1. Jim Otto, 1960-74
We start with this position because Jim Otto was the foundation of the Raiders franchise from its first day in 1960 until the day he grudgingly retired before the 1975 season. When the American Football League was founded, the eighth franchise was supposed to go to Minneapolis, but the established National Football League stepped in and offered those prospective owners a team that wound up being the Minnesota Vikings. In the weeks that followed, AFL teams raided the draft list of the team that was supposed to be in Minneapolis, but they missed the best player, a 6-2, 210-pound center out of Miami (Fla.). That was Otto, who pumped himself up to 260 pounds and started 210 consecutive games over the next 15 seasons. Otto was the only All-AFL center the league had in its 10-year history, and also played in the Pro Bowl and made the All-Pro team in the first three seasons after the AFL-NFL merger was complete in 1970. In addition, he was selected to the All-Time AFL Team, the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time team, and was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in 1980--his first year of eligibility. He was the first Raider elected to the HOF. Late last year, The Twin Spires posted online a list of the 10 best centers of all time, and Otto was listed at No. 1. 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 would do it all over again. He is known as “The Original Raider” and “Mr. Raider.”