The world of football today is celebrating his life. Jim Otto Arguably the best center in the history of the American Football League, and considered by many to be the best of any professional team.
Otto, a member of the 1980 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, passed away on May 19, 2024, according to the Las Vegas Raiders. He was 86 years old.
“Jim Otto embodied the aura and mystique of the Raiders. He was the 'original Raider' and led the new franchise from its inception to its first glory days in the late 1960s and 1970s.” said Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter. “His legendary reliability, with 210 consecutive starts in the AFL and NFL, and the accolades he has earned are a testament to his dedication to the organization and the game.
“The Pro Football Hall of Fame will protect his legacy with the same diligence and tenacity with which he protected his teammates.”
Otto has always described himself as a “gladiator” who refused to give in to any injury and racked up more than 15 seasons in the AFL and NFL. He played in 210 consecutive regular season games from the opening game in 1960 as a rookie to the final game of the 1974 season, and played in every game until a blowout loss in the AFC Championship put an end to his long-awaited return to the Super Bowl. Participated. .
Adding in the preseason, postseason, and All-Star Games, in which Otto always appeared, the number of consecutive games he played in exceeded 300.
“When I think of all the wear and tear on my body, the number I use is 308,” Otto wrote in his aptly titled autobiography, The Pain of Glory.
“His skills as a center were perfect,'' Hall of Fame coach said. john madden He said this in a February 2021 interview with Tom LaMarre on SI.com's Raiders Maven page. “He was one of those guys you never wanted to come out of practice, which is the opposite of most starting pitchers who say, “Send in the second guy.''
“Jim was the center for the Oakland Raiders, and he wasn't going to give up that spot.”
Otto, who played during the One Platon football era, played center and linebacker at high school in Wausau, Wisconsin, and the University of Miami. He was rough with the offensive line and relished the opportunity to make tackles on special teams for the Raiders.
“It's hit or miss,” he said of his approach to the game.
There were many compliments for Otto. AFL Hall of Famer All-American 1960s team, 12 Pro Bowl appearances, 10 All-Pro First Team nominations, named to Sporting News magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Football Players (78th), four The center was named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team.
hall of fame player Mel Hein Another center on the NFL 100 All-Time team said this about Otto long before either earned that recognition. “He has to be considered the best player to ever play that position.”
Both teammates and opponents agreed.
“He was an original, he was a type,” said Chuck Allen, who played linebacker for the San Diego Chargers for nine seasons. “He was someone everyone tried to emulate.”
without success.
“He had a technique that others tried to copy but couldn't,” said the Hall of Fame coach. bill walsh He spent the 1966 season as an offensive assistant for the Raiders. “I was always amazed by his skill. He played every down with intensity.”
Raiders quarterback Darryl Lamonica called Otto “a true warrior, the greatest center to ever play.”
“His durability, his ability to play through pain was different,” LaMonica said. “My first game against the Raiders, he went down with a needle in his neck. I think he was out for the rest of the year. He came back the next play. … Now with such dedication… You can't see him. Commitment to excellence was the essence of Jim.”
iconic images
“Stinger” was common to Otto from early on in his playing days. The foam he used in college, which he improvised by attaching to shoulder pads with shoelaces, evolved into the Fitfoam neck roll, which became standard equipment in Oakland.
The neck roll, “00'' jersey and U-shaped nose protector adopted in his second season as a professional became universal parts of the uniform that Otto never wanted to part with. The stab wound to his neck also instilled in Otto his determination to never leave the field.
In his book, Otto recalled hearing: al davis “If Jim Otto had left the game, the Raiders would have lost,” he told the Chargers in San Diego at the time.
Davis was the Oakland coach in 1963. During a preseason game against the Chiefs, Otto left the game with a neck injury, and Davis met him halfway.
Otto said Davis told him, “You're never going to be a Raider.'' “The next time it comes off, it will stay off.”
He remained uninterrupted for another 11 years.
“The words Al said to me were indelibly etched in my mind,” Otto told Lamarr in an interview. “I got beat up sometimes, but I stayed in the game. I didn't want to let him down, the fans, my family, my teammates. I was his captain for 12 of his 13 years and he was a leader. think.
“It was tough at times because I had chronic neck problems. I would get needles stuck in me and almost pass out. But there was no way I was going to get out of the game. It means enough is enough.”
relentless pain
Neck and back problems plagued Otto throughout his adult life. Several of his vertebrae were fused, accounting for six of the estimated 74 surgeries he underwent. At least one knee surgery was performed almost every year, with a total of 28 and 10 joint replacements. In 2007, with no other options, doctors amputated Otto's right leg.
Both shoulders were replaced. Otto almost died three times from post-surgery infections.
He suffered a broken nose in more than 20 places, a broken finger in his lower back, a broken finger, broken ribs, a broken jaw, stab wounds to his neck, numerous concussions, a kicked tooth, and double pneumonia. The injury was deemed to be “minor, and therefore the distraction was minor.”
“I got paid to play football, not hang out in the training room,” he said.
Otto quits the game with no regrets, despite the toll it took on his body, and despite knowing the pain he endured for decades, he signs up to play in the NFL again. I said it over and over again.
Otto took great pride in his durability. Only 20 other players played throughout the AFL's 10-year existence, and only three of them appeared in every game. He was a first-team All-AFL center every season.
Few expected the 217-pound Miami native's success or pro longevity. No NFL team drafted him. Minneapolis selected him in the 24th round of the AFL draft, but he was released by the team to pursue an expansion franchise in the NFL. His draft rights landed with Oakland.
Get instant honors
Otto was the only Raider to earn postseason honors following the 1960 and 1961 seasons. After his outstanding rookie year, several NFL teams expressed interest in luring him away from the AFL, but he remained loyal to his original league and team.
The Raiders went 9-33 in Otto's first three seasons, and “we were the doormat of that league,” Otto said. He considered quitting at one point, but “knew there was light at the end of the tunnel.”
When Davis took over the team in 1963, the winning streak continued. The new color scheme adopted by the Raiders also made a difference for Otto.
“When I first put on the silver and black uniform, I knew I wanted to wear it forever,” he said in his autobiography.
His love for his team, loyalty, longevity, and determination earned Otto the nickname “Mr. Raider.”
From 1963 to 1974, the Raiders won seven division titles and the 1967 AFL Championship. Otto never returned to the title game after losing to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl LII, one of his few remaining disappointments. His team lost the AFL or AFC title game five times, but each time the opponent went on to win the Super Bowl.
Otto played with ferocious tenacity on the field, but he was equally generous to his opponents, teammates, and even the man who ultimately took his job. He coached Dave Dalby and appeared in 205 games with the Raiders over 14 seasons.
Dinners at Otto's house and the annual Halloween party were another way Otto displayed his persona off the field.
“Jim is the best center I've ever played against, no exceptions. He was a fighter, so he's hard to hold down.” bobby bell Hall of Fame linebacker for the rival Chiefs. “The rivalry between the Chiefs and Raiders was a dogfight on the field, but both teams were friends off the field. Jim is just a class guy. He's at the top of my pyramid. He was a team player. .”
After football, Otto worked as the Raiders' business manager for several years. He bought a walnut farm and worked until his body could no longer do it. He also owned several fast food franchises and other businesses.
However, his real passion was soccer.
“I loved soccer more than I can explain in understandable terms to someone who has never played soccer,” he said. “I couldn't even explain my motivation to my teammates. They thought it was insane for a soccer player to play with an injury that would normally sideline him.”
In a 2012 interview with PBS, Otto referred to his injury as a “gladiator battle scar.” Gladiators go until they can't go anymore. ”
Otto's legacy as the game's greatest center and one of the greatest iron men of all time will be forever preserved in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
