This is crazy! For years nobody knew where O.J. Simpson’s famed Heisman Trophy was located and all along it was just moving around the streets. And when I say streets, I really mean streets! A Homeless man has been in possession of the trophy for going on seventeen years now and if not for him contacting USC about giving it back and getting a reward, police would still have no idea where it was.

@IamJoeSports

Via TMZ

The man who became the custodian of O.J. Simpson’s 1968 Heisman Trophy was a homeless drug addict who lugged it around the streets for years … TMZ Sports has learned.

We’ve learned the former transient is in the crosshairs of the LAPD — because he’s the guy who called USC a while back inquiring about how much he could get for the trophy.

SC called the LAPD stat and forked over the guy’s cell phone number — and the LAPD went on the hunt.

We found the guy … and he tells TMZ Sports he came into possession of the trophy in 1996, two years after it was stolen from Heritage Hall on the SC campus.

The man swears he’s not the guy who broke the case and made off with the statue (we confirmed he was in jail at the time of the heist) but he did say he traded for it with a burgundy Honda Accord and $500 cash. And get this … the guy he got it from had the Heisman buried in his backyard. Kind of a hint something was up.

Shortly after he got the Heisman, the man says he lost everything and became homeless — yet still held on to his precious cargo.

After moving from street corners to storage lockers for 17 years … the man says he had a radical change of heart in December and decided to return the Heisman — for a reward. He took a photo of the trophy (seen above) to prove he’s legit.

It may be a little more than coincidence that his change of heart happened right at the same time the LAPD got a search warrant that targeted him.

It is really wild to know that such a prestigious award was eventually traded for a beat up Honda Accord. I bet the NCAA never saw that coming. Unfortunately this is not the first story about the Heisman turning out to not be worth so much.