Daryle Lamonica, a legendary quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas Raiders), died at his Fresno, California home on Thursday morning, according to CBS Sports. He was 80 years old. The cause of death is believed to be natural causes. Lamonica was the Raiders quarterback from 1966 to 1974.ย
“The Raiders Family is deeply saddened to learn of Daryle Lamonica’s passing earlier today,” the teamย said in a statement. “The Raider Nation will forever miss his easy-going nature and warm smile. Our deepest condolences are with his wife Mary, son Brandon, the rest of the Lamonica family, teammates and friends.” ย
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Lamonica started his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills, which was an AFL team at the time. He played for the Bills for four seasons before being traded to the Raiders where he became a star. In his first season with the Raiders, Lamonica threw for 3,228 yards, and 30 touchdowns, which led to him being named AFL MVP. He won the award again in 1969 after throwing for 3,302 yards, and 34 touchdowns. Lamonica led the Raiders to three AFL Championships (1964, 1965 and 1967) and was named AFL Championship MVP in 1967. Lamonica also co-led the AFL in rushing touchdowns with six in 1964.ย
“Of all the years I played with the Raiders, we always had winning seasons,” Lamonica said in a column posted in 2019. “I played 12 years and 11 of those I was in playoffs, championships or Super Bowls, so I didn’t have a lot of time to think about the game that I just played in. After winning the 1967 AFL Championship, it was new territory for us, we had to learn a new system and go in and do our best in Super Bowl II against the Green Bay Packers. We went against a bunch of seasoned veterans that didn’t make any mistakes. We made a few mistakes and it cost us.”
Lamonica was replaced by Ken Stabler in 1973. He would be with the Raiders until the end of the 1974 season and would then play for the World Football League for one year. In his pro football career, Lamonica threw for 19,154 yards, 164 touchdowns and 138 interceptions. He ranks fourth in all-time passing yards in Raiders history and third in passing touchdowns.ย
