I'll bet Lamonica could throw a 60-yarder and hit the bull's eye TODAY! He provided me with so many thrills, especially when his receivers were Billetnikoff, Raymond Chester, and Warren Wells. Talk about excitement!
Lamonica is the reason I started watching football at the age of 10. I was in another room and kept hearing " the mad bomber strikes again " ran into the TV room and saw Lamonica in that silver and black and fell in love with the raiders then and there. Rnfl.
Me Too! I can cry just thinking about those AFC WEST GAMES with that One of a Kind one and only Charlie Joiner voice on NBC into the afternoon/evening on Sundays and the joy I felt when we won and the Sadness and Sorrow I felt for the rest of the evening and night with the stadium lights turning on at the ending point of the game with perhaps a slight rain or drizzle and the dirty uniforms from the hard-fought battle of the day when we lost. K.C. EST. 1969
I was 10 and since I was a boy I thought boys should know football. I turned on the t.v. one Sunday and the Raiders were playing someone I forget but they won. That was it. The Raiders were my team. I watched the miracle year of George Blanda and delighted in the big write ups in the sports sections of the papers. I had both Lamonica's and Blanda's football cards. (sadly lost) But I loved watching Daryle and the Raiders play and WIN! Glory days.
the most underrated QB in football history....6 3. 210-15.....big QB his day.....biletnikoff, chester, billy cannon...........warren Wells was the original Randy Moss.....unguardable in man to man
Tragic that his career was derailed by prison for assault/rape---never been able to find out much about this case against him-he's been interviewed in later years and doesn't talk about it
???? The NY Jets won 1968 AFL title game 27-23 over the Raiders. No one named "Kenny" was throwing the ball to Warren Wells and John Rauch was the coach not John Madden. The 1969 AFL championship game was between the Kansas City Chiefs & the Raiders, Chiefs won 17-7. Don't know what game you were watching.
Cefcecdfs hey you go way back just like me. I started watching back in 63. Remember the high school field? Frank Youle, about 15000 seats. I am 69 with cancer. BUT DAMN I REMEMBER SO MANY THINGS. Remember Roger Hagberg? Hewritt Dixon, Clem Denials?
This man most assuredly belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, absolutely NO QUESTION! What I believe has kept him out and continues to KEEP him out (along with several other deserving former AFL players...like Otis Taylor)...is ( IMO ) the fact that he started out, played, excelled & dominated in the American Football League. His career, like that of so many others who played in the AFL was marginalized and many of those great players of that era have been ostracized by the pro-NFL sycophants who were allowed a vote (i.e, the pro-NFL writers, TV people, radio reporters, etc who were ALL loyal to Pete Rozelle along with the dirt-bag NFL owners of that era, many of whom made side deals with media types--cash into the pocket, favors, etc,-- in exchange for favorable coverage, or voting in this player or that one, certainly NOT an AFL player), so a great QB like Lamonica woud never get voted into the hallowed Hall. Put Lamonica on the pathetic New Orleans Saints of that era and he would've turned them into a competitive team and then a winner. Same thing with the Falcons, who were slightly better than the Saints. And Lamonica with a team like the Dallas Cowboys would've won multiple Super Bowls. I saw him play in person in Kansas City many times and also on TV many many times. He ALWAYS dominated. He was feared. He was a winner! His teams were winners! The fact that he isn't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a complete disgrace! And I'm saying this as a Chiefs Fan. I've only pulled for the Raiders once in my life (Super Bowl 2 vs the Packers), and I believe the Raiders belong in Oakland! It truly bothers me to see Mark Davis sell his soul (the one given to him by his father, Mr Davis) and take a pile of cash and move the Raiders to Vegas. They'll always be the Oakland Raiders to me. Long Live the AFL!!!
Back in '95 in Jack London Square at the Welcome back raiders rally I was so jacked up to see the team back- I spotted my childhood hero Daryl...I yell at him "MAD BOMBER!' Daryl backed off and said "Yeah.." He thought I was crazy. I guess I was :-)
I think what worked against him was the SB II loss to the Packers, and upset playoff losses the next two years to the Jets and Chiefs. Granted, not his fault, the Raider D lost the SB to the Pack, but I think that's what a lot of those old school voters saw.
As a kid my favorite Oakland Raider player was quarterback Tom Flores. I'll always remember the day in Spring, 1967, when my dad, laughing and holding the sports page, approached me and said, "The Oakland Raiders have traded quarterback Tom Flores and end Art Powell to Buffalo for quarterback Daryle Lamonica and end Glenn Bass." I WAS STUNNED !!
there are people still living in Buffalo/Western NY who are remain bitter about that trade--Jack Kemp was on the downside of his career and yet the Bills demented owner Ralph Wilson agreed to trade Lamonica to Oakland. Al Davis was looking for just the kind of QB Lamonica was to run his offense and got just what he was looking for
Daryle Lamonica was THE premier quarterback in the game from 1967 thru 1972 --check his stats against anyone else from that time period...no one comes close.
@@LSturdy in my memories Tark might have had a little more publicity because of his bringing the Giants within one game of the playoffs in 1969 and George Blanda was getting a lot of press from coming off the bench in his 40s. However, defenses were always nervous when Lamonica and that vertical offense was on the field. If Oakland's running game was working it made them really dangerous. Nothing but props for both men, great quarterbacks in the day.
Legend! Watch highlight reels of him. Almost every pass was over 25 yards! And incredible accuracy deep! It's like tossing a screen or check down was an insult to him!
arguably the second greatest Raider quarterback of all time...(Snake)...already, Raider Nation is calling Derek Carr the "Mad Bomber II"....thanks for the memories Daryle Lamonica...GO RAIDER NATION
Happy to see the Raiders resurgence--hope they can find a way to stay in Oakland---I'm not thrilled to be cheering for them in Las Vegas--also find it interesting that the team has improved dramatically since the passing of Al Davis--it appears his son knew what was needed to turn the team around-I think Al Davis lost touch with the organizational management in later years and hence they were mediocre/bad at best
The mad bomber .... the Raiders owe him at least 1 super bowl ring. Good good times for the silver and black right there. He was Derek Carr before Derek Carr.
The Mad Bomber! I loved those games and loved hating the hell out of Lamonica with a passion in Football terms! Im a K.C. Fan since 1969 and guess where Im from!.. Oakland/Berkeley ,CA Go Figure Lol! I love my Chiefs but I couldn't do without LaMonica Warren Wells and that Raider Mystique in the NFL. I love you Daryl!😌 And I thank you for those times! GO CHIEFS!❤
Larmonica doesn't get enough credit for his success. Depending on how many games Tom Brady loses each year, Larmonica is either #2 or #3 in all-time winning pct for a QB (after Brady's 2016 season Daryle is #3). Not too shabby. (Otto Graham is #1)
Agree. AFL only players, which Lamonica isn't, get no credit by the NFL. There are none in the HOF. For an AFL player to be in the HOF he had to play after the merger.
I had hoped to hear Daryle comment on today's NFL in regards to the amount of attempts QB'S throw in the game today.People thought Daryle and John Hadl threw a lot.Nothing compared to these guy's in the game today.
A much better QB than Namath and did much better than Joe in the AFL and NFL, second only to Len Dawson among AFL QBs. Daryl should be in the Hall of Fame while Namath should not. Namaths SB victory was legit because for once he-out of fear I think-stuck to Eubanks disciplined game plan instead of his own out of control td or pick 6 wildness. Joe was the real Mad Bomber, who sacrificed wins seeking personal glory, Daryl was the Winner/Bomber. He sacrificed completion % with his down the field game, but he worked it for wins. He won in the NFL also. Namath didn't beat a winning team till his 5th year in the NFL.
I would not say he was better than Joe but just as good yes, Namath's own words, Namath had a great release, only ever person I saw with that release was Marino, Remember Ken Stabler came in 1970 and took over the starting job from Lamonica. Joe got all the publicity because of NY, Dont' sell Joe short he was good too, Although Matt Snell won Super Bowl lll not Joe, I can see your point. How about Cliff Branch and Tom Flores there are 2 Raiders who do not get the credit Flores 2 Super Bowls.
Namath's reputation was mostly a result of PR. He was the guy who guaranteed the win in SB III and it happened. That was the point where people began to take the AFL seriously. The Raiders had the chance to do that the year before, but Lombardi's Packers were a real load. Then there were the fur coats and the NYC playboy lifestyle... Namath was just really well-known.
You know Namath got a lot of attention throwing the ball......but you know what? This one was tough.....Daryle can throw can throw the ball as well as anyone. Daryle had a great arm....
Joe had better short throwing ability and reading defenses. This one was a wild man. That's why no Super Bowl. Gabriel, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino.....same way...
ginzod Joe Namath couldn't read a parking meter much less a defense. He just threw to the open man, who more times than not tended to be playing for the other team...
No, Namath could read a defense. It was ok until all the teams went to zone defense. Zone defense was started by the Colts......hurt both QB's........especially Lamonica. When Darryl lost Warren Wells.......that hurt him too.
Imagine the practices the Raiders must have had in those days. Biletnikoff, Wells and Chester going against the Bump and Run Boys, Willie Brown and Kent McCloughan.
brettfaverify the raiders did have a version of the west coast offence! Bill Walsh first pro job was with the Oakland Raiders where he learned the passing game NOT Paul Brown! Walsh is part of the Al Davis coaching tree
would have like to asked him about the 1968 AFL championship--why he threw "the lateral" that cost the Raiders the game against the Jets----what happened in the 1969 AFL championship--the fact that the Raiders beat the Chiefs 7 out of 8 games but lost this game that meant a trip to SB IV-did Otis Taylor catch a crucial pass that was actually out of bounds?--did he think the Raiders could have beaten the Vikings if they had met them there? All this interview is about how he would coach but he says he never would have coached
+david....not so sure about the Chiefs but Lamonica had stated in an earlier interview that on that particular game vs the Jets at Shea Stadium, there had been a 35 mile an hour wind blowing against the Offense...the pass in the flat more or less blew backwards...was NOT intended to be a lateral...the bigger mistake was the receiver ALSO was looking for a forward pass and did not expect a lateral which Ralph Baker recovered and in essence ended the game for Oakland...there is a clip of the pass somewhere here on YT..judge for yourself
He would have made a fine coach also I think but he never wanted to be a coach due to family and other obligations God bless you Darryl and Rest In Peace.
MrGeocor Well... it's a shame.....he didn't go to the Buffalo Bills during the 1973 season when Madden wanted Stabler to start. The Buffalo Bills could have really used him...they had OJ...but a rookie QB and the team really couldn't go past being a 9-5 team and no playoff's....Darryl would have brought them to the Super Bowl. The Bills should have got him.
That was that magical OJ MVP season. Too bad OJ couldn't show that MVP style in the playoffs due to the Bills missing out. If that Bills team were in they probably would've had a magical postseason run.
Warren Wells was combination of Paul Warfield and......his routes were precise. Mathematics. He ran his routes with speed. Plus he had great hand and eye coordination.
If it weren't for those damn chiefs always getting in the way he might have played in a few more SuperBowls and maybe won at least 1 timing is everything.
