O.J. Simpson, football great whose trial for murder became a phenomenon, dies at 76

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The amiable actor and pitchman saw his legacy spiral after the murder of his ex-wife and her friend.

O.J. Simpson, center, reacts to the not guilty verdict in his trial for murder with his lawyers F. Lee Bailey, left, and Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., right. O.J. Simpson, the football superstar who became a symbol of domestic violence and racial division after he was found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in a trial that riveted the nation and had legal and cultural repercussions for years afterward, died April 10. He was 76.Mr.

Although Mr. Simpson was found not guilty in the criminal trial, the Goldman and Brown families in 1997 won a $33.5 million civil judgment against him from a jury that ruled he was liable for the murders.Shunned by corporate sponsors and pursued by creditors, Mr. Simpson sought to maintain his affluent lifestyle with a series of increasingly desperate moneymaking schemes. The last was an organized raid at gunpoint in 2007 to rob two memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room; Mr.

The following year, Mr. Simpson won the Maxwell Award and Heisman Trophy as the nation’s best college player. He led the country in rushing both seasons, with 1,543 yards in 1967 and 1,880 yards in 1968. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry during the two years and scored 36 touchdowns in 22 games. In 1973, Mr. Simpson set a single-game NFL record by gaining 250 yards against the New England Patriots in the season’s opening game. In the next-to-last game of the season, also against the Patriots, Mr. Simpson rushed for 219 yards on a snow-covered field.In the season finale, against the New York Jets, he gained 200 yards to finish with a total of 2,003, breaking Jim Brown’s record of 1,863 yards, set in 1963.

Nicole Simpson left her husband in January 1992 and obtained a divorce in October. But within months, they were dating again. In October 1993, she called 911 once more, this time pleading for police help because she said Mr. Simpson had broken down her back door. After a low-speed car chase broadcast live by news helicopters and witnessed by millions nationwide, the Bronco finally pulled up to Mr. Simpson’s Brentwood home, where he surrendered. The media circus had begun.Investigators found blood samples from the victims in Mr. Simpson’s home and car. They also found blood from Mr. Simpson at the murder scene; human hairs on a dark knit cap and Goldman’s clothing that matched those of Mr.

The legal drama inside the courthouse was often drowned out by the media noise outside. The supermarket tabloid Star and the syndicated television show “Hard Copy” reported the contents of Mr. Simpson’s lengthy statement to police within days of the murders.

 

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