BUFFALO, N.Y. — OJ Simpson was the first overall draft pick when the Buffalo Bills selected him in 1969. He would play for the team until 1977.
His teammates reflected on their time together, after news of his death.
2 On Your Side spoke with some of Simpson's former teammates and friends from his time with the Bills on Thursday afternoon, and they shared their stories with us as they remembered his playing days.
"We're all on the team. Reggie is one year in the league and Paul and I were two rookies, and OJ goes for 2,003 yards," Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure said.
Drafted in 1973, Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure became part of the Electric Company and remembers Simpson as someone who introduced him to the world of professional football.
"OJ was like a national hero. He was like Joe Namath, and Muhammad Ali, and Bill Russell, and all those guys. He's right up there with anybody," DeLamielleure said. "He would always tell us, 'Hey, stay on the field while I'm signing autographs for all these kids.' And we would practice at Niagara. He would never leave without signing an autograph for kids. I mean, he showed us a lot how to treat the fans. He was really great with the fans in Buffalo."
As time went on, he says they would stay in touch about once a year.
"It was like nothing happened. I mean, he'd talk like, 'Hey buddy,' we were joking and everything. It was like nobody ever mentioned anything about what happened. I never did, and he never acted like anything happened, so it was kind of strange," DeLamielleure said.
Jeff Nixon played for the Bills after Simpson left the team, but says at the time Simpson was one of his biggest heroes.
"OJ was beloved by everybody. I mean, think about, you know, the commercials he did, the movies, he was in over 30 movies and television shows. You know, he had it all. He had the good looks, the great moves on the field. He had a good-size ego ... and that showed through every once in a while, but that was OJ. When you're as, what's the old saying, when you're as great as I am, it's hard to the humble," Nixon said.
Nixon said he first met Simpson in 1980 after they snapped a losing streak against Miami.
"He was just pumping me up, and I'm thinking, here's a guy that's going to be in the Hall of Fame someday talking to me about how great he thinks I am. I was just so just humbled by that," Nixon said.
DeLamielleure says he last spoke with Simpson about a month ago, and he was feeling better at the time. He also said he had been long been praying for Simpson.