Pro Football Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson was the first member of the Buffalo Bills’ Wall of Fame in 1980 but he won’t be honored at the soon-to-open Highmark Stadium.
The Bills have decided not to include Simpson, who died at 76 in 2024, in their new home. A running back, Simpson was the team’s first major superstar during his Buffalo tenure from 1969-77.
However, Simpson was acquitted in the 1994 stabbing deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and waiter Ronald Goldman, but was later found liable for wrongful death in a civil case and ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages to the families.
“We have made an organizational decision that he is not a fit to display inside our new stadium and family circle,” Pete Guelli, Bills president of business operations Pete Guelli, said in a statement.
Simpson’s name remained visible in the closing stadium despite public debate over whether it should be removed. The first regular-season game at Highmark Stadium is scheduled for Sept. 17 against the Detroit Lions.
After winning the 1968 Heisman Trophy in college at Southern California, Simpson was the No. 1 overall pick by the Bills in 1969. He became the first running back to top 2,000 yards when he rushed for 2,003 in a 14-game season in 1973.
Simpson earned NFL MVP honors in 1973 and was a five-time first-team All-Pro and a six-time Pro Bowl selection. He gained 10,183 yards for the Bills, which ranks second in franchise history behind Pro Football Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas (11,938 from 1988-99).
Simpson’s single-game franchise record of 273 rushing yards in 1976 remains the sixth-best output in NFL history. It was an NFL record at the time.
Before the 1994 murders, Simpson was one of the most popular former athletes in the United States and was a broadcaster, actor and commercial pitchman. Despite denying any involvement, Simpson’s reputation declined, and he became one of the most infamous people in the country.
When Simpson died in 2024 of cancer, neither the Bills nor USC publicly acknowledged his passing.
–Field Level Media
