Dating to Jim Otto, Rodney Hudson Is the Latest Great Raiders Center
Rodney Hudson simply is continuing the legacy of great centers that began with Jim Otto on the first day in Raiders franchise history in 1960.
In the Raiders’ tradition of men in the middle, the 6-2, 315-pound Hudson has been selected to three Pro Bowls, was a second-team All-Pro selection last season, and has led NFL centers in blocking efficiency each of the last five seasons.
“Rodney Hudson has played very well, I have to say, and deserves his due,” Otto said in an interview with Raider Maven. “I haven’t watched any films of him as I did with some of our other centers, but I have spoken with him and know he’s worked hard.
“You can see that he has the ability and has played well enough over the last five years to receive those accolades, which means something. Like other Raiders centers, he’s made it to the top, as several of us did.”
Otto, who started out as a 210-pound center out of Miami (Fla.), and built himself up to 255 pounds on his 6-2 frame, set the standard on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Not only did he make the All-American Football League team in all 10 years of the league from 1960-69, he is the center on the All-AFL team and was All-Pro for the first three seasons after the AFL-NFL merger.
Otto also was named to the NFL’s 100-year all-time team on the NFL Network.
“I don’t like to compare myself to the others, but I know I made All-AFL and All-Pro teams at least 10 times,” said Otto, who never missed a snap for the Raiders, playing in 210 consecutive games before he retired in 1975 and turned his job over to Dave Dalby.
“What I did after that was to talk with the young lineman, especially the centers, sometimes watched film with them, and always encourage them, which is a Raiders tradition.
“We’ve had some good to great centers, and I don’t compare them, but I’m proud of every one of them.”
Dalby, a 6-3, 247-pounder who was drafted in the fourth round out of UCLA in 1972, picked up right where Otto left off, starting 135 consecutive games over the next 14 seasons—including victories in Super Bowls XI, XV and XVIII.
Perhaps because he played at the same time as Hall of Fame center Mike Webster of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dalby was overlooked and made the Pro Bowl only in 1977—but those three Super Bowl rings were plenty of consolation.
“Talk about toughness, David was just a tough kid,” Otto said of Dalby. “Basically what I think of David is that he was a great center and football player. I know, because I had David on my heels all the time after he joined us.
“I helped him as much as I could, and when I retired I was very pleased to have a young man like Dave Dalby take my place. I think he was a bit underrated, but I was there cheering for him and was very proud of him.”
The next great Raiders center was 6-6, 305-pound Don Mosebar, who they selected in the first round of the 1983 draft out of USC. He played 13 seasons, starting at guard for the first two before stepping into the middle when Dalby retired.
Mosebar was selected to the Pro Bowl three times before his career ended because of an eye injury he sustained during training camp in 1996.
“Don was a very good football player, but unfortunately he had some nagging (back) injuries that prevented him from being even better,” Otto recalled. “Just as I did, Dave Dalby was a very good mentor and helped him out.
“But Don Mosebar was another very good center, was a pretty fair pass blocker as I recall, and played well for the Raiders for a long time.”
When talking about the best five centers in Raiders history, you have to mention 6-3, 320-pound Barret Robbins, although much of Raider Nation will never forgive him for what happened in Super Bowl XXXVII against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in San Diego.
Robbins sustained a knee injury the week before in the AFC Championship Game and in the days before the Super Bowl, a trainer told him he couldn’t play if the knee didn’t improve.
Reportedly, Robbins had alcohol and drug problems, which set him off. He disappeared and was seen drinking in Tijuana, and was suspended for the game, which the Buccaneers won, 48-21.
Two years earlier, Robbins dominated the middle of the Buccaneers’ defense as the Raiders rolled to a 45-0 victory in Tampa.
“It’s too bad what happened to Robbins and that he wasn’t able to show what he could do in the Super Bowl,” Otto said. “He was very strong and really could control the middle of the field.
“Robbins played the game the way it was meant to be played. He played it like a Raider.”
That thread at center from the Silver and Black has run through Hudson, Robbins, Mosebar, and Dalby, all the way back to Otto.
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