O.J. Simpson through the eyes of a Buffalo Child

Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice" NFL Hall of Famer

By Pat Freeman, The Mighty O’Ba

Most recently an announcement of the transition of O.J. Simpson left a huge pain in the heart of those of us that were young children when he played for the Buffalo Bills. Simpson’s off field issues have permanently stained what he accomplished between the painted lines of athletic competition, along with the tragedy of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. It has caused many to block out the true greatness of this athlete. Did you know that OJ is still tied for the most 200-yard games in NFL history with Adrian Peterson, and Derick Henry?

OJ still is the only running back in history to gain two thousand yards in just fourteen games. No other back in history can lay claim to that stat and during the year that he broke this record he averaged over 143 yards a game. Simpson was a media darling and had endorsement deals along the equivalent of Michael Jordan during the 1970’s. There are more young people with the nickname Juice than you can ever imagine. OJ was the reason the professional team stayed in Buffalo because he was such a draw that the Bills were able to weather NFL expansion into larger markets because they had the largest attraction in the NFL. Now that he has passed away from cancer, we can have a logical conversation about how great an athlete he was but who also suffered from his greatness with domestic violence and CTE? I realize that many have their own views on OJ but all I can remember is him having one of the greatest rushing days in history in the old War Memorial Stadium and putting together pure magic in between the lines of the field of battle. These eyes truly have seen the extremes of this great athlete's life.