Cowlings Isn’t the Ticket at Sports Show in Anaheim : Celebrities: O.J. Simpson’s friend signs photos, footballs and tiny Broncos for $20 a pop. But turnout is small.

Two sports show promoters accomplished something Sunday that a fleet of police cars could not manage 14 months ago: They got Al Cowlings to make a stop in Orange County.

Sirens, it turns out, aren’t as effective as cash.

Cowlings, who was behind the wheel of the white Ford Bronco during the infamous low-speed chase from Orange County to O.J. Simpson’s Brentwood estate last year, was one of the featured guests at a sports memorabilia show at the Anaheim Convention Center.

For three hours, Cowlings signed pictures, footballs and even miniature white Broncos for anyone willing to pay $20 a ticket. Fewer than 70 people did so, even though about 2,000 people attended the show, dubbed the International Sport Card Expo.

Promoters insisted they did not pay Cowlings the $10,000 fee that had been reported in news stories last week, but acknowledged that they were disappointed by the meager turnout.

“We’re not happy with the ticket sales,” said Derrick Johnson, one of two Orange County-based autograph dealers who organized the Cowlings appearance. But he added that the two could still make money on the event because Cowlings signed more than 500 photos and other items that the promoters plan to sell at other shows and through mail-order outlets.

News crews from CNN, “Good Morning America” and a dozen tabloid and local news programs were on hand to cover the event. But Cowlings, who was sequestered at the end of a corridor next to the main showroom floor, hardly glanced in the cameras’ direction and didn’t make any public comments.

When a reporter who had purchased a ticket asked why he was selling his signature and what he would do with the money, Cowlings--who has been known to take a swing at pesky journalists--simply smiled and said, “Have a nice day.”

Some of those who paid for Cowlings’ signature were autograph dealers simply adding to their inventory, but most were just trying to get a piece of what has been incessantly referred to as “The Trial of the Century.”

“It’s history,” said Barbara Gusman, a 41-year-old Anaheim resident holding a signed news photograph of Cowlings driving the white Bronco along the San Diego Freeway. “I’ve already got O. J.’s book and Kato’s book. I would have paid twice as much to see [Cowlings].”

Some who attended the memorabilia show and did not pay to see Cowlings said a sports card show was no place for someone whose chief claim to fame is his connection to a double homicide. Cowlings was a childhood friend and football teammate of O.J. Simpson, who is being tried for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

“I think he’s really gold digging,” said Steve Stone, 45, of Newport Beach. “He’s taking advantage of an unfortunate incident.”

Bob Moore, a San Pedro accountant who brought his nephew to the show, said Cowlings’ presence “sends the wrong message to children. The only reason he’s here is his involvement in a murder trial. I think it shows insensitivity” to the victims’ families.

But the promoters shrugged off such criticism.

“People pay to watch Mike Tyson,” said Randy Pollock, an Irvine-based autograph dealer who also organized the Cowlings appearance. “We did it just to create a little bit of interest. Unfortunately, celebrities become celebrities in many different ways.”

On the opposite side of the arena from Cowlings, there was a sign that the sports world had not been completely warped by the Simpson trial. John Wooden, who became a celebrity by winning 10 national championships as head coach of the UCLA basketball team, was signing autographs for $15 apiece. He outdrew Cowlings two to one.