Both the pain and the glory are relived this week as Jim, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fames Class of 1980, steps into the Gold Jacket Spotlight. And sure, this hurts, but, you know -- and it can hurt somebody, but I don't think a guy should get fined for doing something he was taught to do all through high school, in college and now in the pros. Soon, attorneys were winning workers compensation cases throughout the league, which caused doctors to be more cautious with their diagnoses. WebJim Otto, Mr. He had his right leg amputated in 2007. I never went out of the game. I was at a gathering in August, I guess it was, and Jim Brown was there, and he was saying the same thing, that it was different back then. Some things couldnt be measured, however, like Jims self-motivation, commitment and pride. Double-zero recalls stories about all of his famous Raider teammates, his most memorable opponents, and the behind-the-scenes life of an NFL Hall of Famer. What's going on? 35. His dedication and durability symbolized the teams Commitment to Excellence motto. In a playoff game in 1970, Garrison broke three ribs in the first quarter and continued playing after he was carried off the field. Jim Otto, center for the Oakland Raiders, poses on Aug. 15, 1970. He played the game like it was supposed to be played, with pain and passion., 5. I don't know what other players are thinking. And yet I'd be playing, you know? The desire of Ray Lewis to be the greatest linebacker in NFL history is fueled by an inner toughness that manifests itself on the football field. I mean, in the line it's war. If I had a graph I could show you it. Jim Otto: The Pain of Glory is the story about a man who fought through numerous injuries, frequent surgeries, and a myriad of other maladies. So all of a sudden here comes Raymond into the game. 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. OK, you started by saying that suicide is not something that people talk about in the NFL, or have [not] until fairly recently anyhow. Players were not allowed to get medical second opinions until 1982, according to the NFLPA. It was a matter of pride in the way we did things. Including pre-season, regular season and post-season games, Otto competed in 308 consecutive games. Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis made the announcement Wednesday as part of a wide-ranging news conference touching on the state of the team, the recent death of Bill Walsh and pensions for former NFL players. Nearly two out of three retirees live with a permanent injury. Raider," Jim Otto - Sports There's so many things psychologically that can affect each and every person in this world, not just football players. You're taught to lead with your head. 30. And that happened to me in college, too, so it -- each time [I] had a very sickly feeling after it had happened, you know? Some players have catheterized themselves and replaced their own urine with clean samples before testing.. That is my complete and honest feeling. WebLatest on C Jim Otto including news, stats, videos, highlights and more on NFL.com I put my head down and charged into the hole. And then you have a guy like Junior Seau come along this last year. As he approached me on the sideline, he shook his head and said, That last guy really gave me a good lick, coach.' Bleier's story is one of the greatest in the history of sports. Curtis was nicknamed The Animal and was one of the angriest men to ever play in the NFL. Now, you were talking about Webster and how he would approach the game. PBS Privacy Policy Csonka is also the only player in the history of the NFL to be penalized while carrying the balla forearm shot/right cross that knocked a safety unconscious. Never misses a down. Thats when doctors operated on his back for 11 1/2 hours to remove scar tissue and insert rods, screws and ties so he could walk again. Favre has started 287 consecutive games, including the postseason, an all-time record for a quarterback. I was hitting him with such force, and he was coming at me with such force that this is what happened. Nobody is giving me any special help. Grasping lifes highs and lows for Jim Otto his excellence on the football field and the lifelong physical toll achieving that excellence extracted requires little more than reading the first few pages of his aptly titled autobiography, The Pain of Glory.. The scouts also found out that Otto had suffered some shoulder injuries, and that Otto loved the contact that football provided and destroyed anyone on the opposing team looking to get past him. There wasn't anybody. Then there's mental toughness, when you're tough under pressure and not losing your poise. Does that take a certain temperament? 15. In a playoff game in 1972, Greene recorded five sacks, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, and blocked a field goal in a 9-3 win vs. Houston. Yeah. Nagurski became a professional wrestler after his NFL career and was a two-time world heavyweight champion. Bill Romanowski, Linebacker, San Francisco 49ers & Philadelphia Eagles & Denver Broncos & Oakland Raiders (1988-2003). And I think if you were to evaluate Mike Webster, it was a matter of pride. Jim Otto: The Pain of Glory is the story about a man who fought through numerous injuries, frequent surgeries, and a myriad of other maladies. He's beating people with it. I'm sure he would. They dont want to believe that someone put them in a position to make them look like idiots., Former Colts quarterback Bert Jones, 45, said: Everybody goes into the game realizing that two things are going to happen: Either one day youre going to be cut because youre no longer good enough, or an injury is going to cut short your career. He is famous for his crack-back blocks, and broke the jaw of Cincinnati rookie Keith Rivers in a 2008 contest. And that's the way we played. There were two times. The highly educated are hiring counselors to advise them on masking agents and certain other breakdown products. 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. Garrison wrapped his thumb in tape and played the next day, rushing for over 100 yards. I think I'm going and continuing to do the best I can with what I had, and I'm going to do that till I can't. The artificial surfaces are much harder than grass. Youngblood played the final three games of the 1979 NFL playoffs, including the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with a heavily-taped broken leg. It was a good, clean hit. American Football Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Deacon perfected the head slap, a move that would be eventually banned by the NFL because it was too effective., 29. 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. Mel Hein, Center, New York Giants (1931-1945). Otto now suffers from arthritis, and severe neck problems. James Edwin Otto (born January 5, 1938 in Wausau, Wisconsin) is a former center for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League. We had the same thing, similar, happen to a center who took my place after I retired, Dave Dalby. But a knee injury that was treated with repeated shots of cortisone and steroids forced him to end a 15-year playing career after 1973. Longtime Raiders team doctor Robert Rosenfield, who died last January of cancer, diagnosed it as strained ligaments. Tell me about that. Nothing dirty about it. We havent seen the worst yet.. In order to foster a civil and literate discussion that respects all participants, FRONTLINE has the following guidelines for commentary. There is a new level of information, and they've done some good studies on it, which are very important. What about when you heard about Mike Webster's decline afterward, you know? Its an orthopedics surgeons dream. Otto paid the price, as he has had 74 surgeries, including 28 knee operations, and in 2007 his lower right leg had to be amputated but has said that he Not one. In 1997, Otto's daughter, Jennifer, a 39-year-old mother of four, died from a blood clot. Most current players feel they have more leverage since Butkus filed a $1.6 million suit against the Bears in 1974 and came away with a $600,000 settlement. Rocky Bleier, Running Back, Pittsburgh Steelers (1968, 1971-1980). Kilroy denied the charge. I have issues, yes, I have issues. He spit in the face of Eagles safety Bill Bradley as he lay injured on the ground. Jack Youngblood, Defensive End, Los Angeles Rams (1971-1984). The young people that are coming out and playing football today, I want them to continue to play football; I want them to have fun playing football. Jim Otto weighed 255 lbs (115 kg) when playing. When other coaches started seeing what a guy that size could do, they all wanted monster players with speed. If they enjoy hitting somebody, let them hit people; let them play football. Giants lineman Al DeRogatis once accused Kilroy of biting him on the nose. ISIS' growing foothold in Afghanistan is captured on film. 6. His joints became riddled with arthritis, and he developed debilitating back and neck problems. I don't want to make an excuse. and ankle injuries during his three years with the Hurricanes. He soon was established as the Raiders center. As the size increases, so does the force of the collisions. They want my brain at I think it's Michigan or --. Once you leave the game, people forget about you quite quickly, said Drew Pearson, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver. Unitas missed most of the 1968 season due to injury but returned in the Super Bowl to lead Baltimore on its only touchdown drive in a 16-7 loss to the Jets. Is Jim Otto in the Hall of Fame? Thats one of the major reasons why so many of these guys walk with limps.. But I'm still going at my age, and --. The Baltimore Ravens placed a bounty on Ward, to which the former Super Bowl MVP responded, Bring it on. He was voted the smartest offensive player in the NFL (non-quarterbacks) and is considered the best blocking receiver in the NFL. No. But let them play. My wife is starting to try to convince me to do it. He played with pain and didn't come out. I forget words. I know that in my mind, in Jim Otto's mind -- and I'll be honest with you right now -- that thoughts of suicide have gone through my head at different times. Favre has played through unbelievable injuries, including a broken and sprained thumb on his right hand, a badly sprained left ankle, a sprained left foot, a sprained left knee, a torn ligament in his left knee, a severely bruised left hip, and a separated left shoulder. WebHow did Jim Otto loose his leg? According to several experts, the emphasis on size in the mid-1980s led to a peak use of steroids, which increase strength, muscle definition and aggressiveness. Plasman refused to wear a helmet. WebAs a result of injuries sustained during his playing career, he has endured more than 70 surgeries, including nearly 30 knee operations. Right. Did you ever have that happen to you? When players retire, they cite feelings of abandonment, loneliness, paranoia, helplessness, despair and loss of self-esteem. And playing with concussions, playing with other problems that we did play with, never coming off the field --. Ex-Cowboys wide receiver Bob Hayes and former Miami Dolphins running back Mercury Morris have served time on drug convictions. Nobody took me off the field, said, "Jim, you've got to do this." Do you associate Dalby and Webster's post-career declines and troubles with the hard-hitting nature of the game? Ernie Stautner comes in the huddle, and his thumb is broken back against his wrist. During his fifth training camp, he suffered the injury that ultimately led to amputation. Do you feel like that's associated with football, too? We'd attack the bunker, and the quarterbacks would be sitting in a tank with the general saying, 'Well, what kind of attack are you planning?' It's the way we were taught to hit. Hall of Fame center Jim Otto recently had his right leg amputated and is recovering in a hospital in Utah. And everything is actually true to my heart, to my mind. And over here these guys are wanting the world. They're no longer heroes. When Giants defensive tackle Jim Pietrzak wished him good luck in the playoffs, he punched him. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, the first year he was eligible. 16. He maintained his streak despite pneumonia, an ulcer, and a shotgun wound to the side. Players are bigger now. Even as the surgeries mounted and routine elements of daily living became more and more challenging Waking up is the best part of my day, he wrote Jim has repeated in many interviews since his retirement that we wouldnt change history. WebJim Otto: The Pain of Glory is the story about a man who fought through numerous injuries, frequent surgeries, and a myriad of other maladies. We're not the only guys. Let them play it the way it's supposed to be played, the way the rules are, and don't keep changing the rules. Within 12 plays, Trafton had knocked each player out of the game, sending one of them to the hospital with a broken hand and an 11-inch cut across the forehead. Jim Otto was elected into the Hall of Fame as a Player in 1980. Raider, grew up in Wausau, Wisconsin, a medium-sized town in the central part of the state where he excelled as a hockey goaltender and as a football center at Wausau High. His right leg was eventually amputated in 2007. And so these thoughts that have come through your head are fairly recent then? He wasn't drafted by any NFL team, so he joined the Oakland Raiders of the new AFL, went on a strength program to increase his weight by 50 pounds, and became Oakland's starting center for the next 15 seasons. Forty-year-old players are having the same problems as 80-year-old men., Wherever there is repeated trauma to certain areas, wherever joints and ligaments have been injured, arthritis and other degenerative diseases, well, its going to happen, said Dr. Stan Lavine, team physician of the Washington Redskins from 1975 through 1985. Jim Otto, Center, Oakland Raiders (1960-1974), Otto played fifteen seasons and never missed a game, despite 10 broken noses and over 40 back, knee, and shoulder operations, including 28 to his knees alone. So you were saying it was war out there. What were your first thoughts when you started hearing those stories after his retirement? 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. FRONTLINE reports from Iraq on the miscalculations and mistakes behind the brutal rise of ISIS. Website design & development by americaneagle.com copyright 2021 Pro Football hall of fame all rights reserved, Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls, Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic. For the next 15 years, he was a fixture at center for the Oakland Raiders, never missing a single game due to injury. We met at the line of scrimmage, and you could hear the thud all over the Polo Grounds. And then a year ago there were four suicides among not necessarily the best noted players but some players, and the Players Association claimed that it's been because of concussions and stuff like that. I think I'm just kind of touchy about thinking that my body is going to be separated from something and probably not in the same grave, maybe that's what I'm thinking of. Maybe probably more so in my life is the pain that I'm going through. And when he drops his head, he drops his head right to the spot where the tackler is coming in with his head and shoulders. 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. But when you say you don't want to make that connection, it's because you just don't want to believe that there is that connection? Almost no one leaves this game unscarred either physically or mentally.. Losing my leg didn't bother me one bit other than I wanted to make sure that my wife still loved the guy with one leg. But that didn't bother me that much. Is that what you're saying? But a lot of guys no longer get the "Hey, Joe, how you doing. " He said, Football is tough. Players rarely give much thought to life after football. The Cowboys won the game, earned home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and captured the Super Bowl title. Hell no, I wouldnt do it all over again, said Krueger. We will take steps to block users who repeatedly violate our commenting rules, terms of use, or privacy policies. Favre has earned three MVP awards and led the Packers to a championship in 1996. Jim cant walk through an airport without the metal detectors going off, said Miki Yaras-Davis, director of benefits for the NFL Players Association. Are you saying that even if you had the information you would have played? They blame these problems for failed relationships, unemployment and drug or alcohol addictions. And if you cant take the injuries, get the hell out. He is regarded as the second dirtiest player in the NFL and a 2008 poll revealed that one of the scariest things in the NFL is being blocked by Runyan on a screen pass. PBS Terms of Use And a lot of times these guys fall into that category or one of those categories, and it happens that they commit suicide. Perhaps the most painful of Jim Ottos 23 surgeries occurred five years ago. And you couldn't remember. He was drafted into the U.S. Army after his rookie season and endured shrapnel wounds to his right leg. Jerry Kramer, Guard & Kicker, Green Bay Packers (1958-1968), Kramer endured 23 operations and required over 500 stitches in his NFL career, including a colostomy, which he described as a horror movie that hasn't been made yet., 26. I had my arms around his legs, and my shoulder dug into him. Butkus's opponents claimed that Butkus was like an odor that you could feel or sense on the field. So there's different degrees of concussions; I want you to know that. I haven't necessarily told them what I'm thinking. Former Raiders internist Dr. He went down, then got up and trotted off the field. We reserve the right to not post comments that are more than 400 words. 13. I can't perform like I used to for a lot of different things physically, but I don't think it's directly connected to the brain. NFL tough guy was fined for: kicking fullback Larry Centers in the head (1995); breaking Kerry Collins' jaw on a preseason helmet-to-helmet hit (1997); throwing a football at linebacker Bryan Cox and hitting him in the groin (1999); punching tight end Tony Gonzalez (1999); and breaking the eye socket of teammate Marcus Williams in a scrimmage, forcing him to retire (2003). They didn't do that to me, but they would, they would always accuse me of that and they would razz me about it, you know? No one ever has been suspended for a second or third time. I wanted to play. and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. 38. As a 248-pound defensive end, he played in 282 consecutive games. Every game. And I wanted to be a help to David. He also received fines for three illegal hits in the 1999 season. And even in soccer, you have problems with your head hitting the ball, two heads coming together or whatever. Ronnie Lott was a cornerback who hit like a linebacker. So when you retire from football and you've been involved in football, some kids -- it never happened to me. I thought he killed Frank. Dick Butkus, Linebacker, Chicago Bears (1965-1973), Dick Butkus was the angriest, most ferocious, menacing, and yes, toughest player to ever play the game of football. The former Titans star quarterback has injured nearly every part of his body at one time or another. The AFL permitted the unusual number because it was a pun on Otto's name (aught-oh). Marshall earned his fame as a member of the Purple People Eaters of the early 1970s. He defined toughness as, more of a mental aspect than a physical power, saying, Toughness doesn't necessarily mean physical prowess; it's more mental., 3. When you talk about your knees, legs, those kind of things, those kinds of injuries, clearly related to football, I mean, you know when these injuries started probably and all that. I've had amnesia like that. There was about 150 people come, and naturally I wanted to play well and everything. I don't know anything that much about Junior. Oh no. He ran 32 times for 168 yards and caught 10 balls for 61 yards. Journalistic Guidelines Well, I'm trying in my mind not to relate that to my situation, you know. Hitting harder than anyone else was very important to us. Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Ernie Holmes once sat on a bridge and shot at passing trucks, and then was arrested for shooting a police officer in the leg before surrendering. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. (AP Photo) Former Green Bay Packers cornerback Herb He had a game-winning tackle of future Hall of Fame running back Jim Taylor in the closing seconds of the Eagles 17-13 win in 1960. They told me if I took the shots and played, it would get better, said Marsh. Do you feel like there's an increased notoriety of players when something very bad happens like a suicide? I can't really explain it to you here. Double-zero And they'll come up with some answers. Of those who did not leave because of injury, 56.2% reported similar emotional problems. And that's why Sally and I came to the forefront Did anybody do anything for Mike Webster with Pittsburgh? When you looked at your wife and you didn't know who she was, like, who's this chick? He liked to think that his best hits border on felonious assault., 14. Do you feel like those injuries that they suffered, those hits that they took on the line, like you took, contributed to their illnesses? I think some of these below-the-waist blocks as well, sure, you stand to hurt a knee or stand to hurt something. I'm hurting like a son of a gun. These guys constantly live on the edge, and the same behavior they once used to achieve notoriety on the field they exhibit off the field.. How tall is Jim Otto? 34. Because I don't want to believe that that's what's happened. I saw Meredith's nose broken so bad that it spread all over his face. And from what I understand and read -- never met him -- it does sound like he played that game exactly like you described. I think so. Garrison has also played through a separated shoulder, a severely broken nose and a broken collarbone. Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis made the announcement Wednesday as part of a wide-ranging news conference touching on the state of the team, the recent death of Bill Walsh and pensions for former NFL players. The content here may be outdated or no longer functioning. Dobler punched Pittsburghs Mean Joe Greene in the solar plexus and kicked the Rams Merlin Olsen in the head. It was the hardest tackle I ever made, but I made it, and I said to myself, Well, I guess that will show you, Nagurski! Then as I was getting up, I heard the referee shout, Second down and 2!, George Halas: Nagurski blasted through two would-be tacklers as though they were a pair of old saloon doors and kept on going right into the endzone. But no, amnesia, it's a serious thing. And there's a lot of guys like us. Jim Otto had his right leg amputated on August 1, 2007.[2]. And Baltimore Colts Hall of Fame quarterback John Unitas once-golden right arm has a restructured right hand. Like they'd say, "Hey, Jim, what's this? It is filled with sights and sounds of collisions that are sometimes startling and other times frightening. So he stayed there for the rest of the series, and then we came off, and I'm watching him because I'm the only guy who saw that he had a compound fracture. And I went, "Yay." Marsh took more than 100 painkilling injections from the Raiders and continued to play, which only made his condition worse. We were at the Polo Grounds when I first ran up against him. I saw the bone. During one game in 1970, a piece of Kruegers knee was broken off, but he was given codeine and put back in to play. In 15 seasons, Otto played 210 consecutive games and made the AFL All-Star or Pro Bowl team 12 times. He played a game against the Saints with a dislocated shoulder. 12. He played three games with a fractured tibia. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. Editors note: Sadly, Class of 52 correspondent Joan Boffa Gaul passed away on April 11, 2023.This column, her final one, was written in February. A Living Raider Legend, "Mr. We invariably would attack a bunker from where the enemy is shooting machine guns. Namaths famously fragile knees are so painful that he cant carry his children down steps. In 1974, he used a cast on his broken left hand as a weapon. Damn fools. He has had two major back surgeries, 16 knee operations and five artificial knees. He plays the entire game. Well, during my career, I had a lot of hits to the head. The average weight for a lineman on the Colts championship teams in 1958 and 1959 was 240 pounds. He tells a very straightforward biography of himself, deals out very little dirt but tells it as he sees it. In 1975, he was replaced by Dave Dalby. If we were fighting a war, the linebackers would be the first guys to get killed. I just -- I know and I've told that those are the battle scars of a gladiator. I don't have knees anymore. His famed right shoulder was responsible for dozens of broken noses and jaws. Lawrence was Dick Butkus, but with speed and range, said John Madden, analyst for Fox television. But I don't think it's that important, you know, to remember someone's name. I guess I hit someone pretty hard, and we didn't have any masks, and I got hit in the face. Walter Payton, Running Back, Chicago Bears (1975-1987). He suffered a cracked vertebra, a concussion, and crushed intestines during a car crash before his senior year of college. According to the latest NFLPA survey, conducted in 1990, more than one-third of 645 players whose careers began as early as 1940 and ended no later than 1986 retired because of disabling injuries. And that is the bad thing. In 1990, four players were suspended. Chuck Bednarik, Center & Linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles (1949-1962), The greatest collision of all time was Bednarik hitting Gifford. Graves experience spans over 37 years as a football administrator of the NFL. Trafton played before the NFL enforced late-hit, roughing, or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. After the game, we go into the locker room and he says, Hey Doc, I think I got a problem. Andy Russell, linebacker, 36. Do you feel like the suicide thoughts are related to the pain or related to retirement? And boy, the rest of the day was hell for me. The ironic part? When asked why he played through the pain, instead of watching from the sidelines, Smith calmly responded, This is why they pay me., 19. 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.
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