JOE MONTANA
Name: Joe Montana
Born: June 11, 1956 New Eagle, Pennsylvania
Joseph Clifford Montana Jr., (born June 11, 1956), nicknamed "Joe Cool", "Big
Sky" 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 mid-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. In 2000, Montana was elected to the Pro
Football Hall of Fame.
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 1981
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
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked
Montana third on their list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". Also in 1999,
his status among the greatest players of all time was reaffirmed when ESPN named
Montana the 25th greatest athlete of the 20th century. In 2006, Sports
Illustrated rated him the number one clutch quarterback of all-time
Name: Joe Montana
Born: June 11, 1956 New Eagle, Pennsylvania
Joseph Clifford Montana Jr., (born June 11, 1956), nicknamed "Joe Cool", "Big
Sky" 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 mid-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. In 2000, Montana was elected to the Pro
Football Hall of Fame.
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 1981
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
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked
Montana third on their list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". Also in 1999,
his status among the greatest players of all time was reaffirmed when ESPN named
Montana the 25th greatest athlete of the 20th century. In 2006, Sports
Illustrated rated him the number one clutch quarterback of all-time