CARD: Upper Deck Legends 1997 Certified
ACQUIRED: 2025, eBay

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

• Daryl Lamonica was the Notre Dame Irish Quarterback from 1960-’62.
• He completed 99 of 211 passes for 1363 yards and 8 TDs, while rushing for 353 yards on 144 carries, scoring 10 rushing TDs.
• Chose by both the Bills and Packers in the respective AFL and NFL Drafts in 1963.
• Played for the Bills from 1963-’66 primarily backing up Jack Kemp.
• Traded to the Oakland Raiders in a player deal in 1967.
• Fit perfectly in the Raiders long bomb game, leading the Raiders immediately to Super Bowl II.
• Threw for 3,228 yards and 30 TDs in first season with Oakland.
• In ’68 completed 206 of 416 passes for 3,245 yards and 25 TDs.
• Threw for 401 yards in the AFL Championship game but ultimately lost to the New York Jets.
• Completed 221 of 426 passes for 3,302 yards and 34 TDs- all career highs in 1969.
• Set NFL record with 6 TDs in first half of game that season.
• Again lost in championship game, this time to the Chiefs.
• Threw for 2,516 yards in ’70, along with 22 TDs on 179 of 356 passes.
• On the backside of his career, Lamonica still managed to throw for 16 and 18 TDs respectively in 1971 and ’72.
• Entering the 1973 season, he’d be relegated to back up duty for the final two years of his career in Oakland, with the emergency of Kenny Stabler.
• Still feeling that he could play, Daryl jumped ship to the WFL.
• He’d play for the Sothern California Sun, but the league folded by October of that year.
• An avid outdoorsman, Lamonica loved fishing and spent a lot of his free time indulging in his hobby.
• Over his career Lamonica posted an amazing starting record of 66-16-6.

ACCOLADES:

• MVP East-West Shrine Game 1962
• AFL MVP 1967, ’69
• First Team All-AFL 1967, ’69
• Pro Bowl 1970, ’72
• AFL Championship MVP 1967
• AFL Player of the Year 1967, ’69

NOTES:

I’d been tracking Lamonica’s autograph for a while and saw a spike up to around 40 bucks after he passed. That was way too rich for my blood. I waited patiently and the right deal popped up.

Lamonica is another player from the days of the AFL who just doesn’t get enough respect and should be in the HoF. Daryl at one point led professional football with 145 touchdown passes from 1967-’72.

EPITAPH:

April 21, 2022- Daryl Lamonica died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes, at the age of 80, while at his home in Fresno, Ca.