Miami football legend and NFL Hall of Famer Jim Otto has died

The Miami football program and the NFL lost a legend on Sunday with the death of former Oakland Raiders center Jim Otto. Otto played at Miami from 1957 to 1959 and was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1972. During his career in Miami, Otto played center and linebacker.

After his playing career in Miami, Otto went undrafted in the NFL, but was selected by the proposed Minneapolis franchise in the new American Football League. When the Minneapolis ownership group declined to join the AFL in favor of accepting an NFL expansion franchise, Otto's rights were transferred to Oakland.

Otto played all ten AFL seasons with Oakland before merging with the NFL. After the merger, Otto played five more seasons with the Raiders. In their first season in the NFL after the merger, Otto and the Raiders lost to the Green Bay Packers in Superbowl I.

Otto is one of nine Miami football alums and the only former Hurricanes offensive lineman in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ted Hendricks, another Miami football legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer, was a teammate of Otto's on the Raiders in the 1970s.

Otto was one of only 20 players to play all 10 AFL seasons, and only one of three to play in every game for his team during his 10 years in the nascent league. During and after his career, Otto had 74 operations.

Otto was the first Miami football alum inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Pro football writers who vote on Hall of Famers voted Otto in his first season in 1980. In 2012, Otto told PBS Frontline in the episode “League of Denial” that his right leg had to be amputated.

Upon his retirement, Otto had 210 consecutive starts, seventh in AFL/NFL league history. Otto is one of 10 centers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Chuck Bednarik, who was also a linebacker, was the only center inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame before Otto.

Otto is survived by his wife Sally, son Jim Jr., daughter-in-law Leah and 14 grandchildren. Otto is the second Miami Hurricanes Pro Football Hall of Famer to die. Cortez Kennedy died in 2017 at the age of 47. Devin Hester and Andre Johnson will become the 10th and 11th Miami graduates inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August.