May 20, 2024, 9:35 a.m. ET
The face of the franchise, immortalized in the Hall of Fame in 1980, died at the age of 86
Jim Otto, Raiders legend and Hall of Famer since 1980, died Sunday at age 86.
“The Raider family is in deep mourning following the passing of Jim Otto. The original Raider. His leadership and tenacity were a hallmark of the dominant Raiders teams of the 1960s and 1970s,” the team wrote in a statement.
Otto, from the University of Miami, was an iron man who set the Raiders’ mark of 210 consecutive regular season games played, from his first game as a rookie in 1960 to the last game of his retirement campaign in 1974.
Jim Otto played 210 consecutive regular season games with the Oakland Raiders. Focus on Sport/Getty Images
That figure increases to 308 games in a row if you count the playoff games and Pro Bowls in which he participated.
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) May 20, 2024
The legendary American football player, coach and analyst, John Madden, who died in 2021, described Jim Otto as the prototypical player of this sport.
“If someone came from another planet and wanted to know what an American football player was like, I would show them a photograph of Jim Otto, without a doubt the best center who ever played,” were Madden’s words about the historic player.
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Jim Otto’s numbers support this view.
In 15 years with the then-Oakland Raiders he accumulated seven division titles, one AFL championship, one year before the merger with the NFL, 10 All-Pro selections, 12 Pro Bowl appearances and was part of the all-time team. of the NFL 100.
The former player, born in Wausau, Wisconsin, on January 5, 1938, published his autobiography in 2000 under the title ‘Jim Otto: The Pain of Glory’.
In it he recounts the 38 surgeries he suffered, 28 of them on his knees, as a result of his time in American football.
Phil Villapiano, his former teammate who played for the Raiders between 1971 and 1979, mourned the death of the one he described as a leader.
“Rest in peace Jim Otto. He was the face of the Oakland Raiders for a long time. His attitude became the hallmark of this team. He was our leader,” Villapiano wrote on his social networks.
Maxx Crosby, current defensive star of the Las Vegas Raiders, also joined in the condolences.
“Rest in peace Jim. An absolute legend and an incredible person,” Crosby posted on his X account, formerly Twitter.
2024-05-20 13:35:00
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