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Jim Otto
James Edwin Otto (January 5, 1938 – May 19, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a center for 15 seasons with the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes.
One of the most durable centers in football history, Otto was named a First-team All-Pro in ten seasons, nine in the AFL and once in the NFL. He was the first player in pro football history to have ten First-team All-Pro selections, a mark achieved only once (Jerry Rice) since. Otto was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, his first year of eligibility. He was also named to the AFL All-Time Team and NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Otto was born on January 5, 1938, in Wausau, Wisconsin. His parents Lorenz and Loretta (Totsch) Otto worked a variety of jobs to help the family get by, and they had so little when Otto was a boy they could not afford new shoes to keep his feet warm and dry in Wisconsin's winters. Growing up as a child, he wanted to be a football player like Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch. He recalled Hirsch once saying, "‘if you put your heart into it, you can do it.’”
Otto played football at Wausau High School from 1953-55. He was a linebacker and center for the Lumberjacks, under coach Win Brockmeyer; who also coached Otto's hero Crazylegs Hirsch at Wausau. Brockmeyer considered Otto a "terrific competitor" with his most important contribution to Wausau's team coming on defense.
Otto, the team co-captain, and the Lumberjacks were 18–5–2 during his high school football career. It has also been reported the team was 21–3–1. He was particularly inspired by his offensive line coach, Tom Yelich. At a 1980 banquet honoring Otto in Wausau, Otto credited Yelich with teaching the technique Otto then used throughout college and professional football. “'Yelich was the first coach I ever had, and he helped me more than any coach since.'”
Otto broke his ankle in high school one season. Instead of sitting out, he taped it up before each game and played on it throughout the season.
Otto had offers from 48 colleges to play college football, and with the help of Brockmeyer chose the University of Miami in South Florida, where he played varsity football from 1957 to 1959 under coach Andy Gustafson. In addition to playing offensive center at the University of Miami, he also played linebacker on defense. He became the team's starting center as a junior in 1958, weighing only 193 pounds (87.5 kg). As a senior, he played in the North-South Shrine game for the South college all star team at center.
While at Miami, he joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
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Jim Otto
James Edwin Otto (January 5, 1938 – May 19, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a center for 15 seasons with the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes.
One of the most durable centers in football history, Otto was named a First-team All-Pro in ten seasons, nine in the AFL and once in the NFL. He was the first player in pro football history to have ten First-team All-Pro selections, a mark achieved only once (Jerry Rice) since. Otto was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, his first year of eligibility. He was also named to the AFL All-Time Team and NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Otto was born on January 5, 1938, in Wausau, Wisconsin. His parents Lorenz and Loretta (Totsch) Otto worked a variety of jobs to help the family get by, and they had so little when Otto was a boy they could not afford new shoes to keep his feet warm and dry in Wisconsin's winters. Growing up as a child, he wanted to be a football player like Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch. He recalled Hirsch once saying, "‘if you put your heart into it, you can do it.’”
Otto played football at Wausau High School from 1953-55. He was a linebacker and center for the Lumberjacks, under coach Win Brockmeyer; who also coached Otto's hero Crazylegs Hirsch at Wausau. Brockmeyer considered Otto a "terrific competitor" with his most important contribution to Wausau's team coming on defense.
Otto, the team co-captain, and the Lumberjacks were 18–5–2 during his high school football career. It has also been reported the team was 21–3–1. He was particularly inspired by his offensive line coach, Tom Yelich. At a 1980 banquet honoring Otto in Wausau, Otto credited Yelich with teaching the technique Otto then used throughout college and professional football. “'Yelich was the first coach I ever had, and he helped me more than any coach since.'”
Otto broke his ankle in high school one season. Instead of sitting out, he taped it up before each game and played on it throughout the season.
Otto had offers from 48 colleges to play college football, and with the help of Brockmeyer chose the University of Miami in South Florida, where he played varsity football from 1957 to 1959 under coach Andy Gustafson. In addition to playing offensive center at the University of Miami, he also played linebacker on defense. He became the team's starting center as a junior in 1958, weighing only 193 pounds (87.5 kg). As a senior, he played in the North-South Shrine game for the South college all star team at center.
While at Miami, he joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.