Jim Otto, the former Raiders center who without regret sacrificed his body for the sport he loved, has died, the team announced Sunday. He was 86 years old. “The Raiders Family is in deep mourning following the passing of Jim Otto.
..The Original Raider,” the team said in a statement.
“The personification of consistency, Jim’s influence on the American Football League and professional football as a whole cannot be overstated.” One of the most decorated offensive linemen in NFL history, Otto stood out at an anonymous position in part because of his “00” number which was given to him because of the first and last letters of his last name. He originally wore No.
50. Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, Otto is also a member of the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame and the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. He was a member of the All-Time AFL Team as well as the NFL’s Top 100 players, a list created in 2019.
Bound to a wheelchair in recent years, Otto had his right leg amputated at the knee in 2007 and at one point counted 74 surgeries resulting from the ravages of professional football. While recognizing the dangers inherent in the sport, Otto discussed his physical issues in matter-of-fact fashion in a Frontline interview in 2013. “Those are the battle scars of a gladiator,” Otto said.
“The gladiator goes until he can’t go anymore and that’s what I’m doing. I’m going to continue to do the best I can with what I have and I’m going .