MVP Profile: Daryle Lamonica, 1967

Quarterback, Oakland Raiders

Age:  26

5^th season in pro football, 1^st with Raiders

College: Notre Dame

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 215

Prelude:

A 24^th round draft pick of the Bills (12^th round by Green Bay in the NFL draft), Lamonica backed up Jack Kemp in Buffalo for his first four seasons. Often used in relief of Kemp, he was effective but became restless in the backup role and was traded to Oakland for the 1967 season. He was also mobile and led AFL quarterbacks with 289 rushing yards in 1964. Given the opportunity to start, and with a strong arm and affinity for going deep, he proved to be an excellent fit in Oakland’s vertical passing game.

1967 Season Summary

Appeared and started in all 14 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing

Attempts – 425 [3]

Most attempts, game – 39 at Denver 11/5

Completions – 220 [2]

Most completions, game – 23 vs. Kansas City 10/1, at Houston 12/10

Yards – 3228 [3]

Most yards, game – 349 at San Diego 12/3

Completion percentage – 51.8 [3]

Yards per attempt – 7.6 [3]

TD passes – 30 [1]

Most TD passes, game – 4 at Boston 10/22, at San Diego 12/3

Interceptions – 20 [5]

Most interceptions, game – 4 at NY Jets 10/7, at Buffalo 10/15

Passer rating – 80.8 [2]

300-yard passing games – 3

200-yard passing games – 9

Rushing

Attempts – 22

Most attempts, game - 4 (for 9 yds.) at Boston 10/22

Yards – 110

Most yards, game – 30 yards (on 2 carries) vs. Denver 9/10

Yards per attempt – 5.0

TDs – 4

Points

TDs – 4

Points – 24

Postseason: 2 G

Pass attempts – 58

Most attempts, game - 34 vs. Green Bay, Super Bowl

Pass completions – 25

Most completions, game - 15 vs. Green Bay, Super Bowl

Passing yardage – 319

Most yards, game - 208 vs. Green Bay, Super Bowl

TD passes – 4

Most TD passes, game - 2 vs. Houston, AFL Championship, vs. Green Bay, Super Bowl

Interceptions – 1

Most interceptions, game - 1 vs. Green Bay, Super Bowl

Rushing attempts – 5

Most rushing attempts, game - 5 vs. Houston, AFL Championship

Rushing yards – 22

Most rushing yards, game - 22 vs. Houston, AFL Championship

Average gain rushing – 4.4

Rushing TDs – 1

Awards & Honors:

AFL Player of the Year: AP, UPI, Sporting News

1^st team All-AFL: AP, UPI

2^nd team All-AFL: NEA, NY Daily News

AFL All-Star Game

Raiders went 13-1 to win AFL Western Division while leading the league in scoring (466 points) and TDs (58). Won AFL Championship over Houston Oilers (40-7). Lost Super Bowl to Green Bay Packers (33-14).

Aftermath:

“The Mad Bomber” followed up in 1968 by passing for 3245 yards and 25 TD passes, and won a memorable duel against Joe Namath and the Jets in the so-called “Heidi Game”. The team went 12-2 and advanced to the AFL title game but lost in the rematch with New York. Lamonica had another MVP season in ’69, leading the league in pass attempts (426), completions (221), yards (3302), TD passes (34) and, on the downside, interceptions (25) although the team again came up short in the AFL Championship game. With the AFL/NFL merger in 1970, he was selected to the Pro Bowl but his numbers were in decline and injuries were becoming a factor. Following one more Pro Bowl selection in ’72, Lamonica lost his starting job to Ken Stabler in 1973 and, after throwing just 9 passes in ’74, played out his option and signed with the Southern California Sun of the WFL. A preseason injury knocked him out of action and he backed up rookie Pat Haden, completing just 9 of 19 passes for 90 yards with a TD and three interceptions before the league folded and his career came to an end. Overall, in the AFL and NFL he passed for 19,154 yards with 164 TDs and 138 interceptions and had a 66-16-6 regular season record as a starting quarterback (4-5 in the postseason).

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself). 

[Updated 2/9/14]