Former Oakland Raiders star quarterback Daryle Lamonica died on Thursday at his Fresno, California, home. The death is believed to be of natural causes.
Lamonica played college ball at Notre Dame. He was the team’s starting quarterback for 30 games from 1960-62. Lamonica had 99 completions in 211 attempts for 1,363 yards, with eight touchdowns.
He was drafted in the 12th round by Green Bay and the 23rd round by the Bills in 1963. He backed up the star Bills QB Jack Kemp.
He was traded to Oakland on March 14, 1967, the first day of the draft, in a deal that saw QB Tom Flores, split end Art Powell, and a second-round draft choice go to the Bills for Lamonica, split end Glenn Bass, and two draft picks (third and fifth round).
Flores would go on to become a coach of the Oakland franchise. The exploits of the “Mad Bomber” soon took off for the Silver & Black.
From 1967-to-69, Lamonica was 36-4-1 in 41 starts.
In his six seasons as a starter for the Raiders, led football with 145 touchdown passes — 24 more than Fran Tarkenton. His 16,006 passing yards ranked third from 1967-to-72.
He led Oakland to four consecutive division titles between 1967-70, and took the Raiders to Super Bowl II, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers.
Lamonica led the Raiders to an overall 62-16-6 regular-season record. His .791 winning percentage in the Super Bowl era is first among QBs with at least 70 starts.
In addition to his two MVP and first-team All-Pro honors, Lamonica received three AFL All-Star selections and went to two NFL Pro Bowls.
Lamonica finished with a 66-16-6 record, 19,154 passing yards, 164 passing TDs, 640 rushing yards, and 14 rushing scores.