- Jim Otis
NFL player
DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1948|4|29
Birthplace=Celina, Ohio
DateOfDeath=
Position=Running back
College=Ohio State
DraftedYear=1970
DraftedRound=9 / Pick 218
Stats=Y
DatabaseFootball=OTISJIM01
PFR=OtisJi00
Awards=
Records=
Honors=
Retired #s=
years=1970
1971-1972
1973-1978
teams=New Orleans Saints Kansas City Chiefs
St. Louis Cardinals
ProBowls=1975
HOF=James Lloyd "Jim" Otis (born April 29, 1948) is a former college and professional
American football running back .College career
Otis was a fullback for the
Ohio State University Buckeyes from 1967-69. He led the team in rushing every year of his college career. In 1969 he was as a consensus first-teamAll-America selection, and was seventh in the vote for theHeisman Trophy .Otis was inducted into the
Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1996. In the Ohio State record book, he remains second only toArchie Griffin among Ohio Staterunning backs in career rushing yards per game.In 2000, Otis was selected to the
Ohio State Football All-Century Team .NFL career
Otis was drafted by the
New Orleans Saints in 1970. The following year he was traded to theKansas City Chiefs . However, Otis played the last six years of his nine-year NFL career with theSt. Louis Cardinals . Otis' most successful year as a professional was in 1975, when he rushed for 1,076 yards and was selected to thePro Bowl .Family
Otis' father, Dr. James John Otis, had been the roommate and best friend of
Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes when both men were members of theSigma Chi fraternity ofDenison University in the 1930s. To avoid anyappearance of impropriety , Hayes broke off all social contact with the elder Otis during the son's college career. Dr. Otis lived and operated a medical practice inCelina, Ohio . Despite this, Otis is widely regarded to have benefitted from favorable treatment from Hayes during his tenure at Ohio State, most notably his controversial elevation to first string.Otis' son,
James John Otis II , was a starhigh school quarterback in the St. Louis area, and was invited to Ohio State in 2001 as a preferred walk-on. The youngest Otis lettered for Ohio State in 2003 forspecial teams play.
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