May 19, 2024, 11:30 pm Eastern Time
Jim Otto, a Pro Football Hall of Fame center whose iconic No. 00 jersey anchored the center of the Oakland Raiders’ offensive line for 15 seasons, has died at the age of 86.
The Raiders, who moved from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020, announced his death Sunday night and called him “The Original Raider.” The cause of death was not immediately known.
– Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) May 20, 2024
To say that Otto was the dominant center of his era (some would say any era) would be an understatement. From the moment he first stooped over the ball in the Raiders’ first game in the new AFL in 1960, no one else would start at center for Oakland until Otto retired after the 1974 season.
“I had always done the best I could for the Raiders’ center, and it was a really good feeling to know that I had accomplished that,” Otto told Keynote USA in 2019.
He was the only All-AFL center in the league’s entire existence from 1960 to 1969, and was one of only three players to play in all 140 AFL regular season games (George Blanda and Gino Cappelletti were the others) .
Otto, who wore No. 50 during his first season in Oakland before switching to No. 00, was also selected to the Pro Bowl in the first three years after the AFL-NFL merger. He was a 10-time first-team All-Pro.
“I’ve often thought of being a football player as a gladiator,” Otto told Bleacher Report in 2009. “There’s something inside you that says, ‘I want to go out and prove myself.’ Most of the time you get injured. It’s the life you choose. Some people need a challenge in life and playing hockey or soccer was the way I was able to prove myself.
Despite a long list of injuries, Otto never missed a game in 15 years. But those injuries ultimately took a toll, as he endured more than 70 surgeries, many of them on his banged up knees, and in 2007 his right leg had to be amputated after two life-threatening infections. He also battled prostate cancer.
Hall of Fame center Jim Otto was able to see the Oakland Coliseum open. Focus on sport//Keynote USA/Getty Images
In their 15-year career, the Raiders won seven division titles and were AFL champions in 1967, losing to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II. He later returned to the Raiders to work in the front office.
Otto most recently served as the team’s director of special projects. He hosted former player reunions and fan events in luxury boxes, and made public appearances for the team.
He also played a key role in negotiating the team’s move to Oakland from Los Angeles before the 1995 season.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, his first year of eligibility. In 2019, he was named to the NFL 100 team of all time.
Otto grew up in Wausau, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Miami, where he played center on offense and linebacker on defense.
“I want to be a person who always gave his all for everyone, who was an all-around team guy,” Otto said in a 2016 interview with WSAW in Wausau. “Outside of sports, I was a team man for that organization. I want to be respected for that. I’ve never snubbed anyone. I don’t believe in that. I just love people.”
Otto is survived by his wife Sally, son Jim Jr. and daughter-in-law Leah, and his 14 grandchildren: Alice, Sarah, Amy, Amanda, Josiah, Hannah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jennifer, Avery, Noah, Aiden. , Romano and Ellie.
The Keynote USA contributed to this story.
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