Top 10 Oakland Raiders Quarterbacks of All-Time
2. Daryle Lamonica, 1967-1974
W-L Record: 62-16-6
Playoff W-L Record: 4-5
Passing Stats: 16,655 yards, 50.6% completion rate, 148 TD’s, 115 INT’s
American Football League Championships: 1
Daryle Lamonica, AKA “The Mad Bomber” was traded from Buffalo – along with two other players – for Tom Flores to Oakland before the 1967 season. The two quarterbacks, both Central California products (like the author of this article, who played at both Daryle Lamonica Stadium and Tom Flores Stadium), had similar styles, but Lamonica was bigger and had the bigger arm, making him a better fit for Al Davis’ vertical offense.
And he was the perfect fit for Davis. Lamonica, who had started just four games in Buffalo, started all 14 games for the 1967 Raiders as they went 13-1 and won the AFL title before losing to the Packers in Super Bowl II. He put up gawdy numbers almost unheard of by the standards of the day: 30 touchdown passes (which is second-best in Raider history) to lead professional football, a 51.8% completion rate and 3,228 yards. He was named to the AFL All-Star game and was first-team All-Pro.
It was a taste of things to come. In his first six years with the Raiders, he missed only three starts, and led the Raiders to the postseason five times. In 1969, he would have another All-Star/All-Pro season, leading the AFL in attempts, completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns. His 34 passing touchdowns that year is still the record for the Raiders franchise, though Derek Carr could be threatening it this season. The Raiders won 10 or more games in four of the six seasons he was the starter, and did not have a losing season in that time. He would make the NFL Pro Bowl two times after the merger, in 1970 and 1972.
Lamonica made the Raiders a powerhouse at the perfect time, cementing their status as one of the AFL’s top franchises as the merger loomed, then keeping the Raiders a continual playoff contender into the early 1970’s. After struggling through three starts to begin the 1973 season, Lamonica was benched in favor of a young quarterback named Ken Stabler, of course. And the rest was history.