View source for Ottis Anderson

{{Short description|American football player (born 1957)}}
{{distinguish|Otis Anderson Jr.}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name          = Ottis "O.J." Anderson
| image         = OJ Anderson Visits Coast Guard Academy (8173758) (cropped).jpg
| caption       = Anderson in 2023
| number        = 32, 24
| position      = [[Running back]]
| birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1957|1|19}}
| birth_place   = [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], U.S.
| height_ft     = 6
| height_in     = 2
| weight_lb     = 220
| high_school   = [[Forest Hill Community High School|Forest Hill]] {{avoid wrap|(West Palm Beach)}}
| college       = [[Miami Hurricanes football|Miami (FL)]] (1975–1978)
| draftyear     = 1979
| draftround    = 1
| draftpick     = 8
| pastteams     = 
* [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{NFL Year|1979|1986}})
* [[New York Giants]] ({{NFL Year|1986|1992}})
| highlights    = 
* 2× [[List of Super Bowl champions|Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl XXI|XXI]], [[Super Bowl XXV|XXV]])
* [[Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award|Super Bowl MVP]] ([[Super Bowl XXV|XXV]])
* [[NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award|NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year]] (1979)
* [[National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award|NFL Comeback Player of the Year]] (1989)
* First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1979 All-Pro Team|1979]])
* Second-team All-Pro ([[1980 All-Pro Team|1980]])
* 2× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1980 Pro Bowl|1979]], [[1981 Pro Bowl|1980]])
* [[Pro Football Writers of America NFL All-Rookie Team|PFWA All-Rookie Team]] ([[Pro Football Writers of America NFL All-Rookie Team#1979|1979]])
* [[New York Giants Ring of Honor]]
| statlabel1    = [[Carry (gridiron football)|Rushing yards]]
| statvalue1    = 10,273
| statlabel2    = Rushing average
| statvalue2    = 4.0
| statlabel3    = Rushing [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue3    = 81
| statlabel4    = [[Reception (gridiron football)|Receptions]]
| statvalue4    = 376
| statlabel5    = Receiving yards
| statvalue5    = 3,062
| statlabel6    = Receiving touchdowns
| statvalue6    = 5
| pfr           = A/AndeOt00
}}

'''Ottis Jerome Anderson''' (born January 19, 1957) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] [[running back]] who played in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) for 14 seasons with the [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]] and [[New York Giants]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[Miami Hurricanes football|Miami Hurricanes]], setting the school record for rushing yards, and was selected eighth overall in the [[1979 NFL draft]] by the Cardinals.

In his first season, Anderson was named [[NFL Rookie of the Year Award|Offensive Rookie of the Year]] and received [[Pro Bowl]] and first-team [[All-Pro]] honors when he set the Cardinals all-time record for rushing yards. He also received a second Pro Bowl selection the following year. Traded to the Giants in 1986 amid a production decline, Anderson won two [[Super Bowl]] titles in [[Super Bowl XXI]] and [[Super Bowl XXV]]. Anderson was named [[Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award|MVP]] of the latter, in which he played a central part in helping the Giants set the Super Bowl record for time of possession.

==Early life==
Ottis Jerome Anderson was born and raised in [[West Palm Beach, Florida]].<ref name= OJAbio>{{cite web|title=Bio | publisher= Ottis Anderson| website= ottisanderson.com |url= http://ottisanderson.com/faq/ |access-date= February 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222233500/http://ottisanderson.com/faq/|archive-date=February 22, 2022}}</ref> He was a [[High school football|football]] and [[Track and field athletics|track]] star at [[Forest Hill Community High School|Forest Hill High School]] in West Palm Beach, graduating in 1975.

==College career==
[[File:Ottis Anderson, 1976.png|thumb|140x140px|Anderson in 1976]]
Anderson attended the [[University of Miami]] on a full [[athletic scholarship]] and earned a degree in [[Physical Education]]. During his [[College football|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.<ref name= OJAbio /> He received honorable mention as an [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] by the [[Associated Press]],<ref>{{cite news|title=NU's Clark AP All-American selection|date=December 5, 1978|newspaper=Lincoln Journal|page=14|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincoln-journal-star/166707424/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=February 26, 2025}}</ref> and graduated in 1979 as the team's all-time leading rusher with 3,331 yards.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Anderson was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ottis Anderson |url=http://www.umsportshalloffame.com/ottis-anderson.html |website= umsportshalloffame.com| publisher= University Of Miami Sports Hall Of Fame|date=December 1, 1990}}</ref>

===Statistics===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Season
! colspan="3"| Rushing
! colspan="3"| Receiving
|-
! Att !! Yds !! TD !! Rec !! Yds  !! TD
|-
! [[1975 Miami Hurricanes football team|1975]]
| 67 || 365 || 0 || 11 || 128 || 1
|-
! [[1976 Miami Hurricanes football team|1976]]
| 213 || 918 || 6 || 10 || 121 || 0
|-
! [[1977 Miami Hurricanes football team|1977]]
| 187 || 782 || 1 || 20 || 243 || 3
|-
! [[1978 Miami Hurricanes football|1978]]
| 224 || 1,266 || 8 || 14 || 47 || 0
|-
! Career !! 691 !! 3,331 !! 15 !! 55 !! 539 !! 4
|}

==Professional career==
Anderson was selected in the first round of the [[1979 NFL draft]], the 8th overall pick, by the [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]].<ref name=OJAbio/> He had one of the greatest debut games in NFL history, rushing for 193 yards, which was just 1 yard shy of [[Alan Ameche]]'s all-time record for an NFL debut (Ameche rushed for 194 yards for the Baltimore Colts in 1955).<ref>{{cite web|title=NFL First Game Records|url=http://goldenrankings.com/dazzlingdebuts2.htm#nflfirstgamerecords|work=goldenrankings.com|access-date=August 7, 2013}}</ref> His single season 1,605 rushing yard performance<ref name=nflpro/> was one of the few bright spots in the [[1979 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|Cardinals' 1979 season]], when they finished 5–11.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1979 St. Louis Cardinals Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/crd/1979.htm |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> 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 NFL season|1982]] strike-shortened season, when he rushed for 587 yards in eight games; a pace for well over 1,000 yards in a full 16-game season.<ref name=nflpro>{{cite web|title=Profile on NFL's official site|work=nfl.com|url=http://www.nfl.com/players/ottisanderson/profile?id=AND395031|access-date=September 9, 2010}}</ref>

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 NFL season|1975]] and last until [[1998 NFL season|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 [[Running back#Halfback.2Ftailback|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 New York Giants season|1986 season]].<ref name=OJAbio/> He ended up deep in the Giants' [[National Football League depth chart|depth chart]]. By this time in his career, it was clear that he was better used in [[Goal line (American football)|goal line]] or short yardage situations. Anderson would rush for only six yards on seven carries in the [[1986–87 NFL playoffs|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 NFL season|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 to 1992.

When he retired, Anderson ranked seventh in rushing TDs and eighth in rushing yards. At the [[2014 NFL season|2014 season]], Anderson was ranked 19th in career rushing touchdowns and is one of 31 running backs in the history of the NFL to rush for more than 10,000 yards ([[List of National Football League career rushing yards leaders|currently ranked 30th in career rushing yards]] at the conclusion of the 2019 NFL season).<ref name=OJAbio/>

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|-
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|
| Won the [[Super Bowl]]
|-
| style="background:#f4c842; width:3em;"|
| [[Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award|Super Bowl MVP]]
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

===Regular season===
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="2"| Games
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="5"| Receiving
|-
! GP !! GS !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! [[1979 NFL season|1979]] || [[1979 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 16 || 16 || '''331''' || '''1,605''' || '''4.8''' || '''76''' || 9 || 41 || 308 || 7.5 || 28 || '''2'''
|-
! [[1980 NFL season|1980]] || [[1980 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 16 || 16 || 301 || 1,352 || 4.5 || 52 || 9 || 36 || 308 || 8.6 || 35 || 0
|-
! [[1981 NFL season|1981]] || [[1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 16 || 16 || 328 || 1,376 || 4.2 || 28 || 9 || 51 || 387 || 7.6 || 27 || 0
|-
! [[1982 NFL season|1982]] || [[1982 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 8 || 8 || 145 || 587 || 4.0 || 64 || 3 || 14 || 106 || 7.6 || 19 || 0
|-
! [[1983 NFL season|1983]] || [[1983 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 15 || 15 || 296 || 1,270 || 4.3 || 43 || 5 || 54 || 459 || 8.5 || 40 || 1
|-
! [[1984 NFL season|1984]] || [[1984 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 15 || 15 || 289 || 1,174 || 4.1 || 24 || 6 || '''70''' || '''611''' || 8.7 || '''57''' || '''2'''
|-
! [[1985 NFL season|1985]] || [[1985 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 9 || 8 || 117 || 479 || 4.1 || 38 || 4 || 23 || 225 || '''9.8''' || 43 || 0
|-
! rowspan="2"|[[1986 NFL season|1986]] || [[1986 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|STL]]
| 4 || 3 || 51 || 156 || 3.1 || 14 || 2 || 10 || 91 || 9.1 || 19 || 0
|-
! style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|[[1986 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 8 || 0 || 24 || 81 || 3.4 || 16 || 1 || 9 || 46 || 5.1 || 12 || 0
|-
! [[1987 NFL season|1987]] || [[1987 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 4 || 0 || 2 || 6 || 3.0 || 4 || 0 || 2 || 16 || 8.0 || 9 || 0
|-
! [[1988 NFL season|1988]] || [[1988 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 16 || 0 || 65 || 208 || 3.2 || 11 || 8 || 9 || 57 || 6.3 || 13 || 0
|-
! [[1989 NFL season|1989]] || [[1989 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 16 || 16 || 325 || 1,023 || 3.1 || 36 || '''14''' || 28 || 268 || 9.6 || 26 || 0
|-
! style="background:#f4c842; width:3em;"|[[1990 NFL season|1990]] || style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|[[1990 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 16 || 11 || 225 || 784 || 3.5 || 28 || 11 || 18 || 139 || 7.7 || 18 || 0
|-
! [[1991 NFL season|1991]] || [[1991 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 10 || 1 || 53 || 141 || 2.7 || 9 || 1 || 11 || 41 || 3.7 || 13 || 0
|-
! [[1992 NFL season|1992]] || [[1992 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 13 || 0 || 10 || 31 || 3.1 || 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/AndeOt00.htm Career] !! 182 !! 125 !! 2,562 !! 10,273 !! 4.0 !! 76 !! 81 !! 376 !! 3,062 !! 8.1 !! 57 !! 5
|}

==Life after football==
The end of Anderson's 14-year football career<ref name=nflpro/> 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 appeared on [[Comedy Central]]'s ''[[Tosh.0]]'' during the Crying Giants' Fan Web Redemption. [[Chris Cuomo]] of [[ABC News (United States)|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]], along with then-[[Buffalo Bills]] quarterback [[Frank Reich]], reflected on Houston's performance in that game.

He was a broadcast analyst with [[WFAN (AM)|WFAN]] for the [[New York Giants]], and he co-hosted three radio shows in [[St. Louis]] with former Cardinal teammates [[Theotis Brown]], [[E.J. Junior]] and [[Roy Green]]. Anderson was a frequent guest on ''The Billy Taylor Show'' in [[New York City]] and contributed to an in-season weekly column, ''Ask Ottis'', in the ''Giants Insider'' publication.

As president of Ottis J. Anderson Enterprises, Anderson is also involved in several ventures and is involved with writing benefits for municipalities, school boards and privately held businesses in New Jersey. In 2017, Anderson began working as the Vice President of Business Development for Metro Exhibits, selling trade show booths and services.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://metroexhibits.com/ottis-oj-anderson/ |title= Ottis "O.J." Anderson – VP of Business Development |last= |first= | website= metroexhibits.com | publisher= Metro Exhibits |date= | access-date= February 22, 2022}}</ref> He has endorsed Global Syn-Turf, Inc. [[synthetic turf]] for sports fields.<ref>{{cite web| url-status= bot: unknown| archive-date= November 2, 2023| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231102165106/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eco4dFVN7iA| url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eco4dFVN7iA| title= Ottis 'O.J.' Anderson Exclusive Interview| publisher= Best Artificial Grass| via= YouTube| date= June 24, 2014| access-date= February 22, 2022}}</ref>

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 Heart and Lung Center|Deborah Hospital Foundation]].

Anderson was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame on May 2, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Underwood |first=Bob |date=2022-07-03 |title=OJ Anderson inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame |url=https://thebigredzone.com/2022/07/03/oj-anderson-inducted-into-the-st-louis-sports-hall-of-fame/ |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=THE BIG RED ZONE |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[History of the New York Giants (1979–1993)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Footballstats |nfl=Ottis-Anderson
|espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |si= |pfr=A/AndeOt00 |rotoworld=}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030814070937/http://www.ojanderson.com/ Official Website for Ottis "OJ" Anderson]

{{1979 NFL Draft}}
{{St. Louis Cardinals 1979 draft navbox}}
{{CardinalsFirstPick}}
{{AP Offensive Rookies of the Year}}
{{NFL Comeback Players of the Year}}
{{Super Bowl XXI}}
{{Super Bowl XXV}}
{{Super Bowl MVPs}}
{{10,000 rushing yards club}}
{{Giants Ring of Honor}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Ottis}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:American football running backs]]
[[Category:Forest Hill Community High School alumni]]
[[Category:Miami Hurricanes football players]]
[[Category:NFL announcers]]
[[Category:New York Giants announcers]]
[[Category:New York Giants players]]
[[Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Hoboken, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Hudson County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Players of American football from West Palm Beach, Florida]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals (football) players]]
[[Category:Super Bowl MVPs]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:NFL Comeback Player of the Year winners]]