13. He became homeless, those stories. Why isn't there somebody that can help him? 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). I mean, they used to tease me that instead of having the quarterback go "Hut one, hut two," they'd have a little bell, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, you know, and Otto, you go on the third ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, like a punch-drunk fighter or something --. 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?' Among Doblers principal offenses were biting, gouging, punching, kicking, and grabbing the face mask. And you couldn't remember. Thats when doctors operated on his back for 11 1/2 hours to remove scar tissue and The FRONTLINE Interview: Jim Otto | League of Denial: The NFL's I don't have knees anymore. Including pre-season, regular season and post-season games, Otto competed in 308 consecutive games. Runyan has started 180 consecutive games at right tackle, and has played in the postseason on seven occasions. Below is a look at some of Jim Ottos career accomplishments and highlights. Was that right? Tell me about that. There is a new level of information, and they've done some good studies on it, which are very important. A Jim Otto is doing this every play. I think that everything that has caused my body to be a problem has been from football, you know? 27. And then tell me about a good solid head hit that you remember from the NFL as well. There's a battle, and that battle is going on. 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. Up and Down arrows will open main level menus and toggle through sub tier links. His last game, up in Cleveland, he came out of the hospital to play with a broken rib, a punctured lung, and pneumonia. The symptoms are nightmares and cold sweats. Lawrence was Dick Butkus, but with speed and range, said John Madden, analyst for Fox television. He's going to make some trash out of me. 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. During his first 10 years he suffered the usual injuries such as broken noses, fingers and ribs, and he played through it all. Let them play it the way it's supposed to be played, the way the rules are, and don't keep changing the rules. Then we go back in. That's the way football is, and if you don't want to play it that way, we can get you playing some girls' games. And everything is actually true to my heart, to my mind. Otto eventually had to have his right leg amputated on August 1, 2007. Curtis was nicknamed The Animal and was one of the angriest men to ever play in the NFL. You don't mess with him. Doesn't show it to anybody. You sit there. What do you mean by that? Almost no one leaves this game unscarred either physically or mentally.. I've had scans of my brain, and it's been explained to me what is really wrong with my brain. You couldn't be upset about the hit; it was clean and legal. --Sam Huff, Bednarik was the last NFL player to play offense and defense. Davis.". Butkus, once the the most feared player in football, sometimes walks as if one leg is inches longer than the other. Enumerate the results. When you have nobody helping you in a situation like that, I would imagine it's a pretty empty feeling to be going through life with that problem and nobody is coming to help you. 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. I'm over here, I had a couple dozen concussions or more, and I hurt. So there's different degrees of concussions; I want you to know that. He has played through numerous injuries such as a separated right clavicle, an infected right shoulder, a dislocated ring finger on his right hand, torn cartilage in his right knee, a strained calf, a hip pointer, a ruptured disk, back spasms, strained rib cartilage, severely bruised ribs, a left knee sprain, an MCL sprain, a left ankle sprain, severe turf toe, a cracked bone spur in his left ankle, a bone spur in his toe, and a severely bruised sternum. Double-zero recalls stories about all In 1995, Nagurski was honored when the Football Writers Association of America voted to have his name attached to college footballs Defensive Player of the Year trophy. Jim Otto I look at Dave Dalby, because he used to tell me he wanted to follow me in my footsteps. Counting preseason, postseason and Pro Bowl games, that number swells to 308 consecutive games played, with rarely a missed practice, either. Well, a huge hole opened, and I saw him coming. It becomes quite a shock.. 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. This interview was conducted by FRONTLINEs Tom Jennings on Dec. 22, 2012. 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 --. He said, Football is tough. I've had over 20 concussions myself, and I don't like them. But many former players are experiencing health problems after the spotlight dims, the celebrity fades and they cease to be larger than life. Teammate Charlie Waters recalls the time that Garrison accidentally cut his thumb with a knife so that it was dangling from his hand. His dedication and durability symbolized the teams Commitment to Excellence motto. WebJim Otto (born January 10, 1992) is a retired American football Offensive Tackle. Conrad Dobler, Guard, St. Louis Cardinals & New Orleans Saints & Buffalo Bills (1972-1981). Two years later Unitas played the entire season with a broken vertebrae. 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. It is filled with sights and sounds of collisions that are sometimes startling and other times frightening. Garrison wrapped his thumb in tape and played the next day, rushing for over 100 yards. I don't like to think about what these guys are talking about with regards to concussions and how it could affect our lives. And even in soccer, you have problems with your head hitting the ball, two heads coming together or whatever. The highs an athlete gets from the highly selective field makes it hard for them to settle into another pursuit. 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. Minor injuries, therefore minor distractions, he called them. Did you ever have that happen to you? ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Kentucky Derby storylines: Training death puts early pall over Churchill Downs, Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies: How to watch, start times and betting odds, Elliott: Pissed off Kings must improve in key areas to break Oilers playoff stranglehold, Shohei Ohtanis seventh home run of the season helps Angels avoid sweep, Florida Panthers upset record-setting Boston Bruins in Game 7 OT thriller. He played with pain and didn't come out. So you were saying it was war out there. That crackling thud can mean a broken bone or a torn cartilage--and a redefined life. Ex-Cowboys wide receiver Bob Hayes and former Miami Dolphins running back Mercury Morris have served time on drug convictions. PBS Privacy Policy You wouldnt believe the number of divorces when the big money stops coming in. Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne has called Wilson pound for pound the toughest player in the NFL., 31. One great performance, such as Joe Namaths for the New York Jets in Super Bowl III, can bring endless endorsements. 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. Was there anybody that helped Mike Webster go through rehab at that time? Over the course of his career, Jim No. 40. I don't want to make an excuse. Butkus's opponents claimed that Butkus was like an odor that you could feel or sense on the field. 18. They've asked for my brain. The artificial surfaces are much harder than grass. Former Colts quarterback Art Schlichter, whose gambling addiction led to two NFL suspensions in the early 1980s, was charged with bouncing or stealing more than $400,000 in checks this year. In 1999, he was ranked number 78 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. I wanted to play. In 15 seasons, Otto played 210 consecutive games and made the AFL All-Star or Pro Bowl team 12 times. Doesn't say anything. "I'm not out there crying" over concussions, "I would walk off the field and my eyes would be crossed", "Hitting harder than anyone else was very important to us.". FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. Let me ask you. Two years ago, Detroit Lions guard Mike Utley took a hit and suffered severe spinal damage, leaving him nearly a quadriplegic. Now, the NFL average is about 300, and increasing. It was really bad. When Lotts finger didnt heal properly, he told the doctors to cut it off, and they amputated his pinkie at the third knuckle. And I went, "Yay." I wanted people to respect me.. 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. Hall of Fame center Jim Otto recently had his right leg amputated and is recovering in a hospital in Utah. It's strange; it's really strange. He was not a great linebacker. Are you saying that even if you had the information you would have played? 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. Nobody is helping me. Jim Otto Age, Bio, Personal Life, Family & Stats - CelebsAges American Football Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. I've had various different cognitive tests regarding my brain. In his 14 seasons, Lilly never missed a game. Jim Otto They all have the crab-like walk, and its hard to believe they were once these feared gladiators. And I wanted to be a help to David. Is Jim Otto in the Hall of Fame? In one game, he knocked out the entire Washington Redskins backfield one by one. In the opening chapter of his autobiography, Jim provides an accounting: 38 surgeries (a total now estimated to have doubled since the books 2000 publishing date), including 28 on his knees alone, both of which are artificial, as are both shoulders. WebThe official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more. And so yes, he broke my helmet; he broke my face mask in here, which broke my nose and set it over here. Theyre still in that state of denial. Jim Otto | American Football Wiki | Fandom McDonald suffered exactly zero broken noses and knocked out teeth in his career. Of those who did not leave because of injury, 56.2% reported similar emotional problems. And anything that we would do, it was part of our lineage, part of our genes, part of what our family had given us, the will to be the best. Jim Otto Steve Sabol, President of NFL Films, once stated, There are so many definitions of toughness. He counts three near-death experiences directly related to infections or septic shock from football-related surgeries. And that is something that I'm dealing with. Nagurski once knocked unconscious four would-be tacklers on a kickoff return touchdown in his rookie season. In 1972, he thought he broke his back on a hit by a Minnesota Vikings linebacker, so he crawled off the field. For the next fifteen years, Otto became a fixture at center for the Raiders, never missing a single game due to injury. WebInducted 1998. Players rarely give much thought to life after football. He's beating people with it. It was 1st and 10, and they gave the ball to Nagurski up the middle. But I'm still going at my age, and --. Associated With Damn fools. He proudly stated that he played football because it was the only way he could hit someone and get away with it. Jim Otto - Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame I put my head down and charged into the hole. Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Jim Otto Ten years of lawsuits against the 49ers left him with a $1 million settlement in 1989 and plenty of bitterness. He also had a ramp to enter the bathtub. And he hung with me. The former Titans star quarterback has injured nearly every part of his body at one time or another. Garrison has also played through a separated shoulder, a severely broken nose and a broken collarbone. I think so. 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. 12. Gary Fencik: I had the displeasure of tackling, by accident, Walter only once in my 12-year career. You ever go to a retired players association convention? said Yaras-Davis. 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. Otto