Quarterback, Oakland
Age: 28
7th
season in pro football, 3rd with Raiders
College: Notre
Dame
Height: 6’3” Weight: 215
Prelude:
A 24th
round draft pick of the Bills (12th 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. Lamonica passed for 3228
yards and 30 touchdowns as he received AFL Player of the Year recognition for
the first time and the Raiders won the league title. “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.
1967 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 426
[1]
Most
attempts, game – 44 at Cincinnati 11/2
Completions –
221 [1]
Most
completions, game – 23 vs. Miami 9/20
Yards – 3302 [1]
Most yards,
game – 333 at NY Jets 11/30
Completion
percentage – 51.9 [2]
Yards per
attempt – 7.8 [2]
TD passes – 34
[1]
Most TD
passes, game – 6 vs. Buffalo 10/19
Interceptions
– 25 [1]
Most
interceptions, game – 5 at Cincinnati 11/2
Passer rating
– 79.8 [2]
300-yard
passing games – 2
200-yard
passing games – 10
Rushing
Attempts – 13
Most
attempts, game - 3 (for 6 yds.) at NY Jets 11/30
Yards – 36
Most yards,
game – 12 yards (on 1 carry) vs. Buffalo 10/19
Yards per
attempt – 2.8
TDs – 1
Scoring
TDs – 1
Points – 6
Postseason: 2
G
Pass attempts
– 56
Most
attempts, game - 39 vs. Kansas City, AFL Championship
Pass
completions – 28
Most
completions, game - 15 vs. Kansas City, AFL Championship
Passing
yardage – 443
Most yards,
game - 276 vs. Houston, AFL Divisional playoff
TD passes – 6
Most TD
passes, game - 6 vs. Houston, AFL Divisional playoff
Interceptions
– 4
Most
interceptions, game - 3 vs. Kansas City, AFL Championship
Awards & Honors:
AFL Player of
the Year: UPI, Sporting News
1st
team All-AFL: AP, PFWA, UPI, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News
2nd
team All-AFL: Hall of Fame, NEA, NY Daily News
AFL All-Star Game
Raiders went 12-1-1
to finish first in the AFL Western Division while leading the league in total
yards (5036), passing yards (3271), scoring (377 points), and touchdowns (45).
Won AFL Divisional playoff over Houston Oilers (56-7). Lost AFL Championship to
Kansas City Chiefs (17-7).
Aftermath:
With the
AFL/NFL merger in 1970, Lamonica 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, he 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).
--
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).
