Daryle Lamonica, the deep pitching quarterback who won the AFL Player of the Year award and led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl, has passed away. He was 80 years old.
The Fresno County Sherriff said Lamonica died at her home in Fresno on Thursday morning. Death is considered to be of natural causes.
The Raiders acquired Lamonica in a deal from Buffalo in 1967, and he was immediately the perfect fit for his franchise’s coveted Al Davis vertical crime owner.
Nicknamed the “Mad Bomber,” Lamonica made an immediate impact in Oakland after starting just four games in four seasons with the Bills.
Lamonica’s deep arm teamed up with recipients like Warren Wells and Fred Biletnikoff and turned the Raiders into a powerhouse. They won 13-1 in his first season as Lamonica was the first team’s All-Pro and AP AFL Player of the Year as he led the league with 30 touchdown passes.
Lamonica then threw two TD passes in the win over Houston in the AFL title game to send the Raiders to their first Super Bowl, where they lost to Green Bay 33-14.
In six seasons with the Raiders, Lamonica was one of the most passers in the game, leading professional football with 145 touchdown passes – 24 more than second-placed Fran Tarkenton. His 16,006 yard pass ranked third from 1967-72.
Lamonica was an All-Pro again in 1969 when he led the AFL with 3,302 passing yards and 34 touchdowns. 34 TDs is still the franchise’s single-season record more than half a century later.
Lamonica was in top form in the playoffs, hitting five TD passes in a 41-6 win over Kansas City in 1968 and a record six the following season against Houston. Only Steve Young and brave cat matched Lamonica’s six TD passes in a knockout and only Patrick Mahomes and Kurt Warner have multiple games with at least five games.
Lamonica also starred in one of the most memorable games ever, launching four TD passes, including the opening goal for Charlie Smith in a 43-32 win over the Jets in one game. now known as “The Heidi Game” because NBC cut out the East Coast ending before the Raiders returned to show the children’s series.
Lamonica was replaced in the starting position in 1973 by Ken Stabler and entered the FIFA World Cup the following season, where he ended his career.
Lamonica finished her career with 19,154 yards of passing and 164 TDs. The Raiders won 62-16-6 in Lamonica’s opening game for the best win percentage of any starting QB in the Super Bowl era with at least 75 starts.
Lamonica was born and raised in Fresno before attending college at Notre Dame. He was drafted by Green Bay in round 12 and round 23 by the Bills in 1963 and chose to go to the AFL. He was a backup for Jack Kemp in Buffalo before becoming a star in Oakland.
