Why him?: His Hall of Fame football career was winding down — Buffalo dealt him to San Francisco one month later — but Simpson was already a famous face to TV and movie audiences, appearing in The Towering Inferno, Roots, and running through airports for Hertz commercials. Simpson got a few laughs on SNL, but not as many as the show would get at his expense two decades later.
Most Memorable: ''Celebrity Battle of the Sexes and Races,'' which pitted Simpson and heavyweight champ Leon Spinks against Sandy Duncan and Marie Osmond. —Jeff Labrecque