Legendary NFL center Jim Otto dies aged 86

Jim Otto, the Hall of Fame center known as “Mr. Raider’, due to his durability despite a litany of injuries, has died, the team confirmed Sunday evening. He was 86.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

‘The Original Raider’, the club said in a statement posted on the social platform X.

“The personification of consistency, Jim’s impact on the American Football League and professional football as a whole cannot be overstated. His leadership and tenacity were a hallmark of the dominant Raider teams of the 1960s and 1970s.”

Otto remained involved with the Raiders even after they moved to Las Vegas in 2020. He was one of the club’s past players. who were in the locker room following the Raiders’ 27-14 season win over the Denver Broncos in January.

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby posted on X that Otto was an ‘absolute legend and incredible person’.

Otto joined the Raiders for their first season in the American Football League in 1960 and was a fixture on the team for the next 15 years.

He never missed a game due to injuries, appearing in 210 consecutive regular season games and 308 consecutive games overall, despite undergoing nine knee surgeries during his playing career. His right leg was amputated in 2007.

Otto was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and is considered one of the AFL’s all-time greats.

He was believed to have undergone more than 50 operations, most for football-related injuries. They dealt with multiple joint replacements, arthritis and debilitating back and neck problems. His right leg was amputated in 2007.

After his career, Otto also developed prostate cancer and two serious infections.

“I can have any type of surgery in the world unless it’s something internal,” he said. “If it’s cosmetic, fixing your nose, fixing your knee, fixing your elbows or whatever, that’s nothing.”

Wearing his famous No. 00 jersey – a play on his name, ‘Aught-oh’ – Otto played in nine AFL All-Star games and the first three AFC-NFC Pro Bowls before being named to the Hall of Fame on the ballot.

Otto, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, played 210 consecutive regular season games.

Raiders star Maxx Crosby posted on X that Otto was an “absolute legend and incredible person.”

“All my career I worked hard to stay one level above the rest,” Otto once said. “Every day I walked onto the field, I was the best center. That’s how I wanted to be. With those expectations I continued to play at that level.’

Otto played a key role as the Raiders became one of the best organizations in professional football. The team won seven division titles in his last eight seasons and lost the Super Bowl to Green Bay after the 1967 season.

Born on January 5, 1938 in Wausau, Wisconsin, Otto grew up in poverty and even lived in a chicken coop with his family for a while. He left to play college football at the University of Miami, where he played as a center and linebacker.

He went undrafted by the NFL in 1959 before signing with the Raiders of the new AFL the following year. He was one of only twenty players to play in the AFL for the entire decade.

Otto most recently served as the team’s director of special projects. He organized reunions for former players and fan events in the luxury boxes, and made public appearances for the team.

He also played a key role in negotiating the team’s move from Los Angeles to Oakland before the 1995 season. The Raiders left the Bay Area for Las Vegas in 2020.

Otto is survived by his wife Sally, his son Jim Jr. and daughter-in-law Leah, and his 14 grandchildren – Alice, Sarah, Amy, Amanda, Josiah, Hannah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jennifer, Avery, Noah, Aiden, Roman and Ellie.