Las Vegas Raiders: 50 greatest players in franchise history

Quarterback Daryle Lamonica might have been a little ahead of his time. Known as “The Mad Bomber”, Lamonica had problems letting it rip deep in any passing situation. That might have hurt his career completion percentage a bit (49.5 percent), but Lamonica was one of the better signal-callers in Raiders’ history for sure.

Fresh out of Notre Dame, Lamonica would begin his professional football career in the AFL with the Buffalo Bills. There, Lamonica made his first AFL All-Star Game in 1965, as well as winning his first two AFL Championships with the 1964 and 1965 Bills. In 1967, Lamonica would be traded to Oakland for wide receiver Art Powell and quarterback/future Raiders head coach Tom Flores.

While with the Raiders, Lamonica really shined slinging the pigskin. He would make two more AFL All-Star Games in 1967 and 1969. Lamonica would be first-team All-League in both of those seasons, as well as AFL MVP in both years. In 1967, Lamonica would quarterback the Raiders to their first and only AFL Championship.

After the AFL/NFL merger in 1970, Lamonica would make two trips to the Pro Bowl in 1970 and 1972. Lamonica would retire in 1975 after one year playing for the Southern California Sun in the short-lived WFL. As a member of the Raiders, Lamonica completed 50.6 percent of his passes for 16,655 yards, 148 touchdowns, and 115 interceptions. He went 62-16-6 as a starter during his eight years in Oakland.