O.J. Simpson's Heisman Trophy is found 20 years after it was stolen from the USC athletic department

• O.J. Simpson won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 but saw it stolen 20 years ago in a burglary at the University of Southern California
• The trophy, which was the duplicate of the the football star kept himself, was stolen along with a Simpson jersey during a 1994 burglary
• Simpson was awaiting trial for the murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, who had just been killed the previous month
• He would be acquitted the following year, in 1995

By Associated Press

Published: 00:09 EST, 7 January 2015 | Updated: 01:52 EST, 7 January 2015

A Heisman Trophy O.J. Simpson won in 1968 has been recovered more than 20 years after it was stolen in a burglary at the University of Southern California, police said Tuesday night.

The trophy and a Simpson jersey were stolen in a burglary at Heritage Hall, home to USC's athletic department, during a July 28, 1994, burglary.

At the time, Simpson was awaiting trial for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, who were killed the previous month. He would be acquitted in 1995.

Southern California's O.J. Simpson tries to break a California tackle as he picks up five yards in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in this November 1968 file photo

O.J. Simpson, then a running back for the USC Trojans, accepts the Heisman Trophy on December 5, 1968. He would sell this trophy years later, but a replica, which stayed at USC, was stolen in 1994

The trophy was recovered last month by detectives assigned to the LAPD's Art Theft Detail, the department said in a statement.

The burglars had dismantled Plexiglas display cases to take the items and the theft was discovered by a janitor the next morning.

Police would give no further details on where or how they found the trophy, saying the investigation was still open. They sought the public's help with further leads in the probe and any word on the location of the jersey, which remains missing.

The recovered Heisman was the duplicate that is given to the university of the winning player and not the one given to Simpson himself in 1968, police said.

Simpson poses with his Heisman Trophy at New York's Downtown Athletic Club in this 1968 file photo

It remained in police possession, and USC athletic officials had no immediate comment Tuesday night.

Simpson's own trophy was seized under a $33.5 million judgment after a civil court found Simpson liable for the deaths of Nicole Simpson and Goldman.

Simpson is now in a Nevada prison after a 2008 conviction for kidnapping and armed robbery in a hotel room heist in Las Vegas. The Nevada Supreme Court is considering an appeal seeking his release.

Simpson's Heisman went missing the year before he was acquitted in the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson (left) and Ronald Goldman (right)

O.J. Simpson holds up his hands to the jury wearing the infamous gloves found at the crime scene and his home in this June 15, 1995 file photo