Las Vegas Raiders: 50 greatest players in franchise history

He might have been undersized coming out of the University of Miami in 1960 for the NFL, but he was good enough to start day one at center for the Raiders in the AFL. Jim Otto was not only a model of consistency at center for the Raiders, he was the cornerstone for what makes this football franchise so incredible.

Otto was first-team AFL all 10 seasons of the league’s existence. He made the AFL All-Star Team nine straight years from 1961 to 1969.

Otto is obviously a member of the AFL All-Time Team and helped the Silver and Black win their only AFL Championship in 1967.

After the AFL/NFL merger, Otto would give the Raiders five more years of high-end excellence on the offensive line.

He would make the Pro Bowl three times from 1970 to 1972, making first-team All-Pro twice in 1970 and 1971. Otto would retire in 1974 at the age of 36 after 15 years starring in the Raiders organization.

His recognizable jersey number 00 was a play on his last name “Aught-0”. Otto would be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 1980. His Canton classmates include Herb Adderley, Deacon Jones, and Bob Lilly.

What a class in all honesty! Otto is proof that a franchise’s greatest player can be a center and nobody should have a problem with that. Just to make the top-50 in the history of the Raiders is impressive. Big props to all the former Raiders who did.