NFL Hall of Famer and legendary Raiders center Jim Otto has been named the recipient of the 2006 President Gerald R. Ford Legends of Center Award. The announcement was made today by the Rimington Trophy committee.

To be considered for the President Gerald R. Ford Legends of Center Award candidates must have either played the Center position at the collegiate or professional level; made extraordinary contributions to his team during his football career; or have proven to be an exemplary citizen, philanthropist or business leader.

"To have an award named after a President of the United States is in itself prestigious. To be the first recipient of the award is very prestigious and I am very honored. When someone pats you on the back to say, “Good Job” after a long career in football it really warms your heart and feels very good. I’ve been given a lot of awards throughout my life. This one definitely ranks up there as one of the biggest of them," Otto said.

After his tenure with the Miami Hurricanes, Otto was selected by the Oakland Raiders and made his professional debut with the team in the newly formed American Football League. Otto would soon become a cornerstone for the club as its only center during its first 15 years of existence. He was the anchor of an offensive line that led the Raiders to an unprecedented seven divisional titles and one AFL Championship. Otto was selected to the All-AFL team ten years in a row. When the AFL merged with the National Football League, Otto was recognized on the All-NFL team in 1970 and 1971, and named to the second team All-NFL in 1972.

At the end of his career, Otto had started in 210 consecutive games and played in a total of 308 games, a feat unheard of in today's game. The "00" he wore became synonymous with Otto and furthered his niche in Raider lore.

After his playing days, Otto began to deal with the consequences and the physical toll brought about by 52 major surgeries. In 2002 Otto was presented with the biggest challenge of his life when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Since then, Otto has undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatment with the help of the University of California-Davis Cancer Center. He is currently in remission and serves as chair of a special endowment committee that helps raise money for the center.

"We just raised $17 million for a new cancer center at UC-Davis. Not that they don’t have one obviously, but because they needed more space. The research they’re doing here is fantastic. I can’t say enough about it," Otto said.

Otto will be honored for his achievements at the Rimington Trophy Award Banquet at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday, January 13, 2007.

The inaugural "Legends of Center Award" was presented to and named after President Gerald R. Ford who played Center at the University of Michigan. Prior to serving as the 38th President of the United States, Ford was an offensive standout who led the Wolverines to two undefeated seasons in 1932 and 1933, including a national championship. In 1934, Ford was named the Wolverines' MVP and later starred in San Francisco's East-West Shrine Game and the Chicago Tribune College All-Star Game.

About the Rimington Trophy
The seven-year old trophy is presented by Canon, The Cornhusker Marriott, and Logitech. Past recipients include Dominic Raiola (Nebraska), LeCharles Bentley (Ohio State), Brett Romberg (Miami), Jake Grove (Virginia Tech), co- winners David Baas (Michigan) and Ben Wilkerson (LSU), and Greg Eslinger (Minnesota). Since its inception the Rimington Trophy Award has raised over $700,000 for its benefactor, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It, in turn, is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation which, to date, has raised over $40 million for Cystic Fibrosis research.
Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first-team All-American center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982. During this time, he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's finest college interior lineman.

The Rimington Trophy is a fully accredited member of the National College Football Awards Association.

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