Without question, two of the most fascinating and famous (and at least in one case, infamous) figures of the 20th Century are Elvis Presley and O. J. Simpson. Until a couple of years ago no one would have said that O. J. Simpson had, or ever would achieve, the stature of Elvis Presley.

But all of that was changed Friday, June 17, 1994, when an entire nation was transfixed by a television scene that was more real than any fantasy.

Two men were in a white bronco, traveling, it seemed, in slow motion down a California freeway. The man in front was Al Cowlings; the man in the back was O. J. Simpson. Crowds were standing by the side of the road, gazing from overpasses; some shouting "Run, O. J., run." Others holding up signs saying, "Go, O.J. go."

In the backseat of that bronco was O. J. Sim…