Former Oakland Raiders center Jim Otto poses with a bust enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 2, 1980 in Canton, Ohio.
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Former Oakland Raiders center Jim Otto poses with a bust enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 2, 1980 in Canton, Ohio.
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Jim Otto, the Hall of Fame center known as “Mr. Raider” for his durability through repeated injuries, has died, the team announced Sunday night. He was 86 years old.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
“The original Raider,” the club said in a statement posted on social platform X. “The embodiment of consistency, Jim's influence on the American Football League and professional football as a whole cannot be overstated. His leadership and tenacity were his hallmarks.” 1960s and the dominant Raider teams of the 70s. ”
Otto remained involved with the Raiders after they moved to Las Vegas in 2020. He was one of the club's former players in the locker room after the Raiders' 27-14 season-ending win over the Denver Broncos in January.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby wrote in a post on X that Otto was “an absolute legend and an incredible person.”
“He's a warrior.”
Otto joined the Raiders in 1960, their first season in the American Football League, and remained with the team for the next 15 years.
Despite undergoing nine knee surgeries during his playing days, he never missed a game due to injury, playing in 210 consecutive regular season games and 308 consecutive games in total. His right leg was amputated in 2007.
“He's a warrior,” former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon once said. “When I think of the tough Raider of old, I think of Jim Otto.”
Otto was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and is considered one of the greatest players in AFL history.
“Jim Otto embodied the aura and mystique of the Raiders,” Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said in a statement. “He was the 'Original Raider,' leading the new franchise from its inception through its first glory period in the late 1960s and 1970s. His legacy includes 210 consecutive starts in the AFL and NFL. His credibility and the accolades he has earned are a testament to his dedication to the organization and the game.”
Hall of Famer Jim Otto is pictured before the NFL football game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, September 24, 2023, in Las Vegas.
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Hall of Famer Jim Otto is pictured before the NFL football game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, September 24, 2023, in Las Vegas.
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Otto is believed to have had more than 50 surgeries, mostly for football-related injuries, including multiple joint replacements, arthritis, and weakened back and neck, and in 2007 had his right leg amputated.
Otto also suffered from prostate cancer and two major infections during his career.
“I can undergo any kind of surgery in the world, except for internal ones,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s just fixing your appearance, whether it’s fixing your nose, fixing your knee, fixing your elbow.”
Key player No.00
Wearing his famous No. 00 jersey, a play on his name “Augh-oh,” Otto appeared in nine AFL All-Star Games and the first three AFC-NFC Pro Bowls, and was named to the Hall of Fame in his first year. He made it in. on the ballot.
“Throughout my career, I worked hard to continue to maintain a higher level than anyone else,” Otto once said. “When I got on the field every day, I was the best center I could be. That's what I wanted to be. I continued to play at that level with that expectation.”
Otto was key to the Raiders becoming one of the best organizations in pro football. The team won seven district titles in its final eight seasons, but lost to Green Bay in the Super Bowl following the 1967 season.
He played his final season alongside Hall of Fame offensive linemen Gene Upshaw and Art Shell. Those raiders physically overwhelmed the enemy.
“There was some kind of threat,” he said. “Teams didn't like coming to Oakland because of the fans and the football team.”
The Raiders also developed a reputation for partying hard. Legend has it that the players showed up in time for the 11pm bed check and walked out the door.
“No matter what happened the night before, we were all at practice the next morning,” Otto said.
From poverty to legend
Born on January 5, 1938 in Wausau, Wisconsin, Otto grew up in poverty, at one point living with his family in a chicken coop, and dropped out to play college football at the University of Miami, where he played center and linebacker.
He went undrafted by the NFL in 1959 and signed with the new AFL's Raiders the following year. He was one of only 20 players to play 10 years in the AFL.
Otto most recently served as the team's director of special projects. He organized reunions for former players, events for fans in the luxury box, and made public appearances on behalf of the team.
He also played a key role in negotiating the team's return from Los Angeles to Oakland before the 1995 season. The Raiders left the Bay Area in 2020 and headed to Las Vegas.
Otto is survived by his wife Sally, son Jim Jr., daughter-in-law Leah, and 14 grandchildren: Alice, Sarah, Amy, Amanda, Josiah, Hannah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jennifer, Avery, Noah, and Aiden. It is left behind. Roman and Ellie.
