There are friends who are acquaintances. Then there are friends who will get a favorite quarterback from more than 35 years ago to visit when you're in a rest home recovering from cancer. That's what Bennie Gonsalves did Thursday to cheer up his 76-year-old buddy, Clem McNamara, recovering from surgery at Hacienda Health Care in Hanford.

It seems to have worked.

When he was introduced to former Notre Dame and Oakland Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica, McNamara, seated in a wheelchair, looked up in amazement.

"Timmy, can you believe it? Daryle Lamonica, the Mad Bomber," McNamara said to his son, Tim McNamara, one of several friends and relatives who witnessed the moment.

Lamonica -- a Clovis High grad who started three seasons at Notre Dame before becoming a successful quarterback with the Buffalo Bills and the Oakland Raiders in the late 1960s and early '70s -- handed Clem a couple of autographed pictures and gripped him solidly by the shoulder.

"You just made my day. You're a true Notre Dame man," said McNamara, known locally for Whitehurst-McNamara Funeral Service, which he used to own with partner William Whitehurst.

McNamara said that he had bladder cancer a year ago, followed by chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

He hopes the recent operation removed all the cancerous tissue.

Meanwhile, he called it "unbelievable" to meet Lamonica, a two-time Most Valuable Player in the old American Football League who quarterbacked the Raiders to their first Super Bowl appearance in the 1967 season.

McNamara said that as an Irish Catholic, he's been a Notre Dame fan since childhood.

He continued to follow Lamonica with the Oakland Raiders, but was also drawn to San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, also a Notre Dame grad.

"Anything to do with Notre Dame," McNamara said.

The surprise visit came out of a longtime friendship between Gonsalves and Lamonica.

Lamonica said that Gonsalves called him up to say that he had an old friend in rehab who would appreciate a visit.

The famous Clovis resident agreed to come.

"That's my way of giving back. That's the way I was raised," said Lamonica, who freely handed out autographs to everybody who asked for one.

"I'm still dreaming," McNamara said.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432.

(April 4, 2008)