Jim Otto

Raiderdrive would like to give a special thanks to Mr. Jim Otto "OO" for granting (Raiderdrive) permission for using tidbits from his book "The Pain of Glory". Note: some pictures that are with the stories may not be in Otto's book but pictures with "Otto" labeled are.

Some quotes are from "The Pain Of Glory" book and interview from Otto himself. A great book with some great insights of Otto's life, Raiders and players.

Jim Otto has been called by football experts the greatest center who ever played.

"Jim played through pain I can't understand. One day, he took off his pants, and one leg was a deep red. The ankle and the calf were the same size. I asked what happened, and he said that he had a torn leg muscle. I asked if he going to practice, and he said "yeah." He pulled on his sweats and went out and practiced. Jim covers up so much, even now. He doesn't want to show any sign of weakness. Guys like Jim never let you down."-Marv Hubbard, fullback, Oakland Raiders, 1969-75

Men In Black

As AFL commissioner, Al tried to raid the NFL's premier quarterbacks. Raiders are supposed to raid, aren't they? Raiders are pirates, and Al's attempted quarterbacks act was an act of piracy in the truest since.

Al would have made a great pirate. Or ship's captain for that matter. If Al had been in charge of the bounty, there would be no mutiny. For Captain Sly-that's Al-is a much better leader of men than Captain Bligh.

Renegades naturally attract renegades. Thus the Oakland Raiders were built by Al in Al's image. We became the NFL's equivalent of the Hell's Angels. When we rode into town, citizens cowered in fear. We took what we wanted, then left, and nobody tried to stop us. They were happy to see us go.

Al believes in striking fear in opponents. Occasionally we'd be beaten on the field, but no team beat us up. We were to damn tough. Even when we didn't win, we'd take a piece out of the other team.

We hit harder than anybody, sometimes after the whistle. Well, you can't always put a stop watch on aggression. And if teams didn't like the way we hit them, we'd hit them even harder the next play.

Police cars escorted us to stadiums on Sunday. Police cars parked outside our practice facility the rest of the week. We were under continual surveillance. It was if Elliot Ness was the league commissioner. The word "lineup" had a double meaning in Oakland.

It was standard policy for Al to bring in players who had failed else where. Some of these players had been cut by several teams. Maybe they were to rowdy or non-conventional-two ideal requirements for becoming a Raider. These castoffs then would excel for us. Al only cared if guys could play football. He didn't care that much about appearance. The Raiders were the first pro football franchise not to wear coats and ties on road trips. Al wasn't concerned with our lifestyle either, which explained the police visits to our workout site.

However, we were too clever for John Law. We had our secret exits in Alameda. Thus the police didn't always spot us leaving after practice. Those escapes proved to be some of our most deceptive plays.

Al picked up players to help us win, but also to make a life for themselves. These players wanted to show they could succeed in this world of ours without having to be choir boys. Hey, pro football isn't "Up With People". It's more like down with the Steelers.

John Matuszak was another reject to us barely. While playing for Kansas City, he nearly died in an ambulance from a heavy mixture of drugs and alcohol. His heart actually stopped, but Paul Wiggin, then the Chiefs coach, pounded on his chest in the ambulance to get the heart beating.

Matuzack was a powerful man with powerful demons. He couldn't stop abusing even after football, and so he died an early death. Tooz said the only fun he ever had in football was playing for the Raiders. He was a run-stuffing defensive end in our first Super Bowl championship season in 1976.

Davis also brought in Lyle Alzado, who had been a force at defensive end in Denver and Cleveland. But this wild-child lifestyle-he boxed Muhammad Ali-made him expendable in both places. He played for our third Super Bowl Championship team in 1983. Like Tooz, Lyle said he never enjoyed himself more in football than his time with the Raiders. His life ended prematurely, too, from cancer that Lyle blamed on steroids.

For those interested in purchasing this great book by one of the best centers in NFL history, if not the best, you can request it at Barnes & Noble or you popular neighborhood book stores or at;

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Jim Otto #OO "The Pain Of Glory"

Men In Black