Daryle Lamonica, a high school graduate, passed away.
Lamonica, who was 80 years old at the time of his death, is also the name of the school’s football stadium. On Thursday, a family member confirmed the death but declined to disclose further.
Lamonica died at his Fresno home Thursday morning, according to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office, and the cause of death was natural causes.
Lamonica was a quarterback for Notre Dame in college, and the 6-foot-3, 218-pounder was picked by the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills, respectively. That was before the NFL’s 1966 merger.
He began his career with the Buffalo Bills and eventually moved on to the Oakland Raiders.
While seeing Lamonica play on Monday Night Football in 1967, announcer Howard Cosell gave him the nickname “The Mad Bomber.”
He initially thought it was a “stupid name,” but quickly changed his mind, according to Sports Illustrated. “I thought to myself, ‘Ooh. That appeals to me. Perhaps that isn’t such an awful moniker.’ It stuck, and that’s what I got in the end. It’s now a registered trademark of mine.”
Lamonica had a lot of success on the field.
— He lettered in four sports (football, baseball, track, and basketball) while attending Clovis High School.
— At Notre Dame, he was an All-American quarterback.
— Lamonica was drafted by the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League and the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League in 1963, and he played with the Bills from 1963 to 1966.
— The Raiders got Lamonica from the Bills in 1967, and in his first season with the Silver and Black, Oakland went 13-1 and to the Super Bowl.
— In 1967 and 1969, he was named the American Football League’s Player of the Year twice.
— In 1965, 1967, and 1969, he was named to the American Football League’s All-Star team three times.
— In 1970 and 1972, he was named to the Pro Bowl both times.
In 1964, 1965, and 1967, he was a three-time American Football League champion.
— Set career highs for most passes attempted, completions, total yards, and touchdown pass with the Raiders.
