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Though it has become devalued in the NFL in recent years, the running back position used to be the centerpiece of a football team’s offense, with many franchises using top draft picks on potential workhorse backs. Before he became infamous as an alleged murderer, O.J. Simpson was a #1 overall draft pick and would go on to become the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season; a few years later, another #1 overall pick in Earl Campbell would take the league by storm with his bruising and powerful running style, and nearly match Simpson’s 2,000-yard season. As two of the greatest #1 overall picks ever, running backs of the 1970s, and running backs in NFL history overall, let us set aside off-the-field issues and compare these two Hall of Famers to answer the question:
Who was better – Earl Campbell or O.J. Simpson?
The Beginning
Both Campbell and Simpson attended blue-blood college football programs, where they established their legacies as Heisman Trophy winners and parlayed that success into being the top overall pick in their respective NFL draft classes.
Born and raised in the state of Texas, Campbell was the sixth of 11 children and started playing football in elementary school; by high school, he was named Mr. Football USA while leading his school to the Texas 4A State Championship (for the largest schools in the state). Naturally, he was recruited by most major programs, but chose to stay in-state at the University of Texas, where he blossomed into a star – a 2x All-American, he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior by rushing for 1,744 yards and 18 touchdowns, thus becoming the first Longhorn to do so (since then, Ricky Williams also won the Heisman in 1998); additionally, Campbell won the Davey O’Brien Memorial Trophy and was named College Football Player of the Year by both the Sporting News and the United Press International. In the 1978 NFL Draft, the then-Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) traded tight end Jimmie Giles along with their 1978 first and second-round picks and 1979 third and fifth-round picks to move up to the #1 overall position to select Campbell; he responded with one of the greatest rookie seasons in NFL history, rushing for a league-high and then-rookie record 1,450 yards with 13 touchdowns and being named a Pro Bowler, First Team All-Pro, Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Offensive Player of the Year.
Similarly, Simpson grew up in San Francisco, California, where he was an All-City football player; however, rather than playing for a top-flight college program after graduation, poor grades led him to first attend City College of San Francisco, where he was a Junior College All-American. Subsequently, he transferred to USC for his junior season and proceeded to lead the nation in rushing and earn All-American honors in each of his years with the Trojans. Notably, during his senior season in 1968, Simpson rushed for 1,880 yards and 23 touchdowns to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Award (second year in a row), thus continuing a tradition of great USC running backs taking home the Heisman (Mike Garrett was the first, and Charles White and Marcus Allen would follow). In the 1969 AFL-NFL Draft, Simpson was selected #1 overall by the Buffalo Bills and signed what was then the largest contract in sports history; he was average as a rookie with 697 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, plus a career-high 30 receptions for 343 yards and 3 touchdowns, though was named an AFL Pro Bowler.
Career Comparison
In their respective primes, Campbell and Simpson were true workhorse running backs and nearly unstoppable rushers, posting some of the best individual rushing seasons in league history before injuries and age took an inevitable toll.
If you thought Campbell was a rookie sensation, he was even better in 1979 with league-highs of 1,697 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns (the touchdowns were a career-best), once again earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors while also taking home the trifecta of Offensive Player of the Year, the Bert Bell Award, and league MVP. To follow up on this brilliant campaign, he proceeded to rush for a career-best 1,934 yards with 13 touchdowns (both league-highs once again) and set a single-season record with four 200-yard games while also throwing a 57-yard touchdown pass; for his efforts, he was once again a Pro Bowler, All-Pro, and Offensive Player of the Year. At this point, Campbell seemed unstoppable, though 1981 was his first time NOT leading the NFL in rushing – nevertheless, he still had 1,376 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns and despite never being a great receiving threat, he also added a career-best 36 receptions for 156 yards to earn a fourth straight Pro Bowl appearance.
In the strike-shortened 1982 season, Campbell was limited to 538 rushing yards, but bounced back in 1983 with his last Pro Bowl selection: 1,301 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, plus 19 catches for a career-high 216 yards (he never scored a receiving touchdown in his career). However, the physical nature of his punishing running style was quickly taking a toll and with Houston’s continued struggles as a team, Campbell was traded midway through the 1984 season to the New Orleans Saints for a 1985 first-round pick; there, he split carries with 1981 #1 overall pick George Rogers and compiled a career-low 468 rushing yards with 4 touchdowns across the Oilers and Saints. Finally, Campbell struggled through one last year with New Orleans in 1985 to the tune of 643 rushing yards and just one touchdown before retiring at the age of 30.
During his first three seasons with Buffalo, Simpson was average at best and never topped 1,000 rushing yards, topping out at 742 yards in 1971. Then, in 1972, he led the league in rushing for the first of 4x with 1,251 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns while adding 27 catches for 198 yards to earn the first of five straight Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections. This was followed by Simpson’s legendary 1973 season: in a 14-game season, he became the first player with 2,000 rushing yards in a season (2,003 rushing yards with a league-high 12 rushing touchdowns), breaking Jim Brown’s previous single-season mark of 1,863 rushing yards and in the process winning Offensive Player of the Year honors, the Bert Bell Award, and league MVP. As an encore to this record-breaking year, Simpson dealt with a knee injury in 1974, but still rushed for 1,125 yards.
As incredible as his 1973 season was, Simpson may have been even better overall in 1975 – in addition to once again leading the league with 1,817 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, he added 28 receptions for career-bests of 426 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns, thus setting then-single season records with 2,243 scrimmage yards and 23 total touchdowns scored. Simpson would have a final Pro Bowl and All-Pro year in 1976 and win his fourth rushing title with 1,503 yards and 8 touchdowns (including a then-single game record 273 rushing yards on Thanksgiving), plus 22 catches for 259 yards and a touchdown; the next year, he was limited to just seven games played due to injuries and managed only 557 yards. Ahead of the 1978 season, he was traded to his hometown San Francisco 49ers for draft picks, though he barely amassed 1,000 rushing yards across his two years with the team. Upon retiring at 32 post the 1979 season, Simpson stood second all-time in rushing yards behind only the legendary Brown.
All in all, Simpson played three additional seasons and 20 extra games, which in turn gives him the advantage in most categories: rushing attempts, rushing yards, receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, though Campbell did score more rushing touchdowns. Each back accumulated five 1,000-yard seasons, with Campbell scoring double-digit touchdowns 5x (i.e. each one of his 1,000-yard seasons) vs. 2x for Simpson; both were also league MVPs and Bert Bell winners, with O.J. earning slightly more Pro Bowl (6x vs. 5x) and All-Pro selections (5x vs. 3x), but Campbell winning Offensive Player of the Year more often (3 to 1). Moreover, on a per-game basis, the story is also mixed – Campbell averaged 89 total yards (82 rushing, 1.1 receptions for 7 receiving yards) and 0.64 touchdowns per game over 115 regular season games vs. 99 total yards (83 rushing, 1.5 receptions for 16 receiving yards) and 0.56 touchdowns per game in 135 regular season games for Simpson. Given their on-field accomplishments, both legendary running backs were first-ballot Hall of Fame selections, Simpson in 1985 followed by Campbell in 1991.
Regular Season Statistics
| Earl Campbell | Player | O.J. Simpson |
| 8 (1978-1985) | Seasons | 11 (1969-1979) |
| 115 | Games Played | 135 |
| 2,187 | Rushing Attempts | 2,404 |
| 9,407 | Rushing Yards | 11,236 |
| 4.3 | Yards Per Attempt | 4.7 |
| 74 | Rushing Touchdowns | 61 |
| 121 | Receptions | 203 |
| 806 | Receiving Yards | 2,142 |
| – | Receiving Touchdowns | 14 |
| 5x | Pro Bowls | 6x |
| 3x | All-Pro | 5x |
| 1x | MVP | 1x |
| – | Super Bowls | – |
| 3x Offensive POY, 1x Bert Bell, ROY | Other Awards | 1x Offensive POY, 1x Bert Bell |
| 1991 | Hall of Fame Induction | 1985 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Despite their regular season achievements and records, neither Campbell nor Simpson was able to carry their teams to sustained playoff success, particularly as defenses zoned in on stopping them.
All of Campbell’s playoff games came during his first three seasons in the NFL (i.e. his All-Pro years), with successively worse results each year. Most notably, as a rookie, he guided the Oilers all the way to the AFC Championship Game, where they would lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion Terry Bradshaw and the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-5; he was held to 62 yards on 22 carries in the loss. Overall, across three postseason games that year, Campbell racked up 264 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a playoff career-best 118 yards and a touchdown in a 31-14 Divisional Round victory over the New England Patriots.
In his only career playoff game, a 1974 Divisional Round matchup vs. the eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers, Simpson carried the ball 15 times for 49 yards and added 3 receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown in a 32-14 loss.
Playoff Statistics
| Earl Campbell | Player | O.J. Simpson |
| 6 | Games Played | 1 |
| 135 | Rushing Attempts | 15 |
| 420 | Rushing Yards | 49 |
| 3.1 | Yards Per Attempt | 3.3 |
| 4 | Rushing Touchdowns | – |
| 5 | Receptions | 3 |
| 45 | Receiving Yards | 37 |
| – | Receiving Touchdowns | 1 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; Campbell’s bruising running style took its toll after about five seasons, whereas Simpson’s peak productivity was sandwiched between periods of injuries and inconsistency. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams, of which Simpson and Campbell are on for the 1970s First and Second Teams, respectively, even though the latter only played two seasons during the decade), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years. However, given the shorter careers most running backs have due to the physical toll of the position (very few running backs are effective after age 30), I have modified it in this comparison to a “(half)-decade of dominance”.
(Half)-Decade of Dominance
| Earl Campbell | Player | O.J. Simpson |
| 1978-1981, 1983 | (Half)-Decade of Dominance | 1972-1976 |
| 76 | Games Played | 70 |
| 1,726 | Rushing Attempts | 1,513 |
| 7,758 | Rushing Yards | 7,699 |
| 4.5 | Yards Per Attempt | 5.1 |
| 67 | Rushing Touchdowns | 45 |
| 94 | Receptions | 98 |
| 561 | Receiving Yards | 1,142 |
| – | Receiving Touchdowns | 9 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Here, Campbell and Simpson were almost neck-and-neck in terms of rushing numbers over their top five seasons – on one hand, Simpson was the better all-around player with superior receiving numbers, but on the other hand, Campbell had a better nose for finding the endzone.
My Thoughts
When you look back upon the NFL in the 1970s and early 1980s, Earl Campbell and O.J. Simpson stand out as two of the era’s best running backs at a time when having a true workhorse back was paramount for success – Simpson will forever grace the record books with his 2,000-yard season in 1973, while Campbell was the textbook definition of a power back. Though Simpson has more career rushing yards and was the better all-around back, I think Campbell was the more important/influential running back – from the moment he stepped onto the field for the Oilers, he was the heart and soul of the offense and could only be slowed later on by his own punishing running style; note that after he was traded, Houston did a complete 180 and moved from a power rushing-based attack to an aerial offense with gunslinger Warren Moon at the helm. Moreover, for what it is worth, prime Campbell led Houston to some of its greatest playoff success and nearly carried the team on his back to the Super Bowl. In comparison, as good as Simpson was during his mid-career peak, his outstanding individual numbers never really translated into much team success for the Bills; furthermore, his legendary football career is sadly ever increasingly becoming a footnote to his post-career headlines.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Earl Campbell
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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