West Palm Beach, Florida native Ottis Jerome (O.J.) Anderson was a football and track star for Forest Hill High School in West Palm Beach in the mid-1970s.
The standout running back chose to stay in-state and attend the University of Miami. A 6’2, 220-pound explosive battering ram, Anderson broke Chuck Foreman’s career rushing record and became the first player to rush more than 1,000 yards in a single season in the history of ‘The U’. He ended his college career with over 3,000 yards rushing, 15 touchdowns and also caught over 50 passes for over 500 yards and another four scores. Anderson was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
Selected in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, Anderson’s impact was immediate. He enjoyed one of the greatest debuts and NFL history rushing for just shy of 200 yards (and a single yard short of the debut rushing record). His rookie season total of 1,605 rushing yards earned him the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and the first of his back-to-back Pro Bowl selections.
In his first six seasons in the league, Anderson rushed for over 1,000 yards in five of those years, with the only exception being the strike shortened 1982 season in which he was well on his way to doing the same once again.
After year six, injuries began to take a toll on his career and decrease the number of games he played and his output each season moving forward.
Anderson was traded to the New York Giants in the middle of the 1986 season. Still battling through injuries, he became the top running back for Bill Parcells’ vaunted ball control offense. In 1989, he was named The NFL Comeback Player of the Year, scoring a career high 14 touchdowns and yet again rushing for over 1,000 yards.
As great as his career was up to that point, the future Hall of Famer may be best known for his iconic performance in Super Bowl XXV where he stiff armed, upper cutted and bulldozed his way to 102 yards rushing and a huge touchdown, culminating in being named the Super Bowl XXV MVP.
Anderson is one of only four running backs in league history to score rushing touchdowns in two Super Bowls and win the game’s MVP award, joining Franco Harris, John Riggins and Emmitt Smith.
At the time of his retirement in 1992, he ranked 7th in career rushing touchdowns and 8th in career rushing yards.
Since his retirement Anderson has had an extremely successful second career in the business world and as a motivational speaker. He’s president of Ottis J. Anderson Enterprises and is involved in several community organizations such as the United Way of America, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and a plethora of other worthy foundations.
Most recently, he teamed up with Signd, a personalized video and signed memorabilia service that offers fans a videotaped personalized interaction with some of the all-time greats in the sporting world, along with an autograph.
We caught up to him recently to discuss his 1980 Topps rookie card, signing autographs and communicating with collectors and fans, his admiration of Gale Sayers, what currently resides in his man cave and more.
