Post by TheShadow on Apr 2, 2006 9:01:10 GMT -5
www.oaklandtribune.com
by Art Spander
YOU LOOK AT Daryle Lamonica and wonder where the years went and where
his hair went. The Mad Bomber? These days it's more as if he's been
attacked by the mad barber known as Father Time.
You look at Jim Plunkett and wonder how he took the beating before he
got his chance and took two teams to Super Bowl victories. Jim doesn't
live in the past, but, as Lamonica, the past lives in him.
If there's one thing the Oakland Raiders have, it's history, plenty of
it.
History with Lamonica, Plunkett, Al Davis, John Madden, Art Shell,
Gene Upshaw.
History with Immaculate Receptions and Immaculate Deceptions and a
Swiss miss named Heidi.
History that reminds Lamonica and Plunkett of friendships and
achievements, of a time when they -- and we -- were young and the
Raiders were fascinating.
A "Sea of Hands," a misplayed lateral at Shea Stadium, the good old
days and the bad old days. The Raiders? They may have been a headache,
but they never were a bore.
Lamonica and Plunkett, two quarterbacks who, with Ken Stabler, played
from the late 1960s well into the 1980s, when the Raiders were
dominant, leading to the nonsensical label "Team of the Decades."
Surely that's an attempt to one-up the 49ers' slogan in the 1980s as
Team of the Decade.
The old Raiders, the new Raiders, Madden and Gruden, Charlie Smith and
Jerry Rice, have been placed on a two-disc DVD set, "NFL History of
the Oakland Raiders," part of the Warner Home Video Series. Lamonica
and Plunkett were at the introduction at Ricky's Sports Grill in San
Leandro, not so much selling as remembering.
Two Californians, Lamonica from Fresno, Plunkett from San Jose, who
played in Super Bowls for a California team, Lamonica after going to
Notre Dame and spending solid seasons in Buffalo, Plunkett after going
to Stanford and spending some awful seasons in New England and with
the 49ers.
"It makes me feel somewhat nostalgic," Plunkett said, as the video
rolled on. He is 55, a businessman, a golfer, a husband and the father
of two grown children, a daughter at Manhattan College, a son at
Arizona State.
"But sometimes," said Plunkett, who also works with the Raiders, "when
I'm down there on the field, get close and see the hitting going on, I
look back and wonder, 'How did I ever do that?'"
With style and courage, is how. Al Davis rescued Plunkett from the
scrap heap after the Niners waived him in 1978 -- "Many people thought
I was washed up," he said then, "and I wasn't sure they were wrong" --
and two seasons later Jim was Super Bowl MVP.
He had been the first pick in the 1971 draft, by the Patriots, and in
his opening game beat the Raiders. But then came the injuries and the
doubts.
"I struggled with New England and San Francisco," said Plunkett, who
lives in Atherton. "But I found a home in Oakland, surrounded by a lot
of great players, and it makes your job easier, makes you look a lot
better."
Lamonica was the stereotypical QB for an Al Davis offense, the guy who
literally could throw a ball 80 yards, if only in practice. Davis got
him from the Bills before the 1967 season. Lamonica threw 30 touchdown
passes that year, 25 in'68, when the Raiders made it to the Super Bowl
only to lose to Green Bay, and 34 in'69. A bomber, yes. But "mad"?
"Howard Cosell gave me that nickname in'67 or'68," Lamonica said. "I
didn't like it at first. It sounds like a guy throwing wildly. But the
next game I got under the center, Jim Otto, and made eye contact with
(the defense), and they had backed up two steps, and I realized I
could use it as a weapon. Now it's my registered trademark."
Lamonica is 63, lives in Fresno, has been married to the same woman 35
years, has a 27-year-old son who went to Fresno State on a golf
scholarship and a 40-year-old son back east from a previous marriage.
Daryle hunts and fishes, "as much as I can," and is involved in home
construction.
"It was a special time," Lamonica said of his Raider days. "The
camaraderie was there. We went out and had dinner, had a beer, hung
together. The players today don't do that.
"When I see those films, I remember everything very vividly. It was
such a big part of my life. I remember the good and the bad. The years
have just gone. But mentally, I feel like I can still go out there and
play."
Maybe he could. Everyone go deep.