Jim Otto James Edwin Otto ( born January 5 , 1938 ) is a former Professional Football center for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League . Early years . Otto played high school football at Wisconsin ' s Wausau High School , under coach Win Brockmeyer . He then went on to play collegiate football at the University of Miami . In addition to playing offensive center at UM , he also played linebacker on defense . Professional career . After no National Football League team showed interest in the undersized center , Otto signed with the Oakland Raiders of the new American Football League . He was issued jersey number 50 for the AFL ' s inaugural season , 1960 , but switched to his familiar 00 the next season . The AFL permitted the unusual number because it was a pun on Otto ' s name ( aught - oh ) . Otto worked diligently to build his body up to his playing weight of 250 pounds . For the next fifteen years , Otto became a fixture at center for the Raiders , never missing a single game due to injury . Including pre - season , regular season and post - season games , Otto competed in 308 consecutive games . With the Raiders , he won 1 AFL / AFC championship in 1967 against the Houston Oilers , but lost 5 : in 1968 , 1969 , and 1970 , 1973 , and 1974 to the New York Jets , Kansas City Chiefs , Baltimore Colts , Miami Dolphins , and Pittsburgh Steelers , respectively , all 5 teams winning the Super Bowl of their respective years , playing alongside Gene Upshaw , a Hall - of - Famer , at left guard from 1967 until Otto ' s final year in 1974 . In the 1967 regular season , Oakland scored 468 points ( 33 . 4 points / game ) , leading the AFL , but lost Super Bowl II to the Vince Lombardi - led Green Bay Packers . In the 1968 regular season , Oakland scored 453 points ( 32 . 4 points / game ) , once again leading the AFL , beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round before losing to the Jets . In the 1969 regular season , Oakland scored 377 points ( 26 . 9 points / game ) , once again leading the AFL , beating the Houston Oilers in the divisional round before losing to the Chiefs . In the 1970 regular season ( 1st year of the NFL - AFL merger ) , Oakland scored 300 points ( 21 . 4 points / game ) , 9th of 26 teams in the NFL , beating the Miami Dolphins in the 1970 - 71 NFL playoffs before losing to the Colts . The Raiders missed the playoffs for the first time in 5 years in 1971 , despite scoring 344 points ( 24 . 6 points / game ) , 2nd of 26 teams in the NFL . However , they came back stronger in 1972 , scoring 365 points ( 26 . 1 points / game ) , 3rd of 26 teams in the NFL , but lost 13 - 7 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round of the 1972 - 73 NFL playoffs , the infamous and outrageous ( from Oakland ' s point of view ) Immaculate Reception game . In the 1973 regular season , Oakland scored 292 points ( 20 . 9 points / game ) , 10th of 26 teams in the NFL and avenged their defeat at the hands of the Steelers during the 1973 - 74 NFL playoffs before losing to the Dolphins . In Otto ' s final year , 1974 , Oakland scored 355 points ( 25 . 4 points / game ) , leading the NFL , and then avenging their loss to the Dolphins during 1974 - 75 NFL playoffs before losing to the Steelers again . In 1975 , he was replaced by Dave Dalby . To this day , Otto embodies the toughness and determination the Raiders began to ferment in the mid - 1960s , after Al Davis took control of the team and later hired John Madden as head coach . Otto was one of only 20 players to play for the entire ten - year existence of the American Football League , and was selected as the Sporting News All - League center from 1960 through 1969 . He was an All - Star in the first 13 of his 15 seasons ( every year in the AFL from 1960 through 1969 ) and three of his five seasons in the NFL . He was also named the starting center on the AFL All - Time Team . He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 , the first year he was eligible . In 1999 , he was ranked number 78 on " The Sporting News " ' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players . Since 1995 , Otto has worked for the Raiders in the department of special projects and is active in the business world . As a show of respect , he always calls Raiders ' owner Al Davis " Mr . Davis . " Injuries and surgeries . Otto punished his body greatly during his NFL career , resulting in nearly 40 surgeries , including 28 knee operations ( nine of them during his playing career alone ) and multiple joint replacements . His joints are riddled with arthritis , and he has debilitating back and neck problems . One time , Otto nearly died on the operating table . He also fought off three life - threatening bouts of infections due to his artificial joints , and during one six - month stretch , was without a proper right knee joint because he had to wait for the infection to clear up before another artificial one could be implanted . Today , Otto is handicapped , but he says he wouldn ' t change a thing if given the opportunity to do it over again . It ' s detailed , proudly , in his book , " " The Pain of Glory " " published in 2000 . Jim Otto had his right leg amputated on August 1 , 2007 . Personal . During the 1980s , Otto was involved in numerous business ventures . He owned numerous Burger King Restaurants near Sacramento , California until the early 1990s . In 1997 , Otto ' s daughter , Jennifer , a 39 - year - old mother of four , died from a blood clot . Five years later , in 2002 , Otto was stricken with prostate cancer , though the cancer is currently in remission . Otto is also the subject of works by artist Matthew Barney . He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998 .