I thought we were the best team in football. We beat Pittsburgh, the defending champs, early. I thought nobody could stop us. Injuries caught up with us.
"Then we lose instrumental guys because we won't re-sign them, and I thought, 'I can't go through another two or three years like my first three years. I'll have no chance. We're back to rebuilding.' "
Simpson began posturing for a trade before the 1976 season and threatened to retire, but Wilson gave him an irresistible contract extension.
In a 1977 Rolling Stone cover feature, Simpson's growing fame away from the field underscored football was losing its grip on him. America already thought of him in more than football terms, the phrase "Buffalo Bills" unmentioned until the story's 4,150th and 4,151st words.
"I used to dream about football, about making long runs and all," Simpson told Rolling Stone. "I don't dream about it anymore."
Hobbled by knee trouble in 1977 and scoring zero touchdowns in only seven games, Simpson was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. He spent two raggedy final seasons with his hometown team and retired.
to be continued...
