On This Date in Sports June 17, 1994: The Chase
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden becomes a sideshow, as fans watching at home become wrapped up in a slow police chase in California involving O.J. Simpson. Five days earlier, Simpson’s wife and a friend were murdered in Brentwood. The NFL Hall of Famer quickly became a suspect and ran from justice after being charged with murder by the LA District Attorney.
The O.J. Chase was the capper of a surreal day in sports that began with the New York Rangers ticker tape parade following their first Stanley Cup Championship since 1940. Later in the day, the World Cup began in Chicago, with Germany beating Bolivia at Soldier Field. It was the first time that the biggest Soccer Tournament in the World was held in the United States.
While the Rangers were winning the Stanley Cup, the best soccer players in the world were in the USA, and the NBA Finals was seeing a battle of star centers between Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon. A story that soon would grip all of America was beginning in Los Angeles.
O.J. Simpson, an NFL Hall of Famer, actor and television personality was at the center of a homicide investigation. On Sunday Night, Simpson’s estranged wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and a male acquaintance were brutally murdered at her Brentwood home. Meanwhile, O.J. Simpson was seen reenacting his famous Hertz commercials by running late for a flight to Chicago.
After police found the victims, the investigated O.J. Simpson’s nearby estate and discovered a bloody glove and bloody splatter. Concerned they contacted Simpson in Chicago, asking that he return to Los Angeles for questioning. Despite claiming to have been in Chicago, Simpson’s alibi quickly fell apart, as his interview with police had several discrepancies. As the week in Los Angeles saw the funeral, it became a media circus with all eyes looking toward the actor and former NFL star as the prime suspect. By Friday, Los Angeles DA Gil Garcetti had enough probable cause to charge Simpson with double murder. Simpson had arraigned to turn himself in with his attorney Robert Shapiro. However, when the time came to appear Simpson was a no show becoming a fugitive from justice.
As police looked for O.J. Simpson, a friend and attorney Robert Kardashian read a letter, that some thought may have been a suicide note. At around 6 pm, Simpson was spotted as a passenger in a white Ford Bronco driven by his friend and former teammate Al Cowlings. A short time later, police caught up with the two, beginning the strangest chase in the history of law enforcement. Soon Helicopters were filming the slow speed chase on I-5 Freeway. Speaking with Cowlings via cellphone, the police agreed to keep their distance rather than to stop the Bronco from traveling down the freeway.
As news of the chase hit the airwaves, all network programming was interrupted. This included NBC, which had switched had placed the NBA Finals in a small box while showing the chase. Fans at the Garden were even watching the chase on televisions on the concourse, while it was shown on the arena’s video board. The chase would captivate the nation, while fans supporters lined bridges, cheering on O.J. Simpson as he traveled down the highway, eventually returning to his home.
After returning home Simpson peacefully surrendered. The O.J. Simpson saga was just beginning as the next year would see a trial that would come to captivate and define America, celebrity, wealth, race and the justice system. Simpson would be acquitted of the murder, as his dream team lawyers ran rings around the Marcia Clarke and Chris Darden who made several critical errors in their presentment of the case to the jury.