June 17, 1994: On a Friday afternoon, TV news cameras in helicopters followed a white Ford Bronco on a slow-speed chase on a Southern California freeway. Up to 20 police cruisers gave passive pursuit.
Authorities had named OJ Simpson as a person of interest in a double homicide that occurred five days earlier. The victims were Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.
Simpson was a person of interest in the investigation and failed to report to a local police station as expected.
A 911 dispatcher received a call. The distressed man on the phone said that OJ Simpson was in his car at that moment, held a gun to his own head, and was threatening to shoot himself unless he was driven to his home.
When asked for his name, the caller famously replied, “I’m AC! You know who I am, God damn it!”
The mobile phone was traced to a vehicle traveling through Orange County. The Ford was owned and driven by Simpson’s lifelong pal, Al Cowlings.
The previous day, June 16, was Cowlings’ 47th birthday.
Al Cowlings had known Orenthal James Simpson since the early 1960s. Both were raised in housing projects in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood, and both attended Galileo High School where they played football together.
After graduating, they both entered City College of San Francisco in 1965 where, again, they both excelled at football. But while Simpson played offense as a running back, Cowlings was a defensive lineman.
Al and OJ then both played football at the University of Southern California where Simpson was runner up for the Heisman Trophy.
Simpson joined the NFL in 1969 as the Number 1 pick in the draft. He went to the Buffalo Bills.
One year later, Al Cowlings was the Number 5 pick in the draft. The Bills selected him, too.
Simpson spent 9 seasons in Buffalo and then 2 in San Francisco.
Cowlings was more of a journeyman; 2 seasons in Buffalo, 2 seasons in Houston, then with a different team each year.
Both players ended their careers as members of the 1979 San Francisco 49ers.
Their friendship endured. Cowlings lived in Greater Los Angeles and was groomsman at Simpson’s 1985 wedding to Nicole Brown. He was also godfather to OJ’s son Jason from a previous marriage.
When Simpson bought a 1993 white Ford Bronco, Cowlings purchased an identical vehicle. They were in Al’s car during the low-speed pursuit.
The 60-mile chase ended at Simpson’s residence in Brentwood, CA where Cowlings and Simpson were taken into custody.
The charge against Cowlings was aiding and abetting a fugitive. He posted bail and was released 12 hours after his arrest.
In his testimony during Simpson’s trial, Cowlings pleaded the Fifth Amendment.
However, his girlfriend at the time, a former porn actress, told a Grand Jury that Cowlings had told her about Simpson phoning him on the night of the homicides and about disposal of the murder weapon. Cowlings refuted her story.
Three men, including Simpson’s sports agent Mike Gilbert, bought Cowlings’ white Bronco. They stashed it in a parking garage where it sat idle for 17 years. It’s now in a museum.
Al Cowlings has kept a low profile for decades, but he was inducted into the University of Southern California’s Hall of Fame in 2009. A building is named after him.
He held a variety of jobs throughout the years, including selling women’s handbags and an unknown position with the billionaire owner of Public Storage self-storage company.
Cowlings still lives in Southern California where he is said to be currently retired and, as of this writing, just turned 76.
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