OJ Simpson passes away: Reliving NFL legend's sensational run in 1973

OJ Simpson is no more,his family said in a statement released Thursday (April 11). The former NFL football player's family confirmed the development that he passed away on April 10, succumbing to his fight with cancer.

His family shared in a posting on his social media accounts, "On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace."

Simpson, the American football star and actor, had a fabulous run in the NFL before his life turned upside down when he was caught in an explosive trial over the brutal murders of his former wife and hermale friend.Nonetheless, he was pardoned jail time after beingfound not guilty of the 1994 stabbing deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles.

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However, after being convicted in 2008 on 12 counts of armed robbery and kidnapping two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel, at gunpoint, Simpsoneventually ended up spendingnine years in a Nevada prison.

Apart from his controversial life, Simpson -- dubbed "The Juice" -- was a gun player and one of the top athletes of the late 1960s-1970s. In 1973, he had an unbelievable season and did what no other NFL running back managed to pull off back then.

1973 - An unbelievable run for OJ Simpson

Simpson played as a running back for the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers. He was known for his speed and agility. In fact, he is one of the few athletes who were hyped for stardom both on and off the sports stage.

While Simpson never won or even played in aSuper Bowl, 1973 was a breakthrough season for him. Simpson kicked off the season against New England by showcasing his immaculate darting speed in a 250-yard performance (on 29 carries). It was a single-game rushing record at that time.

In addition, Simpson cracked 2,000 yards in the final contest of a 14-game regular season. His overall tally of 2,003 yards saw him surpass the record of 1,863 -- set by Brown in 1963. Notably, therecord was untouched till 1984 (when the Rams’ Eric Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in as many as 16 games). At present, Simpson’s 1973 season now ranks eighth all-time.

On the day of setting the record, in 1973, Simpsonfelt like he was "floating". He stated, as per a report in the Washington Post, "I was in the locker room all by myself right before the game ended. I started walking around thinking how I couldn’t wish to do anything more or be anyone else. I was part of the history of the game. If I did nothing else in my life, I’d made my mark.”

Simpson had set the bar very high following his 1973 blitz. Thus, he could also not replicate his feat going ahead but he ranfor more than 1,000 yards each of the next three — leading the NFL twice.He was still miles away from his competitors as his7,699 rushing yards over that remarkable span from 1972-76 led running backs by a considerable margin. Such was his dominance thatno other player was within 2,500 yards.

In 1977, Simpson left the Bills to join the Francisco 49ers. For his new team, he could never enjoy the same success. As a result, hegained just over 1,000 yards combined in the 1978 and 1979 seasons. In 1979, he called it quits andended his glittering career with 11,236 rushing yards, 2,142 receiving yards and 990 kick return yards in 135 matches.