Al Cowlings

Early life

Cowlings grew up in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood, where he was a member of the Superiors social club which held meetings at the Booker T. Washington Community Center. He attended Galileo High School, where he played football. He later attended City College of San Francisco, where he also played on the football team.

Football career

Cowlings was named an All-American defensive tackle after his senior year at USC. During his senior year, the 1969 Trojan team went undefeated, and Cowlings led a powerful defensive line which was nicknamed "The Wild Bunch" after the movie.

Cowlings was drafted 5th in the first round of the 1970 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He was a starter his first three years in Buffalo, but he was traded to Houston after the 1972 season. He played all 14 games for the Oilers in both 1973 and 1974, but he played just 5 games in 1975 for the Rams. In 1976, he became a charter member of the Seahawks, after being signed off the waiver wire when the Rams released him at the end of the pre-season. He played just one game, due to an injury he suffered while playing for the Rams in an exhibition game against the Seahawks. He returned to the Rams in 1977, skipped the 1978 season, and finished his career in 1979 with the 49ers.

O. J. Simpson case

Cowlings and O. J. Simpson were teammates at Galileo High School, San Francisco City College, USC, the Buffalo Bills, and the San Francisco 49ers; they eventually became close friends and confidantes.

Cowlings is most famous for his role in Simpson's capture on June 17, 1994, after a low-speed chase by police on Los Angeles freeways, after the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman several days before. Cowlings, who was driving his white 1993 model Ford Bronco, claims that Simpson pointed a gun to his own head, demanding Cowlings to drive him to Simpson's Rockingham estate in Brentwood, or Simpson would kill himself. The slow-speed chase was televised on live TV from helicopter cameras. It interrupted coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals, and was viewed by approximately 95 million people in the U.S. alone. During the chase, Cowlings famously told the police: "My name is AC. You know who I am, God damn it!" The chase ended at Simpson's mansion, where Simpson then surrendered to police.

Cowlings was charged with a felony for aiding a fugitive and was released approximately 12 hours after his arrest on $250,000 bail. District Attorney Gil Garcetti eventually determined, however, that Cowlings would not be charged due to a lack of evidence.

During Simpson's criminal trial, Cowlings surprised the media with a press conference held a block from the courthouse. Cowlings retained Beverly Hills public relations firm Edward Lozzi & Associates to conduct the press conference, without revealing the reason or itinerary. Lozzi introduced Cowlings and Cowlings's attorney, Donald Re. Cowlings then announced he had created a 900 phone number for the public to ask him questions — about anything except the murder and trial. Cowlings read a one-minute prepared statement announcing the 900 number, which was simultaneously unveiled visually in the room. Reports that Cowlings realized over a million dollars from this $2-dollars-plus-a-minute 900 number could never be verified. Under oath in his deposition for Simpson's civil trial, Cowlings stated that the 900 number endeavor just "broke even." This press conference was the only time Cowlings officially spoke to the media about anything related to the Simpson case.

Personal life

Cowlings is a member of the 2009 USC Athletic Hall of Fame class along with Junior Seau, Rodney Peete, and John Robinson.