James Lloyd Otis (born April 29, 1948) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for nine seasons during the 1970s. Otis played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, and was recognized as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He played professionally for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Otis was born in

Celina, Ohio Celina ( ) is a city in Mercer County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,935 at the 2020 census. Located about northwest of Dayton, Celina is situated on the northwestern shores of Grand Lake St. Marys. History ...

. He attended Celina Senior High School, and played for the Celina Bulldogs

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team. He was selected as an All-Ohio fullback.

College career

Otis attended the Ohio State University, where he was a fullback for the

Ohio State Buckeyes football The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, since 1 ...

team from 1967 to 1969. He led the team in rushing every year of his college career. He was the leading rusher on the 1968 national championship team. As a senior in 1969, he was as a consensus first-team

, and was seventh in the vote for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

. Otis was inducted into the

Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame The Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame is the athletic hall of fame for The Ohio State University. Its purpose is to recognize individuals who have contributed to the honor and fame of the university in the field of athletics. An athlete must ha ...

in 1996. In the Ohio State record book, he remains second only to

Archie Griffin Archie Mason Griffin (born August 21, 1954) is an American former football running back who played with the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, wh ...

among Ohio State

running backs A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. There a ...

in career rushing yards per game. In 2000, Otis was selected to the

Ohio State Football All-Century Team The Ohio State Football All-Century Team was chosen in early 2000 by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. It was selected to honor the greatest Ohio State Buckeyes football players of the 20th century. No effort was made to distinguish a first team or ...

Professional career

Otis was drafted by the

in 1970. The following year, he was traded to the

. However, Otis played the last six years of his nine-year NFL career with the

St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) From 1960 to 1987, the professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals played in St. Louis, Missouri, as the St. Louis Cardinals. The team moved from Chicago to St. Louis in 1960, and played their first home game ther ...

. Otis's most successful year as a professional was in 1975, when he rushed for an NFC-leading 1,076 yards and was selected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

. Otis beat Minnesota's Chuck Foreman by 6 yards, thus preventing Foreman (who led the NFC in touchdowns and receptions that year) from achieving a rare Triple Crown.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Family

Otis's father, Dr. James John Otis, had been the roommate and best friend of

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at Denison University from 1946 to 1948, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 1949 to 195 ...

when both men were members of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

in the 1930s. To avoid any

appearance of impropriety The appearance of impropriety is a phrase referring to a situation which to a layperson without knowledge of the specific circumstances might seem to raise ethics questions. For instance, although a person might regularly and reliably collect mon ...

, Hayes broke off all social contact with the elder Otis during the son's college career. Dr. Otis lived and operated a medical practice in

. Otis's son, Jimmy Otis, was a star

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Lasallian Catholic Church, Catholic University-preparatory school, college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, M ...

in the

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

area. He was invited to

in 2000 as a preferred walk-on, and lettered in 2003 for

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

play. Jim Otis's other son,

Jeff Otis Jeff Otis (born January 30, 1983) is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as a street free agent in 2006. He played college football at Columbia. Otis was also a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, S ...

, has been under contract with five NFL teams and is currently a free agent. BackenOtis2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otis, Jim 1948 births Living people All-American college football players American football running backs Kansas City Chiefs players National Conference Pro Bowl players New Orleans Saints players Ohio State Buckeyes football players People from Celina, Ohio Sportspeople from Mercer County, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio St. Louis Cardinals (football) players