I understand that this won't be the most popular post ever created @ PG.com but I still felt a need to share it with you all... Years ago (many) I was an aspiring athlete at Carson HS in Los Angeles ( actually the city of Carson) in what is known as the "south bay" in southern California. I "lettered" in baseball and basketball. I wanted to play football so badly but my parents put me in school early at 4 y/o and I was a scrawny 5-6 and 130 lbs as a sophomore. I must admit, at Carson High School it was not easy to make any athletic team, I recall the varsity base ball coach ( the late Jim Galceran) once saying to me "Codd, you are 25th man on a 25 man team" and if you want to start you better transfer to Torrance H/S... I was so happy just to be on the squad, and playing with the best. I stayed at Carson High and rode the pine for 3 years, but I digress...
FF to 1983 when OJ was at the top of his game, he was covering the Olympic Trials at the LA Coliseum ( as a broadcaster) and I was in attendance. OJ had long since retired as a player but was a huge star doing commercials and movies. To be honest, OJ rivaled Mohammed Ali as the most recognizable face on the planet earth back then. Our eyes met as I entered the stadium and called out to him "hey OJ" as he entered the escalator taking him to the broadcast booth on the upper level of the Coliseum. He turned and waved to me and chill's shot up and down my spine. After all, OJ was my childhood hero. I was there (at the Coliseum) as a 13 y/o kid the day OJ took the hand off and ran 64 yards through the Bruins ( and the former Heisman trophy winner Gary Beban) and scored the game winning TD on the way to the national championship, 21-20! The "Juice" had secured his place in my memory banks as a hero!
Three years later, I was working (as a "stand in" ) on a movie called "Witchboard" (circa 1986) and OJ was dating the female star of the movie, Tawny Kitaen , for those of you too young to remember, she was the hot chick in the RnR band Whitesnake's video "Here I go again". OJ used to come to the set everyday to pick Tawny up. We actually were on a first name basis and talked current sports (mostly football) for hours since we both had lot's of time to kill. This went on for a good six weeks until the movie finally wrapped. I never saw OJ again but I will never forget the memory of one of the greatest running backs in football history and the friendship that occurred between us almost 30 years ago...
Good Luck Handicappers!