Jim Otto, the Hall of Fame center who never missed a game during his 15 seasons with the Raiders in the 1960s and 1970s, died at the age of 86, the organization announced on Sunday night. No cause of death was specified.
“The Raiders Family is in deep mourning following the passing of Jim Otto,” the Las Vegas Raiders announced in a statement on X (previously Twitter). “The original raider. Jim, the personification of constancy, had a profound impact on the American Football League and professional football in general. His leadership and toughness were defining characteristics of the successful Raider teams of the 1960s and 1970s.”
Otto was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, his first year of eligibility, following a speech by late Raiders owner Al Davis.
“For more than a decade, he was the standard of excellence by which centers were judged in professional football,” Davis said of Otto during the address. “He was the most decorated offensive lineman in the history of pro football. However, numbers are only a measure of accomplishment and not of a guy. If it is true that great men encourage others to be great, Jim qualifies as a great man.
On Sunday night, the Raiders released a video of current owner Mark Davis lighting his father’s memorial torch in Allegiant Stadium.
In Otto’s Honor Otto, an undrafted rookie from the University of Miami in 1960, was the first to snap the ball for the Oakland Raiders, a first-year team in the fledgling American Football League, which played with the NFL until the leagues merged in 1970. He was a 10-time All-AFL pick, the only center to receive that honor, and was named to 12 Pro Bowls before retiring following the 1974 season.
He is one of three players to have appeared in every game of the AFL’s ten seasons. The other two are Gino Capelletti of the Boston Patriots and George Blanda of the Houston Oilers and Raiders.
Otto was nicknamed “Double 0,” after his jersey number 00 (a reference to the pronunciation of his surname, “Aught-oh”), which he wore every season save his first, when he was assigned No. 50. 
He also gained the nickname “Mr. Raider” during his career, which included 210 consecutive regular-season games and 223 consecutive games counting playoffs. He played through several diseases and medical issues, including nine knee operations during his career.
“There’s something inside of you that says, ‘I want to go out there and prove my worth,'” Otto explained to Bleacher Report in 2009. “Most of the time, you’ll sustain injuries. That is the life you choose. Some people need a challenge in life, so they play hockey or rugby. Football
This was how I could prove myself.” In a 2012 interview with PBS’ “Frontline,” Otto revealed that he had been operated on 74 times in his life. He underwent many joint replacements, as well as surgeries to treat arthritis and painful neck and back problems. Otto’s right leg was amputated above the knee in 2007, following two serious infections. Otto also told “Frontline” that he had had more than 20 concussions.
“I think that everything that has caused my body to be a problem has been from football, you know?” stated the athlete.
Otto stated in 2002 that he had advanced prostate cancer.
“A couple of years ago, with readings like mine, you would have had six months to live,” Otto told The Times’ Sam Farmer. “[But] we’ve got a way of fighting it, and we’re going to kick its butt.”
Four years later, after concluding his treatment at the UC Davis Cancer Center, Otto agreed to lead the center’s $35 million capital and endowment campaign.
“I just want to see more people being saved and cured of cancer,” Otto stated at the time. “That’s why I am doing this. You do not want anyone else to go through the misery of a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Especially children. I’ve seen the kids in the pediatric ward, and that eats
Your heart out. Something needs to be done. Otto was born on January 5, 1938, in Wausau, Wisconsin. His family lived in poverty, and at one time they had to move inside a chicken coop for safety. He attended Wausau High School and played center and linebacker at Miami before helping the Raiders become a dominant force in the AFL and eventually the NFL. They won their division in seven of Otto’s final eight seasons, including the AFL championship after the 1967 season before falling to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II.
“RIP Jim Otto,” Raiders’ outstanding defensive end. Maxx Crosby tweeted on Sunday night. “Absolute Legend & Incredible Person.”
Otto started every game for all eight seasons, along with future Hall of Fame offensive guard Gene Upshaw. “Jim Otto personified the aura and mystique of the Raiders,” according to Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter. “… The Pro Football Hall of Fame will guard his legacy with the same diligence and tenacity that he guarded his teammates.”
Otto maintained tight links to the Raiders organization after retiring as a player. He was instrumental in arranging the team’s return to Oakland from Los Angeles prior to the 1995 season (the Raiders relocated to Las Vegas in 2020) and most recently served as the club’s director of special projects.
Otto went to the locker room in January after his team’s season-ending victory over the Denver Broncos.
“The @Raiders lost a legend in HOF Jim Otto,” Rich Gannon, the Raiders’ quarterback from 1999 to 2004, said Monday on X. “I’ll never forget my initial meeting with him at Alameda’s equipment room. His stories were legendary, but it was his kindness and humility that I will remember most. “God bless, brother!”
He is survived by his wife, Sally, son Jim, daughter-in-law Leah, and 14 grandchildren, including Alice, Sarah, Amy, Amanda, Josiah, Hannah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jennifer, Avery, Noah, Aiden, Roman, and Ellie.
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