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Raiders legend Otto: Davis 'almost like a big brother'

15.10.11

As Jim Otto remembers it, the Raiders ran a 13-play drive against the 49ers in a 1975 preseason game, scoring a touchdown, and he walked off the field as a player for the last time. At 37, he felt he no longer could contribute because of knee injuries.

Not long after taking off his distinctive "00" jersey, Otto was told by Al Davis where he would be watching games from then on.

"He said, 'You sit with me,' " the Hall of Fame center said Thursday in his Auburn home.

Otto said he has accompanied Davis in the owner's box at most Raiders games, missing only those in which his body – battered by the effects of football injuries and illness – has prevented him from attending.

Sunday, Otto plans to be at the first home game since the Raiders' owner died last Saturday. Otto described Davis as "a friend (who) was almost like a big brother to me."

"I don't know what it's going to be like," Otto said.

Otto said he and Davis first met after the 1961 AFL season. Otto had just completed his second year with the Raiders and been named a Western Division All-Star. Then-San Diego Chargers coach Sid Gillman had been chosen to coach the West All-Stars, and Davis was Gillman's assistant.

Source: Sacramento Bee