Jim Otto

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Full Name: James Edwin Otto Primary Position: C Height/Weight: 6' 2"/244 College: University of Miami Birthdate: January 5, 1938 High School: Wausau (WI) Birthplace: Wausau, Wisconsin Pro Experience: 5 years Hall of Fame

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[edit] Biography

James Edwin Otto (born January 5, 1938 in Wausau, Wisconsin) was an American football center for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League.

[edit] Wausau High School and University of Miami

Otto played high school football at Wisconsin's Wausau High School, under coach Win Brockmeyer. He then went on to play collegiate football at the University of Miami. In addition to playing offensive center at UM, he also played linebacker on defense.

[edit] Oakland Raiders

After no National Football League team showed interest in the undersized center, Otto signed with the Oakland Raiders of the new American Football League. He was issued uniform #50 for the AFL's inaugural season, 1960, but switched to his familiar #00 the next season. This number was originally permitted for him by the AFL as a marketing gimmick since his jersey number 00 is a homonym pun of his name (aught-O). Jim Otto worked diligently to build his body up to his normal playing weight of 250 pounds.

For the next fifteen years, Otto became a fixture at center for the Raiders, never missing a single game due to injury. Including pre-season, regular season and post-season games, Otto competed in 308 consecutive games.

To this day, Otto embodies the toughness and determination the Raiders began to ferment in the mid-1960s, after Al Davis took control of the team and later hired John Madden as head coach.

Otto was one of only 20 players to play for the entire ten-year existence of the American Football League. He was an All-Star in 12 of his 15 seasons and was named the starting center on the All-AFL team. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, the first year he was eligible.

Since 1995, Otto has worked for the Raiders in the department of special projects and is active in the business world. As a show of respect, he always calls Raiders' owner Al Davis "Mr. Davis."

[edit] Injuries and surgeries

Otto punished his body greatly during his NFL career, resulting in nearly 40 surgeries, including 28 knee operations (nine of them during his playing career alone) and multiple joint replacements. His joints are riddled with arthritis, and he has debilitating back and neck problems.

One time, Otto nearly died on the operating table. He also fought off three life-threatening bouts of infections due to his artificial joints, and during one six-month stretch, was without a proper right knee joint because he had to wait for the infection to clear up before another artificial one could be implanted. Today, Otto is handicapped, but he says he wouldn't change a thing if given the opportunity to do it over again. It's detailed, proudly, in his book, "The Pain of Glory" (ISBN 1-58261-066-5), published in 2000.

Otto was most recently in the news for criticizing current Cleveland Browns center LeCharles Bentley, who requested to wear the "00" in a tribute to Otto. Otto's response was that the request was "ridiculous".

[edit] Personal

In 1997, Otto's daughter, Jennifer, a 39-year-old mother of four, died from a blood clot. Five years later, in 2002, Otto was stricken with prostate cancer, though the cancer is currently in remission.

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