Post by TheShadow on Dec 15, 2008 16:56:56 GMT -5
www.visaliatimesdelta.com
Former Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica pays a visit to Visalia's Raiders boosters
BY GERALD CARROLL
Plenty of football was played and talked about this past weekend. Among the highlights:
# Tulare Union defeated El Diamante in a climactic Valley championship game.
# The Heisman Trophy was awarded to Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford.
# EPSN broadcast a colorized version of the 1958 NFL championship game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants — "The Greatest Game Ever Played."
But in a quiet corner of Visalia, at the Visalia Elks Lodge on the 3100 block of West Main Street, football history was speaking.
"Whenever I come [to Visalia], I feel I'm coming home," said former Oakland Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica, guest speaker at the Raider for Life boosters club meeting Friday night.
Though the Raiders have had a terrible run since losing the 2003 Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there was no sign of distress among the roughly 200 silver-and-black fans who enjoyed snacks, merchandise and photo tables and Lamonica's visit. The team's Central Valley boosters group was as enthusiastic as ever about raising money for the Toys for Tots drive with a raffle, while conducting a canned food drive for charity.
"We love it when Daryle visits," said Eliseo Zepeda of Visalia, boosters' president for the past 12 years. "He's from Clovis, and a Valley guy through and through."
Lamonica, 67, is the legendary "Mad Bomber" who brought Raider fans to their feet in the late 1960s and early '70s with one long pass completion after another. In a Dec. 29, 1968, American Football League title game against the New York Jets, Lamonica completed 20 passes for 401 yards — more than 20 yards per completion.
But the Jets won that game and went on to make pro football history by defeating the heavily favored Baltimore Colts, 16-7, in Super Bowl III, with Jets quarterback "Broadway" Joe Namath backing up a pregame "guarantee" of victory.
But it was a regular-season game six weeks earlier at home against those same Jets that made the Raiders famous. In the historic "Heidi Bowl" on Nov. 17, 1968, NBC switched to the movie "Heidi" with 65 seconds left and the Raiders trailing the Namath-led Jets, 32-29.
The Raiders scored twice in the final minute and won, 43-32.
"Nobody saw the end," Lamonica said. "It was especially tough on New York fans who thought the Jets had won the game."
Even Bay Area viewers were denied the thrilling finish, since the absence of today's satellite technology prevented the West Coast from seeing the end of the game as well.
NBC's phone lines failed because of the flood of complaints.
Lamonica carries with him a batch of autographed photos of him throwing the 43-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass to Charlie Smith with 42 seconds left. The Raiders scored yet again when the Jets fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which Oakland recovered in the end zone.
Fresno photographer and boosters member Bill Salazar has many action photos of his own.
"I take photos at every [Raiders] game and have done so since 1969," said Salazar, who displayed examples of his work through the years. "Lamonica is a big part of not only Raider lore, but pro football history."
The Heidi Bowl changed the way pro football game telecasts are handled. Home fans now see all games to their conclusion, regardless of the score.
"TV football was never again the same," Lamonica said.
Though Namath is credited with spurring the eventual AFL-NFL merger by piloting the Jets to the Super Bowl III shocker over the Colts, Lamonica said the merger was inevitable because quarterbacks like him and Namath were just more enjoyable for fans to watch.
"We brought the passing game to fans — and to television," Lamonica said.
But what about the blunt reality of the Raiders' present?
"The fact is that being a Raiders booster goes well beyond just football," said Ralph Gomez, 42, of Kingsburg, who, along with his wife, Lupe, and boys Brian, 7, and Steven, 10, has been steadfast boosters for six years. "This is a great social outlet for us and kids, are more than welcome."
Lamonica blames the Raiders' current troubles on the attitude of the modern professional athlete.
"These days, it's I-I-I and me-me-me," said Lamonica, a trucking and insurance executive after his playing days. "When I played, all 11 players on that field were one. There were no individual stars out there."
Former Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica pays a visit to Visalia's Raiders boosters
BY GERALD CARROLL
Plenty of football was played and talked about this past weekend. Among the highlights:
# Tulare Union defeated El Diamante in a climactic Valley championship game.
# The Heisman Trophy was awarded to Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford.
# EPSN broadcast a colorized version of the 1958 NFL championship game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants — "The Greatest Game Ever Played."
But in a quiet corner of Visalia, at the Visalia Elks Lodge on the 3100 block of West Main Street, football history was speaking.
"Whenever I come [to Visalia], I feel I'm coming home," said former Oakland Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica, guest speaker at the Raider for Life boosters club meeting Friday night.
Though the Raiders have had a terrible run since losing the 2003 Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there was no sign of distress among the roughly 200 silver-and-black fans who enjoyed snacks, merchandise and photo tables and Lamonica's visit. The team's Central Valley boosters group was as enthusiastic as ever about raising money for the Toys for Tots drive with a raffle, while conducting a canned food drive for charity.
"We love it when Daryle visits," said Eliseo Zepeda of Visalia, boosters' president for the past 12 years. "He's from Clovis, and a Valley guy through and through."
Lamonica, 67, is the legendary "Mad Bomber" who brought Raider fans to their feet in the late 1960s and early '70s with one long pass completion after another. In a Dec. 29, 1968, American Football League title game against the New York Jets, Lamonica completed 20 passes for 401 yards — more than 20 yards per completion.
But the Jets won that game and went on to make pro football history by defeating the heavily favored Baltimore Colts, 16-7, in Super Bowl III, with Jets quarterback "Broadway" Joe Namath backing up a pregame "guarantee" of victory.
But it was a regular-season game six weeks earlier at home against those same Jets that made the Raiders famous. In the historic "Heidi Bowl" on Nov. 17, 1968, NBC switched to the movie "Heidi" with 65 seconds left and the Raiders trailing the Namath-led Jets, 32-29.
The Raiders scored twice in the final minute and won, 43-32.
"Nobody saw the end," Lamonica said. "It was especially tough on New York fans who thought the Jets had won the game."
Even Bay Area viewers were denied the thrilling finish, since the absence of today's satellite technology prevented the West Coast from seeing the end of the game as well.
NBC's phone lines failed because of the flood of complaints.
Lamonica carries with him a batch of autographed photos of him throwing the 43-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass to Charlie Smith with 42 seconds left. The Raiders scored yet again when the Jets fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which Oakland recovered in the end zone.
Fresno photographer and boosters member Bill Salazar has many action photos of his own.
"I take photos at every [Raiders] game and have done so since 1969," said Salazar, who displayed examples of his work through the years. "Lamonica is a big part of not only Raider lore, but pro football history."
The Heidi Bowl changed the way pro football game telecasts are handled. Home fans now see all games to their conclusion, regardless of the score.
"TV football was never again the same," Lamonica said.
Though Namath is credited with spurring the eventual AFL-NFL merger by piloting the Jets to the Super Bowl III shocker over the Colts, Lamonica said the merger was inevitable because quarterbacks like him and Namath were just more enjoyable for fans to watch.
"We brought the passing game to fans — and to television," Lamonica said.
But what about the blunt reality of the Raiders' present?
"The fact is that being a Raiders booster goes well beyond just football," said Ralph Gomez, 42, of Kingsburg, who, along with his wife, Lupe, and boys Brian, 7, and Steven, 10, has been steadfast boosters for six years. "This is a great social outlet for us and kids, are more than welcome."
Lamonica blames the Raiders' current troubles on the attitude of the modern professional athlete.
"These days, it's I-I-I and me-me-me," said Lamonica, a trucking and insurance executive after his playing days. "When I played, all 11 players on that field were one. There were no individual stars out there."