OJ Simpson’s infamous Bronco chase turns THIRTY: How NFL legend’s hours-long standoff with cops on LA freeway transfixed America

June 17, 1994 was already scheduled to be one of the busiest days on the American sports calendar.

Not only did New York Rangers fans celebrate the team’s first Stanley Cup victory in more than half a century, but the city’s beloved Knicks faced the Rockets in Houston for Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Add to that Arnold Palmer’s final US Open round in his native Pennsylvania and the start of the World Cup in Chicago, and much of the country already had Friday afternoon scheduled.

Then OJ Simpson called “911,” leading to an unforgettable spectacle watched by an estimated 95 million television viewers.

Simpson, a beloved NFL star, actor and football analyst, was charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman. But instead of turning himself in, the Heisman winner climbed into the back of his friend and former teammate’s Ford Bronco for a leisurely police chase across LA’s freeways. Over the next few hours, Domino’s Pizza reported record sales, ABC host Peter Jennings took a joke on live television and the nation was introduced to the Kardashians.

The following is DailyMail.com’s look back at Simpson’s infamous police chase 30 years later.

California Highway Patrol pursues Cowlings, driving, and Simpson, hiding behind the Bronco

Simpson died in April at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer, but there was no outpouring of grief like you might expect from a Hall of Famer. Instead, his alma mater, the University of Southern California and the NFL both remained silent on the subject of Simpson’s death.

Officially, he was acquitted at his 1994 murder trial, although Simpson was later found responsible for Nicole and Goldman’s deaths during a subsequent civil trial.

‘The Juice’ would later serve nine years in prison after being arrested for breaking into a Las Vegas hotel room at gunpoint to retrieve sports memorabilia he claimed was his.

But by then, Simpson’s reputation had been tarnished, and despite his frequent attempts to stay in the public eye, many believed he was guilty of the 1994 double murder.

And it was during that chase that much of America first considered the possibility of OJ brutally stabbing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman to death near the entrance to her Brentwood condominium.

A family photo of Ronald Goldman, who was murdered along with Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown

Simpson poses with his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and their children at the premiere of director Peter Segal’s film ‘Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult’

June 17, 1994 began with detectives recommending that Simpson be charged with two counts of first-degree murder after preliminary testing revealed Simpson’s blood type at the crime scene.

Similar evidence would eventually point to Simpson as well: bloody footprints matching his large feet, a glove stained with blood from both victims, his and Nicole’s blood found in his white Ford Bronco.

Despite mounting evidence, Simpson maintained his innocence, claiming he was home at the time of the murders and waiting for a limousine to take him to the airport for a flight to Chicago. Trial testimony from his roommate Kato Kaelin and the driver would cast doubt on Simpson’s alibi, but that information was not yet publicly known.

All the public knew was that Simpson had flown to Chicago on June 12, the night of the murders, and was called home by police the next morning.

Most Americans remained torn over Simpson’s possible guilt in the days that followed. After all, Simpson was repeatedly accused of domestic violence during his seven-year marriage to Nicole. He was even convicted of spousal abuse in 1989, but got off with a fine and probation.

But now Simpson’s life was on the line, and with a possible decades-long prison sentence looming, the legendary running back agreed to turn himself in to police.

Then he started to have doubts.

Blood found in OJ Simpson’s Bronco turned out to belong to both him and his ex-wife Nicole

Simpson (L) walks with his friend Robert Kardashian (C) and lead attorney Johnnie Cochran

Angry that he had not surrendered, the LAPD launched a manhunt for Simpson.

Meanwhile, attorney Robert Shapiro held a press conference at 5 p.m., where Simpson’s friend, Robert Kardashian, unveiled a handwritten letter from the missing suspect. It was Kardashian’s home where Simpson was last seen before his sudden disappearance.

“I’ve had a great life, great friends,” read Simpson’s letter, which Kardashian shared with the media. “Please think of the real OJ and not this lost person.”

Simpson insisted that he had “nothing to do with Nicole’s murder,” adding that if “we had a problem, it’s because I loved her so much.”

Although his exact location was unclear, police and Simpson’s own lawyers believed he was with his old friend and former teammate AC Cowlings.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed and praying that we can bring him to justice,” Shapiro said at the evening news conference.

Shapiro would get his wish, but only after Simpson and Cowlings led police along 60 miles of highways and city streets, with dozens of cruisers hot on their heels.

Motorists wave ‘Save the Juice’ signs as police cars chase the Bronco driven by Cowlings

Motorists stop and wave as police cars chase the Ford Bronco carrying OJ Simpson

The white Ford Bronco, driven by Al Cowlings, with fugitive murder suspect OJ Simpson on board

It was almost 6 p.m. when Simpson first called 911, allowing authorities to determine his location.

“I’m just leaving,” Simpson told the dispatcher. ‘I want to go with Nicole. That’s all I want to do. That’s all I’ve tried to do.”

Police soon traced Simpson’s whereabouts to the Freeway 5 in Santa Anna, where he rode in the backseat of Cowlings’ white Ford Bronco (not to be confused with Simpson’s own white Ford Bronco, which underwent DNA testing).

News helicopters soon gave chase as scores of fans began lining LA freeways with signs reading “Run, OJ, Run” and “Don’t Squeeze the Juice.”

Shortly afterwards, it was Cowlings who was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher.

“This is AC, I have OJ in the car,” Cowlings said. ‘He’s still alive, but he has a gun to his head. He just wants to see his mother. Let me take him to his house.”

Cowlings then exited the 405 at Sunset Boulevard, where the crowd of onlookers only grew larger.

Al Cowlings arrives in his Ford Bronco at Nicole Simpson’s funeral on June 15, 1994

OJ Simpson’s official booking photo released by the Los Angeles Police Department

It was almost 8 p.m. when Cowlings’ Bronco arrived at Simpson’s house, where police and much of OJ’s family were waiting. He would soon turn himself in, but only after a Howard Stern fan called into ABC’s live broadcast to prank Jennings with a faulty update.

“We also have Robert Higgins on the phone, who lives nearby and is on the ground and can see into the van,” Jennings told his audience of millions.

“I see OJ, man, and he looks scared,” the prank caller said. “And I would be scared, because the police are deeply involved in this.”

Jennings was apparently fooled and continued asking questions even after the caller referred to Stern’s producer, Gary “Baba Booey” Dell’Abate.

If it weren’t for Jennings’ on-air co-host, Simpson’s longtime friend Al Michaels, the ABC anchor would never have realized he was being pranked.

“Just so no one would think this was someone actually sitting across the street,” Michaels, a noted Stern fan, told the ABC audience. “He said something in code at the end that indicated… a certain radio talk show host.”

AC Cowlings, OJ’s friend and ex-teammate, was driving the Bronco and was also arrested

In addition to Simpson, Cowlings was also arrested for helping his friend, but the charges were later dropped.

An epic eight-month trial followed, after which Simpson was officially acquitted due to some costly missteps by prosecutors and the LAPD.

Despite that verdict, Simpson’s life would never be the same. No one saw the brutal murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, but it was hard to find anyone who missed Cowlings’ Bronco down the LA freeway on June 17, 1994.

And on that day, much of the country was on trial.

As LA District Attorney Gil Garcetti said after Simpson’s arrest, “We may have seen the fall of an American hero.”