Ottis Jerome “O.J.” Anderson was named the National Football League Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press with the St. Louis Football Cardinals in 1979. Anderson was selected in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft by the Big Red, the eighth overall pick, and had what was probably the greatest first game in NFL history when he rushed for 193 yards. His single-season 1,605 rushing-yard performance was one of the few bright spots in the Cardinals 1979 season, when they finished 5-11. Still, he managed the first of back-to-back Pro Bowl selections that year. Anderson went on to earn the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXV in 1991 when he was playing for the New York Giants.
Ottis Jerome “O.J.” Anderson was named the National Football League Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press with the St. Louis Football Cardinals in 1979. Anderson was selected in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft by the Big Red, the eighth overall pick, and had what was probably the greatest first game in NFL history when he rushed for 193 yards. His single-season 1,605 rushing-yard performance was one of the few bright spots in the Cardinals 1979 season, when they finished 5-11. Still, he managed the first of back-to-back Pro Bowl selections that year. Anderson went on to earn the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXV in 1991 when he was playing for the New York Giants.