Football History: Daryle Lamonica

1969-daryle-lamonicaThe American Football League was around for 10 seasons before it merged with the National Football League in 1970.

As the leagues came together, so did the all-time records. One of the marks established in the final year of the AFL was touchdown passes in a half.

Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers tied the mark of six scoring strikes in the first half against the Chicago Bears in 2014.

The first quarterback to do it was known as “The Mad Bomber” because of all of the long passes he threw in his 13-year career.

Daryle Lamonica went wild against his old team as the Oakland Raiders beat the Buffalo Bills 50-21 on Oct. 19, 1969.

In the opening period in Oakland, Lamonica tossed a 53-yard pass to Billy Cannon and then added a 10-yard score to Pete Banaszak.

The second quarter, he hit Banaszak from 1-yard and Warren Wells from 13 to make it 28-0. Lamonica found Fred Biletnikoff twice from 16 and 23 yards as the Raiders built a 42-0 advantage.

For the game, Lamonica completed 21-of-36 passes for 313 yards.

In a bit of irony the final points of the game were scored by the Raiders as Bills quarterback Jack Kemp was tackled in the end zone for a safety.

Started in Buffalo

In 1963, Lamonica was drafted out of Notre Dame by the Bills and the Packers.

Lamonica chose Buffalo and became the backup quarterback to Kemp, who would eventually become a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as the Bills would win AFL championships in 1964 and 1965.

The California native was traded to Oakland prior to the 1967 season, which proved to be a good move for the Raiders. Lamonica led the team to the AFL title with a 13-1 record as he was named the league’s Most Valuable Player. He also led the AFL with 30 touchdown passes.

He played for the Raiders until 1974 before finishing his career with the Southern California Sun of the World Football League in 1975.

A three-time AFL all-star and a two-time NFL pro bowl selection, Lamonica was also the AFL’s final MVP in 1969 as he topped the league with 34 scoring passes.

As a starter, he had a record of 66-16-6 with all but four of his wins with the Raiders.

Heidi Game

Lamonica was also involved in one of the most famous moments in football history known as the Heidi Game.

In 1968, the Raiders were trailing the New York Jets in the final minute of the high scoring contest in Oakland. NBC decided to stay on its programming schedule and broadcast the movie Heidi.

As the movie was being shown, the Raiders scored twice in nine seconds to win the game 43-32. Lamonica threw his fourth touchdown pass of the contest to give the Raiders the lead with 42 seconds remaining.

The game changed how the television networks cover sporting events.