O.J. Simpson, Former USC Trojans Standout and NFL Hall of Fame Inductee, Facing Life in Prison

For fans of the University of Southern California Trojans football program there are only memories of when they could mention the name O.J. Simpson with pride. Regarded by many as the greatest running back to grace the backfield of a Trojans’ offense Simpson rushed for 1,451 yards and 11 touchdowns in 1967, his first year at USC.

In 1968 Simpson rushed for 1,709 yards and 22 touchdowns and earned the coveted Heisman Trophy by the largest margin in the history of the award. Few doubted the remarkable career that lay ahead for O.J. and when the Buffalo Bills selected him with the number one pick in the 1969 draft there was a coastal shift in Simpson mania.

During his first three years in a Bills uniform Simpson was used sparingly and forced to run behind an inferior offensive line and as a result his numbers suffered. After averaging just over 600 yards per season during that stretch Simpson broke out in 1972 and doubled his output with 1,251 yards. The following season Simpson became the first running back to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark in a 14-game schedule. He was awarded the NFL Player of the Year for that record-breaking season by several publications including the AP and the Maxwell Club of Philadelphia.

Over his eleven seasons in the NFL Simpson amassed 11,236 yards rushing and was elected to six Pro Bowls and earned induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, 1985.

While Simpson’s playing days were always marked by the incredible numbers he could put on his opponents he is now being faced with an incredible number that could be placed on him by prosecutors. The ten felonies that Simpson is facing in relation to an incident in Las Vegas could place O.J. behind bars for the rest of his life.

On Wednesday Simpson heard the charges leveled against him: two counts of robbery with use of a deadly weapon, a felony, mandatory 2-15 years in prison, plus a possible additional 1-15 years for use of a weapon; burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon, felony, 2-15 years; coercion with use of a deadly weapon, a felony, 2-12 years in prison; two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, felony, 1-6 years; conspiracy to commit kidnapping, felony, 1-6 years; conspiracy to commit robbery, felony, 1-6 years; conspiracy to commit a crime, gross misdemeanor, 1 year in county jail.

The judge in the Las Vegas case set bail at $125,000, a figure that Simpson’s attorney Yale Galanter said was reasonable. Simpson was arrested on Sunday following an incident in which he, along with a group of armed men barged into a Vegas hotel room occupied by two memorabilia collectors who had several articles Simpson claimed belonged to him.

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