Orenthal James Simpson was born in San Francisco, California on July 9th, 1947. O.J. had 3 siblings: Melvin Leon "Truman" Simpson, Shirley Simpson-Baker, and Carmelita Simpson Durio. O.J.'s Dad, James Lee Simpson, was a custodian, and a part-time cook. O.J.'s Mother, Eunice Durden was an attendant at a psychiatric ward. O.J.'s parents later divorced in 1952.
Slide: 4
O.J. was a star running back at Galileo High School, after being coached by all-star baseball player, Willie Mays.He would end up marrying his high school sweetheart, Marguerite. In his high school career, O.J. accepted over 50 offers and committed to the University of Southern California to play running back.
Slide: 6
At the University of Southern California, O.J. would go on to break multiple records for football at the time.He set team records at USC as a running back in 1967 and 1968. In 1967, he rushed for 1,415 yards, and in 1968 he rushed for 1,709 yards. His breakout game was against the University of California, Los Angeles, was ranked #1 in college football then. This game had a lot on the line, including a trip to the National Championship, a Rose Bowl bid, the PAC-8 title, and O.J.'s aspirations of winning the Heisman. In the end, they did end up winning the game, but O.J. did not win the Heisman that year but instead won the Heisman Trophy the year after in 1968.
Slide: 8
After playing a full college football career, O.J. was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1969. In Buffalo, O.J. became one of the best running backs in the entire NFL.He didn't do great his first few years, but the 1972 NFL season is what set him apart from being good, and great. He rushed for 1251 yards in 1972, and then the following year he rushed for 2003 yards, which made him the first person to rush for over 2000 yards in NFL History. After these great seasons, he was nicknamed 'The Juice' because of his energetic runs During his time in Buffalo, O.J. rushed for a combined 10,183 yards, and 67 touchdowns in the span of 9 years.
Slide: 10
After 9 years with the Buffalo Bills, O.J. was traded to his hometown team, the San Francisco 49ers. After a lackluster 2 years in San Fransisco, O.J. decided to retire, ending an absolutely stellar NFL career.In the end, he amassed over 11,000 yards and had a total of 90 touchdowns. He also received many awards such as being a part of the All-Pro Team 5 times, was a part of the Pro Bowl 6 times, and in 1973 he was nominated as the MVP of that season.
Slide: 12
While O.J. Simpson was playing his best days of football, a few questionable things were going on behind the scenes.During his last few years in Buffalo, he had met a 17-year-old Nicole Brown at a diner, where she worked at. O.J. and her started dating all while he was still married to his first wife. In 1979, O.J. and his first wife, Marguerite, divorced which was partially caused by the tragic death of their first child. Only 6 years later, O.J. goes on to marry Nicole Brown, and soon after has a child with her.
Slide: 14
Retirement was very eventful for O.J.. After his football career was over, he became a sportscaster for the NFL. He also starred in a lot of commercials, specifically he was the mascot for Hertz, which was a rental car service.He also starred in a crime comedy movie trilogy titled, Naked Gun. At this time, he was one of the most beloved celebrities all across the United States.
Slide: 15
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad
Slide: 16
Although O.J.'s public and social life was fantastic, his home life with Nicole was suffering poorly. Nicole called the LAPD 8 times to dispute the domestic violence that was occurring in her home.The 8th time, both she and O.J. went to court over this domestic violence, which was officially ruled as a no contest. The reason why O.J. was able to get off scot-free is because of the fact he had built up such a great reputation with the Los Angeles community. The couple would end up divorcing in 1992, but O.J. would still claim they were still together.
Slide: 18
About a few days before the death of Nicole Brown-Simpson, she called her mother repeatedly and said that O.J. was stalking her everywhere she went. Then, in the early morning of June 13, 1994, both Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ron Goldman were found dead at their home in Los Angeles. Ron Goldman was just a male friend according to Nicole, and it was apparent after the fact that Ron tried to protect and fight back against the attacker before he was also killed.
Slide: 20
The LAPD immediately put O.J. under suspicion after they informed him about his ex-wife's death, and he gave little to no emotion about the present situation.The LAPD posted a statement saying that O.J. would need to turn himself in for questioning, and would have a day to do so. He did not turn himself in, and so the LAPD went on a hunt to find him. On June 17, 1994, O.J. Simpson was found driving on the 91 Freeway in a white Ford Bronc and a 2-hour long chase ensued, which ended at his home, where he was arrested.
Slide: 22
O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with the murder of both Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ronald Goldman. In response to these charges being put on him, O.J. created a group of celebrity lawyers that was nicknamed to the public the 'Dream Team'. The group consisted of Johnnie L. Cochran, F. Lee Bailey, and Robert Shapiro.The world was divided on the matter, and people had a multitude of opinions on whether he was either innocent or guilty. O.J. Simpson's 'Trial of the Century' began on January 24, 1995.
Slide: 24
The Evidence Against O.J. Simpson: The blood at the scene of the crime was the same type as O.J.'s and his blood was a rare type of blood. Simpson had fresh cuts on his hand, the day after the event. There was blood found in the Bronco, and the left glove was found at the crime scene, while the right one was found at O.J. Simpson's house. Nicole purchased O.J. a pair of Aris Light XL gloves in 1994, which were the ones at the scene of the crime. The shoe prints at the scene of the crime were the same as the ones in the Bronco.Evidence for the Defense of O.J. Simpson:The blood was collected sloppily, and the cuts on Simpson's hands weren't severe enough to amount to evidence. The lawyers claimed that many people wear the same boot as the ones found at the scene of the crime, and claimed that everything found at O.J.'s house was planted. They even went as far as to say this was a widespread conspiracy against African Americans in the justice system.
Slide: 26
After over 8 months of deliberation and examination, the judges and the jury concluded that O.J. Simpson was innocent on the counts of murder against Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. There was shock around the world because many believed there was a large amount of evidence against him. Many people believe that the reason that O.J. was able to walk free, was because of the trial of Rodney King, which happened 3 years prior.
Slide: 28
The Trial of Rodney King caused one of the largest riots in the history of the United States. Rodney King was a victim of police brutality in Los Angeles, as he was severely beaten by four police officers for driving while intoxicated. The trial of the 4 officers created serious backlash because they were found not guilty, even though the entire incident was captured on video camera. The riots after the decision of the judge led to the death of 52 people and created nearly 1 billion dollars in property damage. The riot started on March 3, 1992, and was the worst riot since the New York draft riot in 1863.
Slide: 30
In the end, O.J. had to pay 25 million dollars in punitive damages to both families of the victims and created a book in 2007 titled 'If I Did It', which hypothetically recalled the incident if he had been the killer.He eventually passed away on April 10, 2024, because of cancer. The End.
Over 30 Million Storyboards Created
No Downloads, No Credit Card, and No Login Needed to Try!