The Raiders and the NFL lost one of the greatest centers to ever lace up cleats when Jim Otto passed on Sunday.
Otto, coined “The Original Raider,” was with the team since its American Football League inception in 1960. He spent 15 seasons as the Oakland Raiders’ center, never missing a game in his career. The Raiders won seven divisional titles and an AFL League Championship with Otto at center, including the team’s first Super Bowl berth following the 1967 season.
He was a member of the NFL 100 All-Time Team and the only all-league center the American Football League ever had. He was the first original Raider to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, his first year of eligibility.
“Jim Otto personified the aura and mystique of the Raiders. He was ‘The Original Raider,’ leading a new franchise from its inception into its first run of glory years from the late 1960s into the 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 acquired serve as a testament to his dedication to the organization and the game.
“The Pro Football Hall of Fame will guard his legacy with the same diligence and tenacity that he guarded his teammates.”
In remembrance of the late Hall of Famer, here are a few quotes from some of the people that knew and loved Otto dearly – as a teammate, leader, friend, husband and father.
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