Joe Montana
Position(s):
Quarterback
Jersey #(s):
16
Born: June 11, 1956 (1956-06-11) (age 51)
Career Information
Year(s): 1979-1994
NFL Draft: 1979 / Round: 3 / Pick: 82
College: Notre Dame
Teams
Career Stats
TD-INT
273-139
Yards
40,551
QB Rating
92.3
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career Highlights and Awards
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr., (born June 11, 1956 in New Eagle, Pennsylvania), nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "The Comeback Kid", is a retired American football player whose professional career in the National Football League (NFL) spanned the late 1970s through the early 1990s. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback (QB) for the next 14 seasons. Montana spent the 1993 and 1994 seasons, his final two years in the NFL, with the Kansas City Chiefs. While a member of the 49ers, Montana started four Super Bowl games and the team won all of them. He was so successful that in 2000, the Pro Football Hall of Fame elected Montana.
In 1989, and again in 1990, the Associated Press (AP), an American news agency, named Montana the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP). Sports Illustrated magazine named Montana the 1990 "Sportsman of the Year". Four years earlier, in 1986, Montana won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. As a result of his high level of play, Montana appeared in eight Pro Bowls, the NFL's version of an all-star game. Montana had the highest passer rating in the National Football Conference (NFC) five times (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1989); and, in both 1987 and 1989, Montana had the highest passer rating in the entire NFL.
Noted for his ability to remain calm under pressure, Montana helped his teams to 31 fourth quarter come-from-behind wins. In the closing moments of the 1982 NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl XXIII, Montana threw game winning touchdown passes. The touchdown at the end of the championship game was so memorable that sports journalists, fans, and many others, refer to the play simply as "The Catch". The touchdown in the closing moments of Super Bowl XXIII came at the end of a 92-yard drive.
Because of Montana's excellent career, the 49ers retired the number 16, the jersey number Montana wore while with the team. In 1994, Montana earned a spot on the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team; he is also an honorary member of the the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Montana 3rd on their list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". Also in 1999, his status amongst the greatest players of all-time was reaffirmed when ESPN, a respected cable television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programs, named Montana the 25th greatest athlete of the 20th century. In 2006, Sports Illustrated rated him the number one clutch QB of all-time
Joe Montana was born in New Eagle, a borough of Washington County, Pennsylvania and located in the western portion of the state. However, he grew up in nearby Monongahela, a coal mining town 25 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Born to Joseph and Theresa Montana, Joe Montana expressed an early interest in sports; and, it was Montana Sr. who first taught him the game of football. Montana started to play youth football when he was just eight-years-old, aided in part by his father. Montana Sr. listed his son as a nine-year-old so that Montana could meet the league's minimum age requirement.
During his formative years, Montana took an interest in baseball and basketball, in addition to football. In fact, basketball was Montana's favorite sport as a child. Montana Sr. started a local basketball team that his son played on. The team practiced and played at the local armory and played their games in various regional tournaments.
Montana received his primary education at Waverly Elementary and his secondary education at Finleyville Junior High and Ringgold High School.. While at Ringgold, Montana played football, baseball, and basketball. Montana showed potential as a basketball player and helped Ringgold win the 1973 WPIAL Class AAA boy's basketball championship. He was so good that during his senior year, North Carolina State University (NCSU) offered Montana a basketball scholarship.. Although Montana turned down the scholarship, he heavily considered NCSU because of a promise that he could play both basketball and football for the university.
Montana spent hist first two years on the high school football team as a backup. Finally, in his junior year, Montana earned the job as the Ringgold Rams starting quarterback. Montana held the role for the final two years of his high school career; after his senior year, Parade named him to their All-American team.
One of Montana's most notable performances during his high school years was during his senior year in a game against Monessen High School. Although Monessen scored a game-tying touchdown in the final moments, Montana's performance garnered attention from college recruiters, particularly those from the University of Notre Dame. In the game, Montana completed 12 passes in 22 attempts, threw for 223 yards, and scored three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.
Notre Dame eventually offered Montana a scholarship and he accepted. One contributing factor in Montana's choice of colleges was that Terry Hanratty, his boyhood idol, had attended Notre Dame. In 2006, thirty-two years after Montana had graduated, Ringgold renamed their football stadium "Joe Montana Stadium".
Montana arrived at Notre Dame in the fall of 1974. By this time, Montana was already engaged to Kim Moses, his high school girlfriend. The couple wed during Montana's second semester at school; however, they divorced less than three years later.
When Montana arrived at Notre Dame, the football program was well established. Ara Parseghian, the head coach of the football team, had established himself as a top college coach. During Parseghian's tenure, Notre Dame won the NCAA national championship in 1966 and 1973. Parseghian's success as a coach helped him recruit highly talented players. Though Montana was a talented player, he was the seventh-string quarterback in 1974.
Thus, Montana did not appear in a single varsity game his freshman year. Additionally, he played just a small amount in freshman team games. Montana's first significant contributions to the Notre Dame football team came during his sophomore year. That season was also noted as Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger's senior year. Ruettiger, who stood 5'6" and weighed at the time, was an inspirational figure on the football team.. Ruettiger's life and career at Notre Dame was the basis for Rudy, a 1993 film.
On December 15, 1947, Parseghian resigned due to health problems. The university hired Dan Devine to replace Parseghian. Despite his limited playing time the previous year, Montana performed well during the 1975 spring practice. Devine was so impressed that he later told his wife: "I'm gonna start Joe Montana in the final spring game" When she replied "Who's Joe Montana?", Devine said: "He's the guy who's going to feed our family for the next few years."
Devine did not feel Montana was ready to be the full-time starter in 1975; however, Montana played a key role in Notre Dame's victory over the University of North Carolina. During the game, which was played in Chapel Hill, Montana came in with 5:11 left to play. At the time, North Carolina led by a score of 14 to six. Montana spent one minute and two seconds of game time on the field. In that time, he had 129 passing yards and Notre Dame won the game 21-14.
Against Air Force, Notre Dame's next opponent, Montana again entered the game in the fourth quarter. Although Air Force led 30-10, Notre Dame won the game 31-30. After the win against North Carolina, Devine said that Moose Krause, the Notre Dame Athletic Director, said that the game was the "greatest comeback I've ever seen." After the game against Air Force, Krause was quoted as saying: "This one's better than last week." In those two games, Montana had demonstrated his ability to perform well in high pressure circumstances. That characteristic would prove valuable, and Montana relied on it throughout his football career.
Before the start of the 1976 season, Montana spearated his shoulder. Since he was unable to play, Montana redshirted the season; it is a practice commonly used in NCAA sports that allows the player to maintain four full years of eligibility.
When the 1977 season began, Montana was the third quarterback listed on the team's depth chart, behind Rusty Lisch and Gary Forystek. Notre Dame won their season opener and then lost to the University of Mississippi by a score of 20-13. Montana did not appear in either of those games.[10] In their third game of the season, Notre Dame played Purdue University. Lisch started and was the replaced by Forystek. In one play, Forystek sufffered a broken vertebra, a broken clavicle, and a severe concussion; it was the last play of Forystek's sports career. Devine inserted Lisch back into the game before Montana finally had the opportunity to play. Montana entered with approximately 11 minutes remaining and Purdue leading 24-14; he threw for 154 yards and one touchdown, and Notre Dame won the game 31-24.
After the game, Devine made Montana the first quarterback on the depth chart and the team won their remaining nine games. In their final game of the season, Notre Dame defeated the number one ranked University of Texas by a score of 38-10 in the the 1978 Cotton Bowl.[11] Notre Dame's record of eleven wins and one loss earned them the NCAA national title; the first and only title the school won while Devine was coach.
The following year, Montana helped Notre Dame to two regular season come from behind wins. The first was against the University of Pittsburgh, and the second was against the University of Southern California, Notre Dame's primary rival.
Main article: Chicken Soup Game
On January 1, 1979, Notre Dame played the University of Houston in that year's Cotton Bowl. Montana's performance in the game was one of his most noted performances in his entire football career; and, the circumstances of the game have led to it being referred to as the "Chicken Soup Game".
Montana fell ill during the game, but returned during the fourth quarter. Notre Dame ran their last offensive play with two-seconds remaining on the game clock. They scored a touchdown and won the game 35 to 34. As a result of the game, Notre Dame went on to produce a promotional film called Seven and a Half Minutes to Destiny. Coach Devine later referred to the piece as a "Joe Montana film."
Montana graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in business administration and marketing. Although the NFL Combine was not formed until 1982,[12] NFL scouts still evaluated potential draftees through the use of combines in 1979. Candidates were rated in a number of categories on a scale of one to nine, with one being the worst mark and nine being the best mark. The categories they used were contingent on the position that the athlete played.
Despite his performance on the field, Montana was not rated highly by most scouts. At one combine, Montana rated out as six-and-a-half overall with a six in arm strength, used to judge how hard and how far a prospect could throw the ball. By comparison, Jack Thompson of Washington State University rated an eight; the highest grade amongst eligible quarterbacks.
In the 1979 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected Montana in the third round with the 82nd overall pick. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals selected Thompson with the third pick of the first round. Thompson went on to appear in just 51 NFL games in a six-year career. While he was picked well ahead of Montana, he never finished any season in the top ten for any major statistical category.[13]
Montana played sparingly his first season behind starter Steve DeBerg.
Bill Walsh, when asked by reporters before the 1979 season if Montana would be given a chance to play or contribute, remarked back, "Joe Who?".
He became the 49ers starting quarterback late in his second season. Against the New Orleans Saints he led a comeback from a 28-point halftime deficit, to a 38-35 overtime victory. This is the second biggest comeback in NFL history, next to the 32 point comeback by the Buffalo Bills in 1993 vs the Houston Oilers. It was the first of Montana's twenty-six 4th-quarter comebacks with the 49ers.
In 1981 Montana led San Francisco to a 13-3 record, the best in the NFL. In one of the most memorable games in NFL history, he led the 49ers on an 11-play, 89-yard drive, ending with a dramatic touchdown pass to Dwight Clark, which came to be known as "The Catch," for a thrilling 28-27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC Championship. Two weeks later Montana led the 49ers to a 26-21 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI. For his efforts, which included scoring the first rushing touchdown by a quarterback in Super Bowl history, he was named the game's MVP, as he completed 14 of 22 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown.
In 1982 he improved his Y/A to a then-career-best 7.6, though he played only 9 games (NFL Player's strike).
In a 1983 playoff game against the Detroit Lions, Montana drove the 49ers 70 yards in the final 5 minutes, throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Solomon for a 24-23 victory. The following week in the NFC Championship game, Montana led San Francisco to three 4th quarter scores to erase a 21-0 deficit against the Washington Redskins; however, the 49ers lost 24-21.
In 1984, the 49ers compiled a 15-1 regular season record, fielding what many consider one of the most dominant teams in NFL history. Montana led a 49er offense that scored 475 points, best in the NFC. He threw 28 touchdown passes with only 10 interceptions, and had a quarterback rating of 102.9. Highlights in the season include a 30-27 victory over Detroit, when he drove the team to a last-second field goal, and a 23-17 win over Cincinnati, in which the 49ers erased a 17-7 deficit with three scores in the final ten minutes. This, despite Montana throwing a career-high 4 interceptions. In Super Bowl XIX, Montana completed 24 of 35 passes for a Super Bowl record 331 yards and three touchdowns, outdueling Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, and leading San Francisco to a 38-16 victory. He also rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown, the most rushing yards ever by a quarterback in a Super Bowl at the time.
The 49er's success during the regular season continued over the next three years, but each time, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, and Montana failed to throw a single touchdown in all three postseason games.
In 1985 he rushed for three touchdowns for the first time in his career.
He also suffered an injury in the 1986 season that forced him to undergo major back surgery, after doctors discovered a ruptured disk as well as a congenital narrowing of the spinal cavity. Montana would return for the last seven games of the season, helping the then 5-3-1 49ers finish the season at 10-5-1, although it was the only season of his career in which he threw more interceptions (9) than touchdowns (8). The rocky year for Montana would have a unceremonious ending, when he was hit by Jim Burt in the 2nd quarter of a loss in the playoffs to the New York Giants, 49-3. Montana suffered a concussion due to the hit and missed the rest of the game.
Montana recovered in 1987, throwing for 3,054 yards and a career-high 31 touchdown passes, with only 13 interceptions. However, the 49ers' 13-2 record was marred by the 36-24 upset loss they suffered in the Divisional Round of the playoffs versus the Minnesota Vikings, where after suffering another vicious hit and appearing shaky, Montana was replaced with Steve Young midway through the game.
In 1988, Montana struggled with various injuries that resulted in several missed starts. He was also involved in a much-publicized battle for the quarterback starting position against Young. After a devastating home loss to the Los Angeles Raiders that left the 49ers with a 6-5 record, the 49ers were in danger of missing the playoffs. Montana regained the starting position and led the 49ers to a 10-6 record and the NFC Western Division title. The 49ers then faced the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. Montana threw three first-half touchdowns as the 49ers won 34-9. In the NFC Championship game in Chicago, Montana played through bitter, freezing temperatures to throw for 288 yards and three touchdowns in San Francisco's surprisingly easy 28-3 win over the favored Chicago Bears. Then in Super Bowl XXIII, Montana had one of the best performances of his career. He completed 23 of 36 passes for a Super Bowl record 357 yards and two touchdowns. Despite his great performance, the 49ers found themselves trailing the Cincinnati Bengals 16-13 with only 3:10 left in the game and the ball on their own 8-yard line. But Montana calmly drove them down the field, completing 8 of 9 passes for 87 yards and throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to John Taylor with only 34 seconds left.
1989 proved to be one of the best for Montana and the 49ers. The team finished the season with an NFL-best 14-2 record, and their two losses were by a total of only five points. Montana threw for 3,521 yards and 26 touchdowns, with only 8 interceptions, giving him what was then the highest single-season quarterback rating in NFL history, a mark subsequently broken by his 49er teammate Steve Young in 1994. He also rushed for 227 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and earned the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. In a memorable comeback win in week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Montana threw four touchdown passes in the 4th quarter despite the relentless pass rush from the Eagles defense. He finished with 425 yards passing and five touchdown passes in the victory. The 49ers then cruised through the playoffs, easily crushing the Minnesota Vikings 41-13 and the Los Angeles Rams 30-3. Montana threw for a total of 503 yards and 6 touchdowns in both games, without a single interception. Then in Super Bowl XXIV, Montana became the first player ever to win Super Bowl MVP honors for a third time, throwing for 297 yards and a then Super Bowl record five touchdowns, while also rushing for 15 yards as the 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos 55-10, the most lopsided score in Super Bowl history.
In 1990, Montana once again led the 49ers to the best record (14-2) in the NFL. He was named by Sports Illustrated as their Sportsman of the Year. A highlight from the season was a rematch with the Atlanta Falcons. Intent on blitzing Montana most of the game, Atlanta's porous defense allowed Montana to throw for a career-best 476 yards passing (49ers single-game record) and six touchdown passes, five of them to Jerry Rice.
Injured after getting hit by Leonard Marshall during the NFC Championship Game in January 1991, Montana missed all of the 1991 season and most of the 1992 season with an elbow injury (he did appear in a Monday Night Football game vs. Detroit Lions at the end of the '92 season, and was very effective). However, by this point, teammate Steve Young had replaced him at the starting quarterback position.
Montana recovered from his injuries at the end of the 1992 season, but had lost the starting quarterback job to Steve Young. Montana, who felt he had more football left in him, was then traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in April 1993. His trade, along with the trade of star Los Angeles Raiders running back Marcus Allen to the Chiefs, generated much media attention and excitement in Kansas City.
The Chiefs mailed three jerseys to Montana. One was number three, his number from Notre Dame, another was number nineteen, which he wore in little league and also briefly in training camp (maybe even pre season) of the 1979 season with San Francisco, and the third was number sixteen, which Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson offered to let Montana wear since the organization had retired it. Montana declined Dawson's offer and wore nineteen instead.
Montana was injured for part of the 1993 season, but was still able to lead the Chiefs in 2 come-from-behind wins in the 1993 playoffs and reached the AFC Championship Game, where Kansas City lost to the Buffalo Bills. Kansas City has not won a playoff game since 1993. Montana was also selected to his final Pro Bowl at the end of the 1993 season.
Montana returned healthy to the Chiefs in 1994, starting all but 2 games. His highlights included a classic duel with John Elway (which Montana won) on Monday Night Football and a memorable game in week 2 when Montana played against his old team, the 49ers and their new quarterback, Steve Young. In a much-anticipated match-up, Montana and the Chiefs prevailed and defeated the 49ers 24-17. Montana led his team to a final playoff appearance in 1994. Montana retired at the end of the 1994 season. His replacement with the Chiefs was his former back-up in San Francisco, Steve Bono.
Along with his unique ability to stay calm at key moments, Montana earned the nicknames "Joe Cool" and "Comeback Kid" due to his ability to rally his teams from late-game deficits, including 31 4th quarter comebacks. He also earned the nickname "Golden Joe" because he played in California (the Golden State). Among some female fans he was also known as "Swivel Hips Joe." To his teammates he was simply "Bird Legs" a reference to his skinny legs. Among his career highlights "The Catch" (the game-winning TD pass vs. Dallas in the '82 NFC Championship Game) and a Super Bowl-winning 92-yd. drive vs. the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII are staples of NFL highlight films.
For his career with the 49ers, Montana completed 2,929 of 4,600 passes for 35,142 yards with 244 touchdowns and 123 interceptions. He had 35 300-yard passing games. His career totals: 3,409 completion on 5,391 attempts, 273 touchdowns, 139 interceptions, and 40,551 yards passing. He also rushed for 1,676 yards and 20 touchdowns. His career passer rating was 92.3, 4th-highest all-time, behind his 49er successor Steve Young (96.8), Indianapolis Colt Peyton Manning (94.4), and Arizona Cardinal Kurt Warner (93.8).
Montana holds post-season records for most career touchdown passes (45), and passing yards (5,772) among others. In his four Super Bowls, Montana completed 83 of 122 passes, for 1,142 yards and 11 touchdowns, with an impressive zero interceptions, earning him a quarterback rating of 127.8. Montana led his team to victory in each game, and is the only player ever to win 3 Super Bowl MVP awards. He played in 8 Pro Bowls.
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