Daryle Lamonica, former Raiders, dies at 80

Daryle Lamonica, a former quarterback for Notre Dame, the Buffalo Bills, and the Oakland Raiders died on Thursday. He was 80 years old.

Brandon Lamonica, Lamonica’s son, told a foreign news channel that his father died peacefully in his sleep.

His death has yet to be determined, although according to his son, he was not in ill health.

Lamonica’s powerful arm earned him the nickname “The Mad Bomber” even though he played long before the contemporary pass-heavy version of the game.

He threw for 19,154 yards, 164 touchdowns, and 138 interceptions in 12 seasons with the Bills and Raiders, compiling a 66-16-6 record. He also scored 14 touchdowns on the ground.

With Raiders in the AFL, he won two MVP honors in 1967 and 1969, as well as being the MVP of the AFL championship game in 1967.

He won two AFL championships with the Bills in 1964 and 1965, before capturing his first with the Raiders in 1967.

He was drafted by the Bills in the 24th round of the 1963 AFL draught and the Packers in the 12th round of the NFL draught the same year after playing for the Fighting Irish.

Before being sold to Oakland in 1967, he chose to play for Buffalo, where he served as a run-first player behind Bills QB Jack Kemp.

In that season, the squad went 13–1 and won the AFL championship before losing in Super Bowl II to the Packers.

In 1970, the first season after the AFL-NFL merger, he was a second-team NFL All-Pro.

In 1973, his playing time began to dwindle, and he was eventually replaced by fellow Raiders legend Ken Stabler.

He played one year for the Southern California Sun in the upstart World Football League after his final NFL season in 1974.