Otto Named to 2011 ACC Football Legends Class
CORAL GABLES, Fla.– Former University of Miami center Jim Otto has been named a member of the Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game Legends class of 2011, the conference office announced on Tuesday.
Otto joins former North Carolina linebacker Chris Hanburger as the only two members of the 12-man class to be current members of the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
The group of 12 former gridiron standouts from current ACC schools includes two former ACC players of the Year, three consensus first-team All-Americas, five first-team All-Americas, and eight players who combined for 74 years in the National or American Football League and a total of 94 years of professional football experience in either the NFL, AFL, Canadian Football League, World League of American Football or the Arena Football League. Nine of the Legends were drafted into the NFL or AFL, including four first-round draft choices.
In all, the collection of players combined for a national championship, a Canadian Football League Grey Cup, nine ACC team titles and three NFL Super Bowl appearances.
Otto (1957-59) started three seasons at center and linebacker for the Miami Hurricanes under legendary coach Andy Gustafson. Drafted in the first round by the fledgling American Football League, he signed with the Oakland Raiders in 1960 and began an unprecedented 15-year professional career as the prototype pivotman. Voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1980, Otto was a 10-time AFL All-Star, a 10-time All-AFL team member and a three-time NFL All-Pro performer. He helped lead Oakland to the 1967 AFL Championship and a berth in Super Bowl II. He started 210 consecutive games at center for the Raiders, 308 games in all, and was named to the AFL’s all-time team. He is one of only 20 men to play in the American Football League for all 10 years of its existence. Otto wore the famous 00 number throughout his career. A native of Wausau, Wis., he now lives in Auburn, Calif.
Joining Otto and Hanburger in the 2011 class are Ben Bennett (Duke), Stephen Boyd (Boston College), Perry Tuttle (Clemson), Lucius Sanford (Georgia Tech), Rich Novak (Maryland), Mike Johnson (Virginia Tech), Larry Russell (Wake Forest), Marc Primanti (NC State), Andre Wadsworth (Florida State0 and Chris Slade (Virginia).
The Legends will be honored at this year’s Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game weekend. They will be honored at the ACC Night of Legends event on Friday, Dec. 2, and during ceremonies at Bank of America Stadium for the 7th Annual Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship, which has an 8 p.m. kickoff on Dec. 3 and will be nationally televised by ESPN in both HD and 3-D.
