Absolutely not! He was famous because of the Bronco chase.

Dorothy Hamill? Mary Lou Retton? Chris Evert? All well-regarded. Don't sleep on the female athletes. Maybe not in as many commercials and movies as OJ but everyone knew them. Dorothy Hamill's haircut was bigger than The Rachel at the time.

Bo if you ever played techno bowl or are named bosworth

I think you have to think about reach and influence.

OJ was a sports star, of which there are many. He did sports commentary - a number of retired athletes do that and achieve name recognition success. He also had a number of commercials that had broad appeal (see the running through the airport thing, which was real) - fewer athletes, but still a lot, have that level of broad commercial appeal. AND, add in a small but still broad movie/television career as an actor (not himself) - that's where it becomes relaly really rare.

And all this before super saturation of commercial product. Michael Jordan certainly approaches this level, due to the aboslute saturation of the market with Be like Mike commercials and NIKE and then his own shoes. And, he had TV appearances and even a movie. Not a good actor though. Shaq has also had TV/movie appearances, but not a good actor.

OJ wasn't a great actor, but he could hit the baseline and had that charisma that translated on screen.

Muhammad Ali I'd agree might be the most well regarded, and did all of it before there were really opportunities for the type of media saturation that other althetes had. And he started as hated when he changed his name to Muhammad Ali and tore up his draft card. His natural charisma just won out.

Jesse Palmer was a standout in college, not as well regarded in the pros, does a competent job as a football broadcaster and was a Bachelor. Now he also hosts a bunch of TV shows (a bunch on the Foodnetwork). But I'd in no way say he's as well regarded.

Who else. LeBron is trying to broaden his appeal. Terry Bradshaw. Of course: JOE NAMATH - maybe before all our time, but he probably is the only one I can think of who approached OJ levels? Maybe Joe Dimaggio, with his public life/marilyn monroe?

Anonymous wrote:Was there any celebrity athlete more well regarded in the States than OJ was?

I’ve heard Michael Jordan’s fame doesn’t even compare to how OJ’s fame reach was in the country. Same with LeBron and Iverson. That OJ was embraced everywhere and in movies, commercials, media.

Would you say he was probably the most well regarded athlete prior to the murders?

I don't know who you heard this from, but it's ridiculous. Also, the fact that you throw Iverson into the mix makes me question your knowledge, and maybe even your sanity.

Anonymous wrote:Muhammad Ali

Not among racist Americans - of which my dad was one. He was too radical.

But not OJ - he had transcended race and even people like my dad loved him. That's why white people thought the whole defense theory that the police had framed him because he was a black man was silly - because no one saw OJ as a black man.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Muhammad Ali

This is the answer.

It is *an* answer. The wrong one, though. It's actually hard to come up with one that is more wrong.

Muhammad Ali is highly regarded, even beloved, now, after his death, and in the decade or so preceding it. He was a magnetic figure, and a sympathetic one, as we saw him decline from TBI. But back when he was at the height of his career, he was regarded as a draft dodger, stripped of his title, didn't fight for four years, and changed his birth name because it was a "slave name." A segment of the population revered him, yes . . . but he was absolutely not the most well-regarded athlete in American history while he was actually an athlete. My father-in-law, who was drafted and did go to Vietnam, still despises him.

Anonymous wrote:Muhammad Ali

This is the answer.

Anonymous wrote:Was there any celebrity athlete more well regarded in the States than OJ was?

I’ve heard Michael Jordan’s fame doesn’t even compare to how OJ’s fame reach was in the country. Same with LeBron and Iverson. That OJ was embraced everywhere and in movies, commercials, media.

Would you say he was probably the most well regarded athlete prior to the murders?

I think it was either Simpson or Kaitlyn Jenner (dead-name: Bruce Jenner. Winner of the Olympic Decathlon).

Jenner is a republican, BTW. And that’s fine. We republicans love America and our tradition of respect for freedom; Jenner is simply living out the right to American freedom.

Muhammad Ali

Old enough to still remember the Samsonite commercials on TV.

OJ was the MAN! (back in the day).

Everybody loved The Juice.

Probably. But it was a different time without social media, so it's a bit of an apples to oranges comparison.

He was a good looking guy and appealed to people across the board. For years, running to catch an airplane was referred to as 'doing an OJ through the airport' because of the commercial he did.

OJ and Bill Cosby. Ugh.

Was there any celebrity athlete more well regarded in the States than OJ was?

I’ve heard Michael Jordan’s fame doesn’t even compare to how OJ’s fame reach was in the country. Same with LeBron and Iverson. That OJ was embraced everywhere and in movies, commercials, media.

Would you say he was probably the most well regarded athlete prior to the murders?