Center Jim Otto, also known as "Mr. Raider," passes away at age 86
Henderson, Nevada Jim Otto, a famous
center wearing the No. 00 jersey that supported the Oakland Raiders' offensive
line for 15 seasons and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, passed
away at the age of 86.
The Raiders, who relocated to Las Vegas from Oakland in 2020, declared his
passing on Sunday night, referring to him as "The Original Raider."
It was not immediately clear what caused the death.
Many would argue that Otto was the dominant figure of any era, but his one
constant ambition was, "Never will they kick my butt."
In fact, Otto missed just one game
during his 15-year career, kicking most of the time. Otto started 210 straight
regular-season games, 223 of which included postseason games, from the AFL's
founding season in 1960 through the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and his retirement
after the 1974 season. He was selected to the first team of the All-Pro team
ten times and was a Pro Bowler twelve times.
In the Raiders organization, he was referred to as "Pops" in later
years.
In 2014, he declared, "I accept that and cherish that."
For a considerable amount of time, Otto did not dispute with the suggestion
that his visage should be the eye-patch wearing logo on the side of the team's
helmet.
"But with a broken nose,"
he made a jest at that moment.
During the AFL's 60-year existence, he was the only center to be named All-AFL
and one of just three players to have appeared in all 140 regular-season games
(the other two being Gino Cappelletti and George Blanda).
Otto stated in 2021, "Playing football was always a serious proposition
for me." "I wanted to take my wife home with me, put everyone on
their ass, and smile." So, I found the game to be difficult. I had Ray
Nitschke type individuals. I wanted to grab hold of him and slap him about. The
same thing he wants to do to me. We had a terrific experience."
Otto claimed that in a 1972 game,
Nitschke delivered the heaviest hit he has ever taken.
In 2014, Otto remarked, "He broke my facemask in here, which broke my nose
and set it over here." "My zygomatic arch bone and cheekbone were
broken, and my left eye's retina was separated. My left eye was blind for six
months. It was awful. I was unable to see as it all swelled, but I continued to
play. I never stopped playing the game."
Otto claimed he had no regrets in
spite of a lengthy list of injuries. But those wounds did not come without a
price: according to him, he had over 20 concussions, 74 operations, and in 2007
he had to have his right leg amputated above the knee due to two potentially
fatal infections. He was also affected by prostate cancer.
The title of his memoirs was "The Pain of Glory."
"I know that I went to war and I came out of the battle with what I got,
and that's the way it is," Otto stated during the PBS "Frontline"
episode "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis."
"My eyes would frequently be
crossed when I would leave the field. What if you experienced amnesia for two
days instead? "You know that feeling you get when you look at your spouse
and you're like, 'Who's this chick?'"
During his first season in Oakland, Otto wore No. 50 before moving to No. 00.
In the initial three years following the AFL-NFL merger, he was also chosen for
the Pro Bowl.
The Raiders became AFL champions in 1967 and won seven division titles during
his 15-year tenure. However, they were defeated by the Green Bay Packers in the
Super Bowl II. Later on, Otto went back to work in the front office for the
Raiders.
Otto was the team's director of
special initiatives until recently. In addition to making public appearances
for the team, he assisted in planning events for fans in the luxury boxes and
reunions for past players.
Prior to the 1995 season, he was instrumental in arranging the team's return
from Los Angeles to Oakland.
In January, Otto was in the Raiders' locker room enjoying the team's victory
over the Denver Broncos in the season finale.
Former Raiders All-Pro right tackle
Lincoln Kennedy told ESPN, "When you come across a person who affects you
in a way, both personally and professionally, with everything he's gone
through, Pops was the founder behind the iron that created the Raider
family." "He showed me what it meant to be a Raider when I joined the
team in 1996. The meaning of being a Raider.
"He stated he would play again there if he could, even if he was on
crutches and would lose his leg. Being a member of the group made me feel
proud. Another member of the family has passed away."
Maxx Crosby, a three-time Pro Bowl
pass rusher with the Raiders, was one of several people who posted on social
media on Sunday night to discuss Otto's legacy.
1980 marked Otto's first year of eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame,
and he was inducted. He was added to the NFL 100 all-time team in 2019.
In 2009, during an unplanned get-together at Ricky's, the Raiders sports bar
and grill, Otto was persuaded to remove his pant leg and display his black
prosthetic limb, which bore the Raiders shield emblem.
Otto laughed and said, "I might
have gotten a little excited, that my pants fell off," in 2014. "It's
like that old country-western song -- tequila makes my clothes fall off."
Otto was a standout center on offense and linebacker on defense at the
University of Miami, where he attended and grew up less than 100 miles from the
future site of Lambeau Field.
Despite not being selected by the NFL, he became the symbol of a generation of
offensive lineman in the AFL who were bitter about the system.
Yes, he was known among the team as
the "Original Raider."
Otto stated in 2021, "I had some things toward Green Bay because I'm from
Wausau, Wisconsin." "You know, I just wanted to level them off. I'm
grateful to everyone for it; it was a wonderful thing I had."
Along with his wife, Sally, son, Jim, daughter-in-law, Leah, and his fourteen
grandchildren, Alice, Sarah, Amy, Amanda, Josiah, Hannah, Jeremiah, Isaiah,
Jennifer, Avery, Noah, Aiden, Roman, and Ellie, survive Otto.