Thirteen years to the day after he was found innocent of murder charges, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of all 12 charges against him including robbery and kidnapping. The sad thing about this is that new generations of sports fans will not know Simpson for his accomplishments on the field, but for his deeds off the field.
Simpson was born and raised in San Francisco. After high school, Simpson attended and played football at the City College of S.F. from 1968-69, earning Junior College All-American awards before accepting an athletic scholarship to the University of Southern California.
While at USC, Simpson amassed 3,260 all-purpose yards while scoring 33 touchdowns on his way to being named an All-American twice as well as winning the 1968 Heisman Memorial Trophy.
One fact about Simpson many people may not know is that he competed in the NCAA track championships in 1967, helping USC break a previous world record in the sprint relay.
While Simpson’s professional football career only lasted 11 years, he totalled 11,236 yards and scored 61 touchdowns while playing the majority of his career with the Buffalo Bills. Simpson earned the National Football League’s Most Valuable Player award in 1973.
Simpson faces 15 years for kidnapping. That is just one of the charges he will be sentenced for on Dec. 5
At 61 years old, his prime is long behind him.
One can only hope that today’s young athletes learn from Simpson’s mistakes and do not follow the same path that he has taken.