Jim Otto

Advisory Board

In 1980, Jim Otto was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, on the 20th anniversary of his first American Football League season. He was the first Oakland Raider and only the third AFL graduate to be so honored—a remarkable feat considering that he wasn't even offered a contract by any National Football League team.

It was no surprise that Otto was elected to the Hall in his first year of eligibility. For 13 straight years, he was All-Pro, the only all-AFL center in the league's history, followed by three years as an all-AFC-NFC Pro Bowl selection. He played in each of the AFL's all-star games and in the first three AFC-NFC Pro Bowl games. Altogether, Otto played 308 games as a Raider, including 210 straight regular-season games as a starter, 73 pre-season contests, 12 all-star matches and 13 playoff games, among them Super Bowl II.