Home / Full timeline / Former professional football Hall-of-Famer Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson leads police on a low-speed chase before giving himself up for arrest for the June 12th murders of his ex-wife and her friend.
Former professional football Hall-of-Famer Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson leads police on a low-speed chase before giving himself up for arrest for the June 12th murders of his ex-wife and her friend.
1994 (Jun 17)
The nation watched with a mixture of fascination and horror as former professional football Hall-of-Famer Orenthal James "O.J." Simpson led police on a low-speed chase through Anaheim, California, before giving himself up for arrest for the June 12th murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman. The media reported that Simpson had earlier left what appeared to be a suicide note and that he now carried a gun. Until Simpson reached his Brentwood estate, accompanied by friend Al Cowlings, it remained unclear whether the country would be witness to a televised suicide. A possible motive for the crime remained clear from the beginning: Simpson, despite his until now largely untarnished public image, was known to be a jealous husband and wife-beater. Whether Simpson had the means to commit the murders remained to be seen. But on June 27, Time magazine featured an artificially darkened police mugshot of the football star, bringing home the fact that no other suspect existed and that race would, however unfortunately, play a key role in the trial and the minds of Americans. A Heisman Trophy winner, Simpson began his professional football career with the Buffalo Bills in 1969. Three years later he won his first rushing title, after gaining over 1,200 yards in a single season. Then, in 1973, "The Juice" accelerated to superstar status. On opening day he rushed for 250 yards, becoming the first Black to do so in a single game. Throughout the season, he chalked up 10 additional games in which he ran for more than 100 yards, an NFL record. Simpson concluded this remarkable season by amassing a total of 2,003 yards and eclipsing the record of 1,863 yards set earlier by Jim Brown. In 1979 Simpson was named the NFL Player of the Decade. Later honors included his entry into the College Football Hall of Fame (1983) and the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1985). Following the conclusion of his pro football career, Simpson continued to make a name for himself as a sports commentator, actor, and TV commercial spokesman.
References:
- • Hornsby, Alton. Chronology of African-American History: Significant Events and People from 1619 to the Present. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.