The Cleveland ties to OJ Simpson’s complex legacy

CLEVELAND (WJW) – He was once considered a cultural icon, but the perception of OJ Simpson, who died on Wednesday, changed 30 years ago when he was accused of the murders of his ex-wife and one of her acquaintances.

Some of the chapters in Simpson’s complicated legacy have Cleveland connections.

Before he began appearing in Hollywood movies and TV commercials, Simpson burst onto the scene in the 1960’s as an All-American tailback at USC, and then became a record setting running back for the Buffalo Bills, which led to his 1985 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

In a strange twist, Simpson’s bust was stolen from the Hall of Fame in July 1995 by an unknown thief.

Ron Goldman’s father, Caitlyn Jenner among those reacting to OJ Simpson death

The next day, the 35 pound bust was found by an ODOT crew off of I-77 in Cleveland.

One of the workers told FOX 8 at the time that he thought it was the head of a mannequin, but his coworker then exclaimed, “Oh my God, you found OJ!”

The theft of the bust came as Simpson’s dramatic fall from grace was unfolding.

In June 1994, he was accused of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

Millions watched as the slow speed pursuit by Los Angeles police of Simpson’s white Ford Bronco unfolded on live tv.

In November 1994, the so-called trial of the century began, as prosecutors attempted to convince a jury that Simpson committed the two murders.

Simpson was defended by a group of attorneys, known as the “dream team.”

It included the late F. Lee Bailey, who established his reputation in Cleveland by securing a new trial for Dr. Sam Sheppard and then winning Sheppard’s acquittal during a new trial for the 1954 murder of his wife Marilyn at their home in Bay Village.

It was Bailey who cast doubt on key evidence in the Simpson case by suggesting that a bloody glove found at the scene could have been planted by Detective Mark Fuhrman, who according to the defense, had a history of making racist comments.

In a key moment in the case, Bailey asked Fuhrman, “so if anyone who comes to this court and quotes you as using that word in dealing with African Americans, they would be a liar, would they not, Detective Fuhrman?”

“Yes they would,” Fuhrman responded.

Where are they now? Key players in the murder trial of O.J. Simpson

However, the defense discovered audiotapes of Fuhrman using racist language and the detective invoked his Fifth Amendment rights when asked by Bailey if he had planted evidence in the case.

Bailey also took credit for baiting prosecutors into asking Simpson to try on the glove in open court.

In 2020, Bailey told the FOX 8 I-Team that he challenged Assistant DA Christopher Darden.

“I said ‘take a look at the glove, I know it won’t fit OJ, and you know it won’t fit OJ and I’m going to ask him to try it on and [Darden] said, ‘no, I will.’”

The display of Simpson putting on the glove led to the famous closing argument in the trial delivered by attorney Johnny Cochrane, who told the jury, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”

The verdict was announced on Oct. 3, 1995 and more than 100 million Americans watched as the jury found Simpson not guilty of the two murders.

In 2020, F. Lee Bailey told FOX 8 that the notoriety of the murders, for which Simpson was later found to be liable for in civil court, damaged his reputation in legal circles.

“I have had lawyers who were quite rude to me about prostituting my talents for a guilty man,” said Bailey.

After his acquittal, trouble followed Simpson. In 2007, he was arrested in Las Vegas for leading a group of men, who burst into a hotel room and took, at gunpoint, sports memorabilia from Simpson’s football career that had been sold to collectors.

He was convicted of kidnapping and robbery and served nearly nine years in prison before being released in 2017.

Over the past 30 years, Simpson became a pariah to many people, but to others, he was a symbol of the racial divide in America.

Simpson died from the effects of cancer on Wednesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 76 years old.

Among those reacting to Simpson’s death was Fred Goldman, who is the father of murder victim Ron Goldman.

“It’s no great loss to the world. It is a further reminder of Ron being gone,” he said.

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