Oakland Raiders All-50 team: Offensive Line

Jim Otto may as well be the face in the Raider Shield
Photo by Patrick A. Patterson/EXAMINER.com

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Few position groups from any team have the legacy of greatness that the Oakland Raiders have along their offensive line. There are numerous members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as several others who should be enshrined.

Offensive Tackles:

Art Shell: Shell is enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and rightly so. He was also named as one of the tackles when the NFL listed their All-75 team. He was one of the most dominating offensive linemen of his or any generation.

John Vella: Vella was the right tackle opposite Shell as the Raiders won Super Bowl XI. He played a major part in shutting down the Purple People Eaters in that Super Bowl.

Henry Lawrence: He started two of the Raiders three Super Bowl wins. He was named to two Pro Bowls in his 13 years in Silver and Black.

Lincoln Kennedy: Kennedy was the leader of the resurgence of the Oakland Raiders offensive line during the Rich Gannon years. In the classic Raider mold, Kennedy was claimed off the scrap heap and found greatness with the Oakland Raiders.

Offensive Guards:

Gene Upshaw: Upshaw was the most dominant offensive guard of his day. He is enshrined in Canton along with his line-mates Shell and Otto. He combined with Shell to render Hall of Fame defensive lineman Jim Marshall without a single statistic from Super Bowl XV.

Wayne Hawkins: Hawkins was one of the original Oakland Raiders, and played for the Silver and Black for their entire time in the American Football League, being named an all start in half those seasons.

Mickey Marvin: Marvin was on the offensive line for two of the three Raiders Super Bowl wins. He played for the Silver and Black for over a decade.

Steve Wisniewski: The Wiz played for the Raiders for 13 years and earned eight trips to the Pro Bowl. He was often considered one of the 'dirtiest' players in the league, which fit right in with the Raiders image. He has not yet been voted into Canton, but should be.

Center:

Jim Otto: Jim Otto's picture should be in the dictionary next to the definition for football player. Otto started over 200 consecutive games for the Raiders at center. In fact, he was the ONLY man to start at center for the Raiders for the first fourteen years of their existence. Along the way, he was ALL-AFL for every year of its existence. He is the personification of the toughness of the Raiders.

Dave Dalby: Dalby took over the center position for the Oakland Raiders after the 1974 season, and the team didn't miss a beat, nor did he miss a game. When he retired after the 1985 season, the Raiders had started two men at center in a quarter of a century.