O.J. Simpson

At USC, Simpson enjoyed the attention of the nation playing in a national championship game and setting college football records with his uncanny abilities and charming personality. "He's not only a wonderful football player, but he's a wonderful young man," said Norman Topping, then president of USC. Simpson won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 and quickly began signing endorsement deals and branching out into television. Before signing his first NFL contract, Simpson had already signed a three-year, $250,000, endorsement deal with Chevrolet. Before he played in his first NFL game, he had already made a guest appearance on the television drama, "Medical Center."

Simpson was drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the first pick of the draft. His first few years in the NFL would be rather uneventful. He was rarely used in his rookie season, gaining only 697 yards in 1969. The following year he was sidelined with a knee-injury. It wasn't until 1971, behind an offensive line named "The Electric Company" because "they turned on the Juice," that Simpson would show off his innate ability to elude defenders and consistently break the game with long yardage runs. He was effectively a one-man team, although he was always generously deferring credit to his teammates. "There were power runners and there were escape runners, but he was a slashing-type runner," recalled former Kansas City Chief coach Hank Stram. "He had tremendous vision and excellent balance and very good timing. He would always be gauging to get where he was going. He would start off like he was looking for a hold, and BANG!, he was gone. You could contain him and contain him, and then he'd go 75 yards for a touchdown."