Ottis Anderson Ottis Jerome " O . J . " Anderson ( born January 19 , 1957 ) is a former American football running back . He was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press ( AP ) with the St . Louis Cardinals in 1979 , and the MVP of Super Bowl XXV in 1991 when playing with the New York Giants . He played college football at the University of Miami . Early life through college . Anderson was born and raised in West Palm Beach , Florida . He was a football and track star at Forest Hill High School in West Palm Beach , Florida before graduating in 1975 . He went on to attend the University of Miami on a full athletic scholarship and earned a degree in Physical Education . During his college career , Anderson broke Chuck Foreman ’ s career rushing records at the University of Miami , becoming the first player to rush for more than 1 , 000 yards in the school ’ s history his senior year with 1 , 266 yards . He was named " The Sporting News " and the American Football Coaches First Team All - America n and received All - American honorable mentions by both AP and UPI and graduated in 1979 as the team ' s all - time leading rusher with 3 , 331 yards . Professional career . Anderson was selected in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft , the 8th overall pick , by the St . Louis Cardinals . He 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 . He earned the first of back - to - back Pro Bowl selections that year . In his first six seasons , Anderson rushed for over 1 , 000 yards in five seasons . The lone exception was in the 1982 strike - shortened season , when he rushed for 587 yards in eight games , and was on pace for well over 1 , 000 yards , if 1982 were a full 16 game season . The Cardinals made the playoffs in 1982 , thanks to an expanded field due to the brevity of the season . It was the franchise ' s first postseason appearance since 1975 and last until 1998 . Anderson rushed for 58 yards on eight carries against the Green Bay Packers in the team ' s lone playoff game . Injuries drastically decreased the number of games Anderson played each season , and his explosiveness as a tailback . After a year and a half , Stump Mitchell emerged as the Cards ' top running back , and the expendable Anderson was traded to the New York Giants in the middle of the 1986 season . He ended up deep in the Giants ' depth chart . By this time in his career , it was clear that he was better used in goal line or short yardage situations . Anderson would rush for only six yards on seven carries in the 1986 playoffs , but did score a rushing touchdown in the Giants ' victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI . In his first two and a half seasons with New York , Anderson did not fumble once in his 100 offensive touches . In 1989 , Anderson become the top running back for Bill Parcells ' ball control offense and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year . He scored a career high 14 rushing touchdowns , and rushed for 1 , 023 yards on 325 carries . He was also the top running back for the Giants the following year , when they won Super Bowl XXV , and was named Super Bowl MVP for his 102 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries . As a testament to the Giants ' ball control strategy , their time of possession was double that of the Buffalo Bills , their opponents , in the first Super Bowl without a turnover . Anderson is one of only four running backs in NFL history to score rushing touchdowns in two Super Bowls and win Super Bowl MVP ( only Franco Harris and John Riggins accomplished this feat before Anderson , and only Emmitt Smith has achieved it since ) . Anderson was replaced by Rodney Hampton in 1991 . His last season was 1992 . Anderson fumbled just three times in 739 touches as a Giant , from 1987 - 1992 . When he retired , Anderson ranked seventh in rushing TDs and eighth in rushing yards . At the end of the 2005 season , Anderson was ranked 14th in career rushing touchdowns and is one of 22 running backs in the history of the NFL to rush for more than 10 , 000 yards . Life after football . The end of Anderson ’ s 14 - year football career in 1993 marked the beginning of his career in entrepreneurship and motivational speaking . Anderson has appeared on several major local and national radio and television shows including : the " David Letterman Show " and " Good Morning America " . He has experience as a broadcast analyst with WFAN for the New York Giants , and has co - hosted three radio shows in St . Louis with former Cardinal teammates Theotis Brown , E . J . Junior and Roy Green respectively . Ottis was also a frequent guest on " The Billy Taylor Show " in New York and contributed to in - season weekly column , " Ask Ottis " , in the " Giants Insider " publication . As president of Ottis J . Anderson Enterprises . He is also involved in several ventures and is involved with writing benefits for municipalities , school boards and privately held businesses in New Jersey . Anderson has been affiliated with many community organizations such as the United Way of America , Boys & Girls Clubs of America , National Multiple Sclerosis Society , The Breast Cancer Research Foundation , and the Deborah Hospital Foundation . Anderson is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity . Chris Cuomo of ABC News interviewed Anderson as part of " One Moment in Time : The Life of Whitney Houston " , a two - hour special on ABC shortly after the death of singer Whitney Houston . In Super Bowl XXV , Houston performed " The Star - Spangled Banner " , and Anderson and then - Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler reflected on Houston ' s performance in that game . Anderson appeared on Comedy Central ' s Tosh . 0 during the Crying Giants ' Fan Web Redemption . Personal life . Anderson has two adult daughters , Tristian and Alex .