Numerous accolades for Jim support Maddens widely shared opinion of the 15-year pro as the best to play his position: 10 first-team All-Pro selections, 12 Pro Bowl appearances and spots on the AFL Hall of Fame All-1960s Team and the NFL 100 All-Time Team. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. I don't think it's hogwash. 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. Maybe probably more so in my life is the pain that I'm going through. He bit one tackle so many times that the player requested a rabies shot. It's incredibly debatable, but here is my attempt to rank them in order for toughness. 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.. He's going to make some trash out of me. But I'm not out there crying about it. Now, the tackler is fined $20,000, $30,000, $50,000, whatever it is for a blow to the head. "If you want Otto to respond, just ring a bell. It just -- you know, maybe I choked a little bit and thought, oh, boy, I used to do that. 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. Let's play football. 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. He then went on to play collegiate football at Miami. 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. You sit there. Doesn't show it to anybody. Its an orthopedics surgeons dream. Larry Csonka, Fullback, Miami Dolphins & New York Giants (1968-1974, 1976-1979). But still, you led with your head, and that was part of football; that was what we learned. But a number of former players, including receiver Al Toon of the New York Jets and running back Vic Washington of the 49ers, developed post-traumatic stress disorder. He had his right leg amputated in 2007. I forget words. Before his death in 1992, Raiders defensive lineman Lyle Alzado said long-term steroid use was the cause of the brain tumor that eventually killed him. But those things would either stimulate them or it would put them under to the point where the pain was no longer there. Chuck Bednarik, Center & Linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles (1949-1962), The greatest collision of all time was Bednarik hitting Gifford. Also, once the NFL became a billion-dollar business about 1980, teams became less likely to risk injuries with million-dollar players, and urged them to participate in year-round conditioning, which includes weight training and aerobic exercise. And playing with concussions, playing with other problems that we did play with, never coming off the field --. Injuries and operations. Otto's body was punished greatly during his NFL career, resulting in nearly 74 operations, including 28 on his knee (nine of them during his playing career) and multiple joint replacements. His joints became riddled with arthritis, and he developed debilitating back and neck problems. Too many times we hear about the negatives because were former athletes, but the media ignores the players who make positive contributions, said Curtis, a D.C. commercial real estate broker. Jim Otto And I went, "Yay." 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? Johnny Unitas, Quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers & Baltimore Colts & San Diego Chargers (1956-1974). During his first 10 years he suffered the usual injuries such as broken noses, fingers and ribs, and he played through it all. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. During his fifth training camp, he suffered the injury that ultimately led to amputation. To break a helmet, split it right here in front, to have it then break your nose and the face mask that you have there, so --. and ankle injuries during his three years with the Hurricanes. One time, Otto nearly died on the operating table. But in this particular case, it was pretty good blows he was hitting me with to break my nose, break my cheekbone and my zygomatic arch bone up here. He underwent surgery to have 30 inches of his intestines removed, and returned for the second game of the season. Bleier's story is one of the greatest in the history of sports. Otto went down with a torn ACL. 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. He went down, then got up and trotted off the field. The content here may be outdated or no longer functioning. In the Eagles' next game, against the Giants, McDonald caught three touchdowns and returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown. Looked like a raccoon. Bob Lilly, 37. I think a lot of it is related to the pain and the lack of ability that I have for doing certain things. OK, you started by saying that suicide is not something that people talk about in the NFL, or have [not] until fairly recently anyhow. 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 liked to think that his best hits border on felonious assault., 14. They all have the crab-like walk, and its hard to believe they were once these feared gladiators. Web Site Copyright 1995-2016 WGBH Educational Foundation With the Cowboys and Giants fighting for the NFC East and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, Emmitt played the entire game with a sprained and separated right shoulder. Trafton played before the NFL enforced late-hit, roughing, or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. 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. Entries that are unsigned or are "signed" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. They never told me part of my knee was missing, said Krueger. Then there's mental toughness, when you're tough under pressure and not losing your poise. I didn't bite his nose, he said. These are young people who have achieved a lot of emotional and economic success at an early age, but they never think about their careers ending. Jim Otto | American Football Wiki | Fandom And then there's the players below who contain all of these qualities. I look at Dave Dalby, because he used to tell me he wanted to follow me in my footsteps. Gary Fencik: I had the displeasure of tackling, by accident, Walter only once in my 12-year career. Raider," Jim Otto - Sports No. 6. I had my arms around his legs, and my shoulder dug into him. He was middle linebacker for the Packers. But let them play. Jim Otto - Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame Jack Tatum, Safety, Oakland Raiders & Houston Oilers (1971-1980), He was nicknamed The Assassin. He knocked out future Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey in the first game of his career. Mr. He's probably one of the best known retired NFL players to do that. He suffered from chronic back pain due to And they'll come up with some answers. Well, during my career, I had a lot of hits to the head. Now, nobody in America knows that, like they know about the guy who had a concussion, like the guy who is in class-action suits, suing the National Football League because they had a concussion. And you couldn't remember. I was depressed because I wasn't running out on the field anymore, when they announced "At center, Jim Otto." It all swelled up, and I couldn't see, but I kept playing. Is that what you're saying? Former Raiders internist Dr. WebInducted 1998. That's the way Mike Webster would say it, too. And everything is actually true to my heart, to my mind. 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. With a broken jaw wired shut, McDonald could only drink milkshakes and watched his weight plummet from 175 to 143. According to Yaras-Davis, a knee injury forced former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Roger Stillwell to get special devices to pull himself out of bed. Not one. Nobody took me off the field, said, "Jim, you've got to do this." ISIS' growing foothold in Afghanistan is captured on film. He gave the following advice to future Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey: Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts., 20. Well, I'm very fortunate that I can do that, because there are times that I can't remember people's names. But you're talking about a different kind, the much more common, everyday, every play? Jim Otto I walked by Frank, and he was laid out. He played in 11 Pro Bowls and is considered one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. In 15 seasons, Otto played 210 consecutive games and made the AFL All-Star or Pro Bowl team 12 times. And even in soccer, you have problems with your head hitting the ball, two heads coming together or whatever. I know he was a great football player. Jim Otto had his right leg amputated on August 1, 2007.[2]. And the helmets weren't made very good. He wasted little time eliminating one other problem his size. He played five more games before the loose bone mass was removed. FactSnippet No. Nothing dirty about it. And that is something that I'm dealing with. Hall of Fame center Jim Otto recently had his right leg amputated and is recovering in a hospital in Utah. The NFL Hall of Famer recounts his legendary career with the Oakland Raiders, his many injuries, and the terrible cost of playing through the pain.From 1960 to 1974, Jim Otto played center for the Oakland Raiders, leading the team to historic AFL and NFL victories. It's more retirement I think than anything else. Back then, owners would do anything to maximize their payrolls to win the war games. It has been 20 years since Otto retired after a Hall of Fame career. During one game in 1970, a piece of Kruegers knee was broken off, but he was given codeine and put back in to play. There's the toughness of getting the snot knocked out of you, and the can't-be-intimidated, never-quit kind of tough. I never went out of the game. Otto played high school football at Wisconsin's Wausau High School, under coach Win Brockmeyer. I was hitting him with such force, and he was coming at me with such force that this is what happened. 21. Butkus was a turnover machine and earned eight Pro Bowl selections in his nine seasons. Stillwell, who played only three seasons with the Bears, walks with a cane. They've asked for my brain. How many games did Jim Otto play? If they enjoy hitting somebody, let them hit people; let them play football. It was Dave Dalby. After no National Football League team showed interest in the undersized center, Otto signed with the Oakland Raiders of the new American Football League.
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