“OJ Tried to Call You”: Bob Costas Looks Back at Fearful Phone Call When His Dear Friend Landed in Prison for Double Murder

Published 03/21/2023, 3:46 PM EDT

29 years after the murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in her Brentwood mansion, the ghosts of the controversial and infamous saga still haunt tainted NFL star, OJ Simpson. It is never easy for someone who has experienced such horrifying incidents first-hand and has been accused of it. A former colleague made it worse when he revealed how Juice joked about the murders, days after his arrest. And a mysterious phone call that he received on the same night as the murder.

Legendary American sports commentator and broadcaster Bob Costas can hardly forget June 17, 1994, and the day’s happenings. OJ, on the highway in a Bronco and the police behind him in one of the most iconic slow-speed car-chases to be captured live. And it could have gotten way more interesting for Costas because of a phone call from Simpson.

Bob Costas recounts the phone call from the Bronco

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It was also Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets. However, the OJ Simpson car chase took precedence as millions watched the famed Buffalo Bills and 49ers running back evade arrest with teammate Al Cowlings riding shotgun. Juice was eventually arrested near his Brentwood home on two first-degree murder charges. However, OJ’s NBC broadcasting partner Bob Costas was at Madison Square Garden covering the NBA Finals. And it was only later, at his hotel, that he received a bizarre phone call.

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“A woman, whose name I forget, from Time Magazine calls and says we hear that OJ tried to call you from the Bronco. I say no, that never happened,” Costas told Graham Bensinger in an interview. Costas knew of OJ’s murder charges but didn’t think too much of what the woman said. Cut to November 1994, OJ Simpson awaits trial at the LA County Jail. And Juice wanted to see his old friend Bob.

“OJ, in a blue prison outfit, sits on a stool opposite us. The way you shake hands is you put your hand against his up against the glass. I had cut my finger and — this is no joke — I had a bandage on my finger and this little bit of blood. He goes, ‘Wait a minute. You did it.’ Like it’s a joke. At one point, A.C. Cowlings pipes up and says, ‘You know, OJ tried to call you from the back of the Bronco. Now I’m thinking about the lady from Time Magazine,” Costas recounted.

OJ Simpson was lucky to have not reached Costas that day

Juice would have been in a tricky spot had Costas picked up the phone. According to the veteran multi-sport broadcaster, the running back would have had to face some very uncomfortable questions if he had answered. Luckily for OJ, Cowlings dialled Bob’s home number in Missouri.

The duo even tried reaching Costas at the NBC Studios, where a technician refused to believe that it was Juice on the other end of the line, and hung up.

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“I would’ve had to have asked him some rather pointed questions. Regardless of what his answers would have been,” Bob said while reminiscing about the historic day. That day also turned out to be the last day Costas ever saw or spoke to his longtime friend and colleague, OJ Simpson.

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Written by:

Soumyapriyo Ganguly is an NFL writer at Essentially Sports. He holds a degree in Economics and Statistics from the Indian School of Business and Finance. Rivu is a sports nerd with his favorites being Soccer, American Football, Basketball, UFC, and Formula 1.

Edited by:

Hitesh Nigam

“OJ Tried to Call You”: Bob Costas Looks Back at Fearful Phone Call When His Dear Friend Landed in Prison for Double Murder

Bob Costas recounts the phone call from the Bronco

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OJ Simpson was lucky to have not reached Costas that day