A Troubled Kid Turns To Sports
The third time O.J. got arrested, he met MLB star Willie Mays, who encouraged the troubled teen to try and change his ways. Simpson was inspired and decided to pursue sports, joining up with his school team, the Galileo Lions.
O.J. Simpson, USC’s running back gives the victory sign as he is carried off the field by hundreds of cheering fans. Simpson scored two touchdowns. USC beat UCLA, 21-20.
He continued to play football at City College of San Francisco and started to make waves as a running back, even nearly winning the fabled Heisman Trophy as a junior. He won the trophy by a record-breaking landslide in his senior year in 1968 and was chosen as the first pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 1969 AFL-NFL Common Draft.