By Noah Manderfeld
Published: May. 19, 2024 at 11:04 PM CDT
WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - Wausau native and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Otto died Sunday night, the Las Vegas Raiders announced in a statement. He was 86 years old.
Otto was a graduate of Wausau High School in 1956 where he starred as a center and linebacker under legendary head coach Win Brockmeyer. He went on to play pro football with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League, becoming a fixture for 15 years at center for the Raiders. He never missed a game due to injury, playing in 2010 consecutive games, earning the nickname ‘Mr. Raider’. He was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, his first season eligible.
“The Raiders Family is in deep mourning following the passing of Jim Otto. The Original Raider,” the Las Vegas Raiders 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”
“Jim was a man whose words and actions epitomized the motto ‘Commitment to Excellence’”
He was believed to have undergone more than 50 operations, most because of football-related injuries. Those dealt with multiple joint replacements, arthritis, and debilitating back and neck problems. His right leg was amputated in 2007.
Otto also had prostate cancer and two major infections after his career.
“I think about the injuries and I think about all the things I’ve gone through in my life. I’m very happy that I’m here. I’m very happy I did what I did,” Otto said in a 2016 interview with NewsChannel 7′s Dale Ryman. “That’s what I wanted to do as a little boy here in Wausau. I wanted to be a football player like Elroy ‘crazy legs’ Hirsch, and that’s what I went out to be, and there were times right now that I’m sore. It gets you thinking you know, did I do right, did I do wrong? Where did I go wrong? And you know, you say a prayer and it all comes back to me, Jim you did what you wanted to do.”
“I want to be a person who always gave the most for everybody, that I was a team man in all respects. Out of sports, I was a team man for that organization. I want to be respected for that. I’ve never snubbed anybody. I don’t believe in that. I just love people.”
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 inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot.
“Throughout my career, I worked hard to continue to stay a level above everyone else,” Otto once said. “Every day I walked on to the field, I was the best center. That’s the way I wanted to be. I continued to play at that level with those expectations.”
Otto was a key as the Raiders became one of the best organizations in professional football. The team won seven division titles in his final eight seasons and lost the Super Bowl to Green Bay following the 1967 season.
He played his final seasons with fellow Hall of Famers offensive linemen Gene Upshaw and Art Shell. Those Raiders physically dominated their opponents.
“There was some intimidation,” he said. “Teams didn’t like to come to Oakland because of the fans and the football team.”
The Raiders also developed a reputation for partying as hard as they hit. Legend has it that players would show up just in time for bed check at 11 p.m., then head back out the door.
“No matter what happened the night before, they were all at practice the next morning,” Otto said.
He went undrafted by the NFL in 1959, before signing with the Raiders of the new AFL the next year. He was one of only 20 players to play in the AFL for its entire 10 years.
Otto most recently served as the team’s director of special projects. He organized reunions for former players and events for fans in the luxury boxes, and made public appearances for the team.
He also played a key role in negotiating the team’s move back to Oakland from Los Angeles 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 and 14 grandchildren.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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